Tag: b2b media training

B2B media, Interview tips, What journalists want

Press interview tip: Understanding the journalist’s agenda

I was doing a B2B media training session recently, and the topic of journalists’ ‘having an agenda’ when doing press interviews came up.

The assumption being that a B2B journalist will already have an angle to a story or feature and be more interested in questions and conversation that supports that.

A woman sit with a pen writing in a note pad at an event. You can see others sat near her with notebooks.
Photo by The Climate Reality Project on Unsplash

And as a result, using a press interview as a means of getting your voice or opinion heard, the odds are stacked against you.

Do journalists have an agenda when they sit down to interview someone?

Having been a journalist for 20 years, I can confidently say: ‘Yes.

But it isn’t quite what you think.

A B2B journalist’s agenda will first and foremost be to find an interesting story or useful information for their readers and subscribers.

That’s their job.

If you understand who their audience is, you’ll have a better idea of what the journalist is going to be interested in talking about.

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B2B media, Training, What journalists want

The reason some people get quoted more by journalists

Even before Boris Johnson became Prime Minister he was a journalists’ dream. Why? Because as soon as he opened his mouth a colourful quote would come out.

Close up image of a desk with a smart phone and a hand holding a pen writing in a notebook
Photo by Chivalry Creative on Unsplash

Regardless of what you think of his performance as Prime Minister or London Mayor he has a way with words. And OK so it can backfire on him – often spectacularly – but there is a lesson here.

It isn’t always about what you say, it’s how you say it.

Back when I was B2B property journalist, there were popular market features for which it wasn’t difficult to find industry experts to comment.

In fact, you’d find that a lot of people wanted to give their view on what was going on.

Deciding who to quote

The challenge, for me, was deciding who best to speak to or quote – there was always a limit.

For example, I might have two people who said something like: “Deals are taking longer to conclude at the moment”.

And then another who says: “Getting deals over the line is like kicking a mattress up a hill.”

Who do you think I would quote?

The point is, you can stand out from the crowd by not just saying something interesting but saying it in an interesting or colourful way.

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Training

Media training that demystifies B2B journalism

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Photo by Tom Rogerson on Unsplash

When I was B2B property journalist, expert sources were essential to my job.

They gave me stories, feature ideas and valuable comment.

Over the years I gathered a core group of industry insiders who were my go-to people when I was looking for information or help or an opinion on a breaking story.

Reliable and honest

My expert sources were reliable, available and honest, and as a result, they got plenty of coverage.

As part of my in-house B2B media training, I talk about the importance of building up relationships with journalists within your industry, what they are looking for and how to get quoted.

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