Switching from old paper master to PR apprentice

This was written for 55 comms' e-newsletter Sourced.

A little milestone has just been reached for me.

After three decades in traditional news media, mostly newspapers, I have pinned my ears back and plunged into the world of public relations. I've just completed my first full calendar year with 55 comms as a "rookie’’ director.

A number of my old newsroom mates didn’t waste any time in geeing me up: “So Scotty you’ve finally joined the Dark Side’’ or ‘’how’s the spin doctoring?’’ 

After all my working life on the Light Side of the communications, content news and information universe, I must admit I initially felt somewhat awkward, like Yoda with chopsticks. 

Much like the ‘’Force’’, news is omnipresent and the editing of newspapers is highly seductive. Journalism is not a job - it is a way of life and a part of who you are. The news antenna is up 24/7. You live your life in adrenaline bursts chasing the next scoop or deadline, awe-inspiring picture or thinking up a cracking headline for that Page 1 splash that will grab readers by the eyeballs.

From the local newspaper in the seaside town near where I grew up, and then being privileged to edit the biggest newspaper in Queensland, running a large network of community papers and editing the lively daily tabloid mastheads in Cairns and the Gold Coast, newspapers always gave me meaning, direction and purpose.

I remember a respected editor once told me…’’with editorships, it is not so much what it is, but what you can actually do … no matter the size of the paper, the community or the city’’. 

Would I get the same personal and professional satisfaction from public communications?

Twelve months on I have to say "yes", yet it’s a different kind of satisfaction. At 55 comms I’m thankful to be working and mixing with former journalists and editors, social media producers and graphic designers.

Our office even has the vibe of a small newsroom and the broad client mix means anything can happen on any day and you have to know a little bit about many things _ if you don’t then you find out by asking questions and researching.

Here are eight things which I learnt as an editor that have helped me adapt in my new career

As old mate Yoda would say, do or do not read this list. There is no try 

1. It’s still about the story. Great storytelling will win over audiences.

2. It’s still about the ‘’people angle’’, and making them interesting, important, exciting and relevant.

3. It’s still about the creativity. I have worked with some brilliant editors. They were also the best marketers because they created the content that created audience demand.

4. It’s still about the who, what, when, where and why. Communications that are clear and concise will always resonate with audiences.

5. It’s about appealing to emotions…and pride is one of the biggest audience engagement drivers.

6. It’s still about ‘’sniffing the breeze’’ for the public mood or water cooler conversations and having a feel for community issues.

7. It is still about human connections. Whether it’s news media or social media, the channel and platform on which it is consumed is secondary.

8. And it is still about listening… twice as much as you speak.

Next month I will reveal the things you should ask yourself before pestering an editor with your press release.

Until then, may ‘’The Sourced’’ be with you…Scotty

Resilience, trust key to strong culture

Brisbane Broncos captain

This piece was written for the 55 comms website

How do you develop a successful culture?

It’s the thing that has most fascinated me in my rugby league career.

I’m preparing for my 15th season in the NRL and, the more I’ve learned, the more I’ve realised there is more to learn.

And I’ve had plenty of people tell me that they’re doing the same in their businesses.

I’ve been lucky to be among some very strong cultures in my career. They have helped me immensely and not just in my footy career.

But the things that worked well in developing successful cultures early in my career aren’t necessarily the best option now.

It feels like it’s changing quickly.

The last year made me think more about culture more as we welcomed a new coach at the Broncos. It’s been among the most enjoyable periods of my career even though the results weren't what we’ve wanted. But we learned a lot and we're training well for 2020.

The culture that we’re continuing to develop will enable future success. We have a culture that goes back decades. We didn't start from scratch in 2019. We added to the culture that has always been in place here. It’s a privilege to play a role in that culture and to ensure that we’re continuing it on for the next generation.

Here’s what I’ve learned is now important for successful cultures – and I hope to keep learning about them:

Be approachable: What’s that got to do with a winning culture? It’s the most basic requirement. When I first started playing for the Broncos as a teenager, I sat in the corner and hoped that my teammates didn’t pay me too much attention. There was a hierarchy in change rooms – the older players had earned their stripes and the younger ones had a long way to go to earn theirs. That wasn’t something specific to the Broncos – it was the way the sport operated across clubs.

That’s not the case any more. The young generation has changed now. As senior players, we should be interacting with the younger players – learn something about them and use it to connect. When Tommy Dearden joined us at the Broncos, he was still 17 years old. But I heard that he went to the same school as me – he wasn’t even at kindy when I graduated so he didn’t see me around the playground. But that school is something that we have been able to talk about, something that shows we have things in common even though our ages aren’t so close. And it’s helped him to feel as though he’s welcome at the Broncos and to become an important part of what we do here.

Set standards: This one is non-negotiable. You must set standards and you must meet them as a team. We like to put it this way – if one team member doesn’t meet the standards, then we can’t perform to our best. But the commitment to standards makes a result possible.

Be resilient: We know that the perfect game doesn’t exist. Just like in life, things don’t always go to plan. That’s when you have to be resilient. This is when your leaders must lead. Stick to your processes and be positive. If your processes are right, it doesn’t take long to turn things around. You have to keep believing.

Trust: This is critical. In the good teams that I’ve played in, you never have to worry about the other person doing their job. You know that they will do it well. And, if they do it well, then everyone else can do the job that they need to do. If someone doesn’t do their job well, then the jobs of other people become harder. Trust is central to all of this. In world sport, the All Blacks and the New England Patriots are the best examples of systems in which everyone knows their role and does it well. They’re not afraid to part ways with a big name if that person isn’t doing their job in the way that the team needs it done. Their culture is larger than any individual.

Know your role: We all have a job to do whether that be in a football team or in any business. Understand how your role works within the wider organisation. Basically, that means you have to get an understanding of things outside you. Getting your job done and done well is vital but so is learning about others and understanding what they do. When you understand the bigger picture, you can better define your role.

Chase for revenue slants news focus

Media outlets have spent much of the past decade looking for their secret sauce: how to get audiences to pay for news.

It's tough because audiences long ago became used to free content – and they still have plenty of free options with the likes of the ABC.

News outlets have themselves to blame, creating a culture in the early days of the internet of free news. The news outlets made their money from their advertisers on traditional platforms. Their online news dealings were experimental.

But that revenue began drying up years ago. Now, digital audiences are a compulsory revenue stream.

So, what stories are going to prompt people to pay for news?

If you're watching closely, you'll be noticing more stories about schools, suburban issues, photo galleries of pets, social gatherings, fast food stores in your local area and the rest.

They’re stories that are generating paying customers and it's because these topics have a greater impact on people's immediate lives.

Perhaps a son or granddaughter plays in one of the school sports teams mentioned on a news website. A reader may be more willing to pay for that than for the State of Origin story that is available widely for free.

If a new shopping centre has been approved for your suburb, you may be prepared to pay to read more because it will impact your immediate neighbourhood. 

A series of social pics from an inner-city gathering may feature one of your best friends. Stories on fast-food restaurants are surprisingly attractive for online transactions - there are several theories for that but none convincing.

Does this all sound familiar?

Do you remember seeing junior sports results with individual names and photos in metropolitan papers a decade or two ago?

Are you thinking that you used to see social pics featuring prominently in newspapers?

Do you remember a smiling face of a schoolmate in the old kids' pages? 

Before social media, these were the original “shares”. That’s where you saw elements of people’s lives.

Social media has claimed that ground with devastating effect for mainstream media outlets.

They’re now trying to steal it back. 

Free streaming; Twitter dumps political ads

Welcome back to another weekly vlog, let’s get to it!

Twitter CEO say no more political ads

Twitter made a statement move on Wednesday with CEO Jack Dorsey tweeting: “We’ve made the decision to stop all political advertising on Twitter globally. We believe political message reach should be earned, not bought. Why? A few reasons…”

His move applies pressure to Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg who recently made headlines regarding his comments about maintaining a hands-off approach. Zuckerberg has gone on record to say that he would allow politicians to run any claims – even false ones – in ads on Facebook justifying the statement by explaining that Facebook had been set up to allow free expression, going as far as saying politicians’ ads were newsworthy.

Political ads on Twitter will cease on November 22nd – we’ll be watching closely as the ball moves to Facebook’s court.

The streaming war goes FREE

Streaming companies are under so much pressure to juice their subscriber numbers that they're giving away access to for free on a trial basis. Subscription streaming providers have set lofty subscriber goals over the next few years. But without the distribution prowess of a wholesaler, like a telecom company, they won't be able to hit those numbers.

It's basically the same economics as cable, where networks spend billions of dollars to produce or buy high-quality content, then rely on companies with direct customer relationships for distribution.

WarnerMedia boss John Stankey told Reuters in an interview on Friday that the company will offer HBO Max at no extra charge to 10 million AT&T Pay-TV and wireless customers, who are also HBO subscribers.

Other streaming companies including Disney+, Peacock and Apple TV+ are following a similar model.

Flashback: Netflix was the first streamer to broker a deal like this with a telecom provider when it said in late 2017 that its app would be distributed for free to millions of T-Mobile customers.

Be smart: The goal for most of these mega-streamers is to get users to buy some other, more lucrative service.

Coca-Cola named most polluting brand

You hate to hear it, but Coca-Cola has been named the world’s most polluting brand for the second year in a row according to a global audit of plastic waste. It was found that the company was responsible for more plastic litter than the next top three polluters combined. It’s no shock that mega-organisations like Coca-Cola do cause an impact on the environment, but we like to believe that with their success, they invest in protecting the health of our planet and ensuring a healthy future 

Product News: Apple AirPods Pro

Apple has launched the AirPods Pro, a premium version of its wireless earbuds featuring noise-canceling. The earbuds only come in white. Noise-canceling is adjusted up to 200 times per second using a system that is very similar to the noise cancellation system in the new Beats Solo Pro headphones. A transparency mode is available that will allow users to hear their surroundings. Apple claims that AirPods Pro has a force sensor that is used to control music playback and toggle between noise-canceling and transparency mode. It comes with flexible ear tips. A software audio test is available that can tell the user if they have chosen the right-sized tips by measuring the sound level in the ear and comparing it to what is coming from the speaker driver. The AirPods Pro has around 4.5 hours of continuous listening battery life and is sweat and water-resistant. It is available for pre-order now and will be released on October 30th for $249. 

That’s it for this week, enjoy your weekend!

How smart influencing can pay dividends

Are influencers losing their influence?

Some recent articles have questioned the influencer business on social media as businesses have fewer ways to measure success and no way to verify how many people see content.

Without physically having access to the influencers’ account analytics, it is difficult (sometimes impossible) to obtain any definitive measurement of the success of an influencer sponsored (ad) post.

Sure, on your end you can provide all the proper tracking URLs and setup Google Analytics to collect traffic data while your influencer campaign is active, but you’re never seeing the full picture.

It’s because of this emerging grey area that a whiff of deceit now taints the influencer marketplace. Influencers have been inflating their followers by purchasing fake followers, and then increasing their price for a post.

On top of this, the relationship between influencer and follower is becoming strained with too many influencers seen to be promoting products that either aren’t relevant to their brand, their audience, or both.

A recent study that looks at influencer marketing found that users felt their newsfeed had become a constant sell and really lacked authenticity. In summary, these recent news articles and aforementioned study largely indicate that influencer marketing has seen its peak.

I agree that there is an authenticity and perceived value issue, but I strongly disagree that influencer marketing has seen its peak.

The articles and reports are focusing on the breakdown and ignoring the countless examples of influencer marketing done well.

Put simply, there needs to be some accountability from both the influencer and the business looking to invest.

Let me explain: typically, influencers have built an audience around some core interests, values and beliefs. These attributes define the influencers’ audience that grows increasingly hungry for content. If, for example, an influencer who promotes fitness and health products suddenly partners with a fast food brand/affiliated brand and posts consistently about a particular product, that contradiction is going to damage the relationship with the audience.

This error in judgement occurs too often with money-hungry influencers, and their followers find that increasingly transparent. But in this scenario, the business looking to advertise also needs to assume some blame.

If you’re a business that looks at the number of followers as your main criteria for investment rather than audience relevance, then you’re doing it wrong. You can bring this entire scenario right back to one simple (yet common) denominator: lack of research – and by extension, lack of understanding.

My belief is that if you’re looking to invest in influencer marketing, then do your research. There are countless examples where companies that have developed the right relationship with their influencer/s and it’s every bit as lucrative for both parties as so many dream it to be.

But if you approach influencer marketing with a lack of understanding toward your influencer, their audience, and your audience, then you’re contributing to the growing distrust in an otherwise powerful market.

We live in a time now where social media platforms are removing quantifiable indicators of post success, so nailing the right influencer for your business is the most important it’s ever been.

Veteran actor sets pace in social media

Welcome back to another weekly blog, let’s dive right in!

Jennifer Aniston breaks Instagram! 

The headline of the week goes to Jennifer Aniston who excited the world by joining Instagram. Her first photo was a snap of her with the entire FRIENDS cast huddled into frame. The excitement of her joining Instagram coupled with the cast photo sent world-wide fans into a frenzy – so much so they she’s actually broken a Guinness World Record for the fastest account to reach one million followers, previously held by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at 5 hours and 45 minutes. The traffic headed toward her profile became so high that it actually crashed her account and meant the follow button wouldn’t accept your follow request, which no doubt broke millions of hearts. This issue has since been resolved and Jen now sits with a very impressive 13.1M followers, easily out-doing all her FRIENDS co-stars. In a recent interview with Jimmy Kimmell she says she doesn’t really know why she joined, quoting, ‘what you resist will persist, so why not give it a go’. She also mentioned that she’s currently working on ‘content creation’, so I reckon we’ve got plenty to look forward to before the year is out!

Pop-ups, but not the annoying kind

The Donald Trump impeachment interest has been seen as an opportunity for media publishers all around the world who are now offering pop-up podcasts, newsletters, and alerts for those wanting to stay in-the-loop.

Podcasts: Vox Media launched a new weekly "Impeachment, Explained" podcast last week hosted by Ezra Klein. WNYC also launched an "Impeachment with Brian Lehrer" podcast earlier this month.

Newsletters: CNN launched an impeachment tracker newsletter that amassed over 11,000 subscribers in a few days, per CNN. The New York Times also launched an impeachment briefing newsletter.

Alerts: CNN's digital app impeachment-related app alerts attracted 300,000 subscribers in just a week, a spokesperson said.

If these concepts sound familiar, it’s because they are. We’ve seen the same happen around the series conclusion of Game of Thrones, the World Cup and various other high-interest events. The bottom line is: if there's an appetite for more coverage, companies these days can build products pretty quickly to satisfy it. It’s something worth thinking about if your company is involved in reporting or informing people on relevant events – could you build a product to satisfy your audience? Maybe it’s something we can help you with.

Uber is looking to help you find jobs

In amongst Uber’s scramble to secure diminishing market share, the app is now helping temporary workers find work. It will connect temporary workers looking to work shifts with businesses trying to fill up rosters. The Uber Works app will only be available in Chicago during its testing period. It will display information about shifts such as gross pay, work location, required skills, and dress code. Temporary workers can track their shifts and breaks using the app. New laws in California may require Uber to classify drivers as employees from January 1. It’d be really interesting to see this roll out in other countries to see what sort of impact this has.

And that’s it for another week, enjoy your weekend.

Instagram rolls out four new features

Instagram recently announced 4 new features that you don’t want to sleep on. The social media app is continuing to develop its focus on enhancing connections with your “close friends” and has introduced a companion app called Threads – more about that shortly. As well as improving the way we connect, Instagram has made a point to improve the shopping experience within the app, so two of the new features should excite those looking to conduct business through the app. Let’s take a look!

Threads

Threads is Instagram’s new standalone messaging app aimed at helping you stay connected with your “close friends”. The app boasts several appealing features like the ability to create statuses, and improved media messaging. If you’re a fan of the “close friends” feature on Instagram then you’ll definitely love Threads. Even if you prefer sending videos to your close friends via Snapchat, I’d recommend giving Threads a try – the functionality is far better.

One feature that I think will concern a few people is the auto-statuses feature. Now, the status updates the app boasts as a feature are very small bites of information that tell people where you are or what you’re doing. They’re very similar to those lots of us enjoyed during the MSN days, things like: “At the airport” and; “At the gym”; and “On the move”. The nostalgia is there to be enjoyed. So, what the auto-status feature does is take note of your location throughout the day and automatically update your status with one that fits. This feature is only available once you give the app permission to know your location, just so that’s clear. To some this will be a complementary addition to their online sharing, but to others, I think it might feel a little intrusive. The options there for those either side of the fence.

Instagram’s new restrict filter

While we’re on the topic of “close friends” and connections, Instagram has also introduced a new filter to combat those we don’t want to connect with. It’s called a ‘restrict’ filter. If someone who follows you is prone to commenting negative or explicit things, then you can simply swipe-left their comment and where “report comment” used to sit alone, a new button appears allowing you to “restrict’ the user. Once activated, that user’s future comments on your content will only be visible to that person, and you will have the ability to approve, remove or ignore it. Of course, the restricted follower isn’t blocked, so your other followers will be able to view that person’s comment if they want by clicking on the message in the comments thread explaining it’s been hidden – it’s a similar function to Twitter’s mute system. The restrict feature also affects direct messaging – any attempt from the account to send a direct message will be automatically moved to a message request and notification of a request will be sent to you. The message can still be ready in requests, (before you accept it), and thankfully doesn’t send a read receipt. I think this feature is going to be super useful and probably continue to evolve.

Try before you buy

Augmented reality shopping is finally coming to Instagram! It’s a positive announcement that’s really going to excite shoppers. The ability to try on an item through your phone camera to see how it looks is something most of us wouldn’t have imagined 10 years ago. Sadly, it isn’t available to all of us yet, it’s currently in beta testing with brands like Warby Parker, MAC Cosmetics, Ray-Ban, and Nars Cosmetics. The feature is a seamless add-on to the existing shopping function on Instagram. If a photo is tagged with a product, click the product, and on that next screen you will see a button saying “Try it on”. It will load up your camera and you’ll have an augmented reality copy of the item you’re looking to purchase and you can try it on. I’m not sure if this has expanded to clothing yet but I’m sure it’s not far off. But for things like sunglasses and makeup, the ability to see that on you before you buy is incredibly powerful. I really look forward to testing this for myself.

New product launch feature

If you’re counting down to the release of your new product then Instagram has a feature for you. Much like the popular countdown sticker, retailers can set up a product launch sticker in the lead-up to a release. If a shopper taps on this sticker in a story, it will set up a notification on their device which will let them know when they’re approaching the product launch and exactly when it’s available so they don’t miss out. It’s a great way to create urgency among shoppers and a really useful tool for retailers to gauge demand/interest.

So, there we go, Instagram’s four new features – half aimed at improving our connections on the app, the other aimed at enhancing our shopping experience. It’s all heading in the right direction over at Instagram HQ and I look forward to seeing what else is revealed before the new year.

Instagram's new threads for Snapchat fight

We’ve been busy at 55comms HQ, the busiest we’ve ever been in fact, but so too has the media world – here’s the latest!

***

Yesterday, Instagram unveiled its latest product, "Threads", a stand-alone companion app to Instagram which is expected to compete aggressively with Snapchat. As you may expect, it’s a photo sharing app focused around enhancing the communication among your closest friends. Instagram introduced the “Close Friends” feature on Instagram mid-2017 which allowed you to create a group (audience if you will) of your closest friends which could be selected and messaged if you wanted to share a post or a video but not with your entire followers list. So, it seems Instagram has realised an opportunity within the photo/video messaging market, with close friends, and is really pushing to dominate. Threads boasts plenty of high-quality photo and video capabilities to entice users to use the platform, but above all, it’s really driving home its improved privacy. It’s an obvious tactic amid the wide-spread distrust in social apps but necessary nonetheless. I look forward to installing the app to see how it fits within the other social apps I regularly use – is there a place for it or not?

***

Netflix just upped their monthly price by $2 for Australian users. It’s the first price change in Australia since 2017, which comes as Australia prepares to welcome Disney+ and Apple TV+ to the already crowded streaming market next month. A Netflix spokesperson said the price change is about ensuring the service can continue to produce high-quality content. It’s well documented that Netflix has spent bags of cash on producing original movies and TV series, so I hope with the extra $2 they’re taking out of my pocket, we’ll get more excellent content.

***

This… is Big Brother. The famous catch-phrase we’re all too familiar with is reportedly making its way back to our TV screens. It’s the show you love to hate, but a growing demand from young viewers has Seven Network saying it’s going to bring it back. I can’t add any truth to the headlines, but I admit it seems promising for the fans. But as expected, the headlines on social media were met with just as much hate as there was support. “Another rubbish show producing rubbish influencers,” one angry Facebook user commented, with plenty others latching on and sharing their distaste. On the other side of the fence: “Finally some wholesome Aussie TV!” wrote a happy supporter. For now, it’s only rumoured, so you’ll have to keep your eyes peeled for any solid announcements.

*** 

If you were / are an owner of a Samsung Galaxy S4 then you’re entitled to some cold hard cash. Samsung recently settled a lawsuit of $13.4 million for artificially inflating benchmark scores by introducing code that detected when benchmarks were running and the overclocking the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor speed to 532MHz, instead of the 480MHz that the processor normally ran at … (that made no sense to me either). But it means that there’s $2.8 million sitting in a settlement fund which goes to those who purchased the device, so you’re able to claim $10. Instructions on how to claim $10, if you’re a Galaxy S4 owner, aren’t available yet — but an email should make it to your inbox with those instructions soon.

That’s it for this week, have a good weekend.

Much to like about Facebook likes hiding

Facebook looks to be following Instagram in hiding likes, making the number of reactions, views and likes only visible to the author. The testing commenced here in Australia on September 27, which was confirmed by a Facebook spokesperson to CNET in an email statement saying: “We are running a limited test where like, reaction, and video view counts are made private across Facebook”.

Facebook says they will gather data throughout the testing period to determine whether this change will improve the user experience on the platform. The social media network indicated earlier in September that it might test this change after the well-documented testing it performed on Instagram. The change aims to reduce the pressure of how many likes or views a post will receive and ultimately improve user mental health long term.

I was happy about the changes they made to Instagram and the majority of my peers shared the same feeling. Social media credibility, for so long, was determined by number value, so it’s been nice to see the focus repositioned around content quality. It’s also exciting that Australia is the first to see this change. As a country, we’re very on-trend with everything technology and social media – I’d go as far, in some cases, to say we are trend-setting, so I believe we’re an ideal candidate for these changes – particularly those that aim to improve the mental health impact of social media. Additionally, this change introduces a small element of privacy for the author, a concept Facebook has struggled to grasp in recent years.

Will it become a permanent change? Yes. If Instagram is capable of functioning without the need to quantify every post publicly then Facebook can absolutely follow suit. I suspect the results will indicate an overwhelmingly positive response to the change and I look forward to the continued efforts Facebook roll-out in the future.

Switching from old paper master to comms apprentice

This item was written for 55 comms' client newsletter, Sourced. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please email subscribe@55comms.com.au

This month marks a little milestone for me.

After three decades in traditional news media, mostly newspapers, it is one year since I pinned my ears back and plunged into the world of media strategy, officially joining 55 comms as a "rookie" director.

A number of my old newsroom mates didn’t waste any time in geeing me up: “So Scotty you’ve finally joined the Dark Side” or “how’s the spin doctoring?”

After all my working life on the so-called "Light Side" of the communications, content news and information universe, I must admit I initially felt somewhat awkward, like Yoda with chopsticks.

Much like the "Force", news is omnipresent and the editing of newspapers is highly seductive. Journalism is not a job – it is a way of life and a part of who you are. The news antenna is up 24/7. You live your life in adrenaline bursts chasing the next scoop or deadline, awe-inspiring picture or thinking up a cracking headline for that Page 1 splash that will grab readers by the eyeballs.

From the local newspaper in the seaside town near where I grew up, and then being privileged to edit the biggest newspaper in Queensland, running a large network of community papers and editing the lively daily tabloid mastheads in Cairns and the Gold Coast, newspapers always gave me meaning, direction and purpose.

I remember a respected editor once told me: "With editorships, it is not so much what it is, but what you can actually do … no matter the size of the paper, the community or the city’’.

Would I get the same personal and professional satisfaction from my new role?

Twelve months on I have to say "yes"’, yet it’s a different kind of satisfaction. At 55 comms I’m thankful to be working and mixing with former journalists and editors, social media producers and graphic designers.

Our office even has the vibe of a small newsroom and the broad client mix means anything can happen on any day and you have to know a little bit about many things – if you don’t then you find out by asking questions and researching.

Here are eight things which I learnt as an editor that have helped me adapt in my new career.

As old mate Yoda would say, do or do not read this list. There is no try.

1. It’s still about the story. Great storytelling will win over audiences.

2. It’s still about the ‘’people angle’’, and making them interesting, important, exciting and relevant.

3. It’s still about the creativity. I have worked with some brilliant editors. They were also the best marketers because they created the content that created audience demand.

4. It’s still about the who, what, when, where and why. Communications that are clear and concise will always resonate with audiences.

5. It’s about appealing to emotions … and pride is one of the biggest audience engagement drivers.

6. It’s still about ‘’sniffing the breeze’’ for the public mood or water cooler conversations and having a feel for community issues.

7. It is still about human connections. Whether it’s news media or social media, the channel and platform on which it is consumed is secondary.

8. And it is still about listening… twice as much as you speak.

Next month I will reveal the things you should ask yourself before pestering an editor with your press release.

Until then, may ‘’The Source’’ be with you … Scotty