Media Training Update – w/c 11th September

Good morning, it’s Monday 11th September.

The week ahead…

Monday: General Secretary Paul Nowak addresses TUC Congress.

Biden visits Alaska for 9/11 memorial. 

Tuesday: UK employment and earnings data published.

Wilko store closure programme begins. 

Putin scheduled to speak at the Eastern Economic Forum.

Wednesday: Commons motion to proscribe Wagner Group as terrorist organisation.

Ursula von der Leyen delivers State of the European Union address. 

Thursday:Theresa May’s The Abuse Of Power released. 

Vogue World (aka London’s Met Gala).

Friday: London Fashion Week begins. 

Saturday: Strictly starts. 

Sunday: 20mph speed limit introduced in Wales. 

It’s a Politician Special!!! Hang on, don’t unsubscribe… 

1) As you’ll no doubt have seen, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan provided timely and expletive-ridden evidence for one of the most basic of media training lessons – assume every microphone and camera is on.

This is outtake-Thick-Of-It-level incompetence…

2) Rory Stewart had a moan about a Janice Turner profile of him in The Times on his Rest Is Politics podcast;

“I think the lesson I’ve taken from it sadly is that you can’t be naive and that you have to accept that these are artificial, structured things. You’re doing it for a reason and you’ve got to approach it quite cautiously, and not think that you can completely lay back and just chat in the way that you can to a friend. It’s a stupid thing to say, but the public should be aware of this…”

Rory, that isn’t a stupid thing to say. It’s an incredibly stupid and blindingly obvious thing to say. 

I’m going to return to this saga another time as the headline (see below) was a classic example of naively accepting the premise of a very leading question, but we’ll leave that for another week. 

READ THE PROFILE

Who will replace Huw Edwards as anchor of the BBC’s Election Night coverage? Laura Kuenssberg is the favourite according to latest reports, though it isn’t a done deal.

READ MORE

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GB News break the news of the re-arrest of Daniel Khalife with a calm, collected authority and poise…

WATCH CLIP (via Twitter/X)

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According to Apple’s podcast chart, 4 of the 10 most popular shows in the country come from Gary Lineker’s Goalhanger production company. (The Rest is Politics/History/Football/Money)

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And for those following Tucker Carlson’s rapid descent to the deepest sewers of journalism, Arwa Mahdawi’s article is well worth a read

READ MORE

On the Inside Edge website – Tony’s A-Z of media training: 

P is for Prologue:

You haven’t got time for this classical device in an interview. “Where this all began” may sound a grand opening and is a favourite for some organisations who want to show the road taken. But broadcast audiences are a tough bunch. Rather than rely on past glories what are you achieving now? How relevant are you to making life better in the 2020s and beyond? Answer these questions and you will be more persuasive – and more concise.

READ MORE

Footnotes:

Georgi Markov died of blood poisoning, four days after he was stabbed with an umbrella at a London bus stop on this day in 1978.

Highs of 20 degrees in today in Aarhus, Denmark (from where I’m writing this newsletter) and 22 degrees in Abergavenny.

Finally the obligatory dog-pic photo….

Be part of the MMB. Thoughts on this week’s content, or interviews you’ve seen, heard, or (best of all) done. We’re @insideedgemedia or just reply to this email. 

Have a brilliant week.

All at Inside Edge