Media Exposure - how the media works

David talking to UK CEOS about how to make friends in the media with a resource like Precise. Latest video on the event here

Whoever coined the term must was most likely drifting off somewhere during a board room meeting: "Getting into the pants of the media".

But it's an apt, but coarse description for receiving media exposure and how the media works.

In effect, whatever news can be canned, ready to open at the right time, right day, relieves pressures in a newsroom and enables news outlets to plan ahead.

News is all about planning, David Brewer (Media Ideas Internationa) a friend will tell you.

He helped set up CNN online, BBC Online and Al Jazeera's web ambitions.

News outlets achieve this with a combination of skills in-house and then the rabbit-in-the-hat, providing advance notice - the agency forward planning diary.

Simply this is how it works, all the major events coming up including film premieres and embargoed items (news you can't say anything till the right time) is packaged into a data base.

And more importantly contains the name of contacts, yep the right person to talk to.

Looking at how to get an interview with the cast of "New Moon"? Exactly!

Newer Media workings
Most of the top news agencies subscribe, firstly to find out what's coming up and often to pick holes in their own news agendas.


Audience members at CEO convention

Often many news editors ignore the heaps of faxes and press releases filing into the newsroom ( yep sorry!), because they know they can subscribe to a service like Precise to do all the heavy lifting. And it is heavy lifting, believe me.

Even more interesting, rival news sources use it to ensure competitors aren't across anything they should obviously know about. News is a bit like a Meerkat colony- everyone's watching everyone else - which is why newscasts and the papers often carry the same content.

Twitter et al may be great for breaking in news and recycling it, but as things stand nothing quite comes close to being privy to a good forward planner.

At Channel One, it took our in-house forward planner ages to set one up. He'd been poached from the BBC.

At the BBC, where I worked on the likes of Newsnight and BBC Breakfast, different departments would hide their news agendas to ensure they had fresh news to report. Planners allowed them to think up nicely put together features.

Insight into media exposure
In recent times though the forward planner has broken free from the ranks of media, and news contributors are getting in on the act with their strategies.

Think about it. You're a CEO. You find there's a big debate on sports in a fortnight's time, so you ring the editor of one of the big media and kindly offer to provide a quote. Et Voila. You've just helped a journalist out and got yourself on the news.

Running parallel news strategies entails not just ringing up an ed, though that's crucial (Don't email yet; NEVER FAX ) but providing a trust quotient: Who are you? Are you on google? What does you website look like?

Understanding the ecology of news through planners provides you with a wider understanding of how media works.

And that could work for you too. Get planning.
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David was talking to CEOs at a UK convention organised by CCPR - an umbrella body for sports bodies. Thanks to Sarah Wait from Precise for talking to the students at the University of Westminster.

Exchange ideas with David at redesigned Viewmagazine.tv and follow him on Twitter here

Visioning with UK Sport body CCPR at their CEO Convention.

CCPR CEO's Convention Nov 2009,

"What did you think? I thought he was alright. Couple of things he spoke about I didn't quite get, but yes I think he provoked thought.

Actually I disagree, I don't think he went deep enough."

It's two weeks since the UK's sports umbrella body's big gathering on November the 18th/19th and execs are assessing the feedback.

I'm David but I thought what would it have been like to sit in the audience and listen to me, so briefly I have made up this pseudonym, Jason Edwards, from the federation of Touch Rugby, based in Falmouth, seated in the audience. Jason brings together some of the feedback I received afterwards. I guess the really bad ones would not have been said to me face-to-face :}


Jason Edwards writes
I liked the videojournalism. I hadn't heard of it before so that got me thinking, but I would have wanted more specific examples, but it was interesting to see how he conducted a live interview.

He covered a number of things, perhaps a bit too many, but I found I was cherry picking. Social Networks is something I already know about. I got the sense that he wasn't in favour of them or had issues, so I would have wanted to have known more.

I guess yes, its difficult when you're having to address members in which we're bound to have varying needs, but he seemed to know his stuff. He moves about on stage a lot, which for me was a little bit distracting, but that's a small matter.

My needs at the moment are not so much the use of these new tools, but its impact on our corporate policy. It's alright to look at these networks and say you need Face book, and Twitter, though David wasn't saying it that way, but we have to be careful with our brand and the way we communicate with traditional and new constituencies.

What would you give him, well probably an 7.5 - 8/10.


Jason's response, also blogged, found its way to David who posted this response.



David writes

Hello Jason,

It was good to hear your feedback and thanks for the grading :). I entertain all comments. It's what makes us, me, grow, so thank you.

I spent considerable time thinking about the pitch for this eminent event.

All talks have their different dynamics and so I donned my lecturing hat, media coat and artist shoes to work the room. The shoes, maybe that's why I walk around so much.

You probably didn't know this, but I had a couple of videos teed that were specific examples of sports, and more importantly would have, I hope, given you time to breathe in between my talking and perhaps reflect on some things I might have just said.

Videojournalism Sports promo video - see here for report on Channel One

Sadly a system Adrian, the technical wizzard, and I had worked out to trigger the tapes went South. And I got so deep in the zone that I missed the cues. Hahahaha Lesson learned for next time.

I tried not to go too deep as I figured that would be slightly unfair to those approaching this for the first time. However, lets continue to stay in touch, and hopefully we can share some mining-shaft stuff.

If anything there were a number of thoughts I wanted to get across.

• That Social networks (SN) are not new, but as the in-thing at the moment require some thought. What do you want from your network if you plan to create one? Remember the unit currency for business, money, has been replaced by something else - your "free time" and "transparency".
  

• Your payoff is having a relationship with your SN offline. Ask what you're giving to your new friends, what they want and what you're getting back?

• Splintering is an obvious default of SN, as needs change within your dynamic fluid group that coalesces around needs. SN will reward you when you're giving them something, otherwise it's a dormant affair. Celebrities/VIPs provide the illusion of access into their private lives. Non-celebs may need something more tangible otherwise those huge number you amassed after your bril pronouncement might illustrate you have 1000s of friends, but that's about it.

• That videojournalism offers a rich seam of visuals and films. And you can do it on any number of cameras, such as this one here the GY100 JVC.But VJ is NOT TV.
  

• Train staff, but also consider setting up relationships with universities. There are media grads who you could empower to deliver something for you, that goes beyond the internship of "we tell you what to do"

• And that mobile and the web will go much further than it is now ( see Reuters phone film) . 2012 is a date that will have more significance than just the Olympics.

• Ultimately the future will be personalised TV, hyperlocal and Public visions (seen here on Apple). Kent TV presents an interesting case study in council TV, as does Swindon becoming the first large town to go wifi. The publicity alone they're getting may have been worth it all.

I promised Sallie Barker Head of Services for CCPR that I would write an executive report, which I will with video inserts from interviews and links to useful sites and strategic points, so do come back to me/viewmagazine.tv in about a fortnight's time, or less.

Cheers David