Media Training update w/c 15th April

“This should take you no more than about 5 minutes to write. Which is good…because usually nothing will happen. But occasionally the journalist will bite.”

How do you email a journalist to pitch your research? Listen to our line-by-line guide.

It’s Part 2, Chapter 4 of Year Of The Expert, and you can also catch up on the whole series so far.

LISTEN HERE

Good morning. It’s Monday 15th April 2024.

Monday: Parliament returns from recess for the start of a crucial period for Rishi Sunak as the final battle to pass the Rwanda bill plays out

Trump set to become the first former (or sitting) US president to face a trial on criminal charges as jury selection gets underway in his hush-money case

Tuesday:  Liz Truss publishes her book, 10 Years to Save the West. (Form an orderly queue please…)

Deadline for US assurances in Julian Assange extradition case

Wednesday: Inflation data for March

US Senate committee hearing on Boeing safety culture

Thursday: Meeting of the UN Security Council

Friday: Parliamentary elections get underway in India

Taylor Swift releases new album

Saturday: Bitcoin fourth halving expected

Sunday: London Marathon

“It’s one dark day of many for British journalism, but I’m immensely proud of everything we achieved together.”

Ramzy Alwakeel

Non-profit newsroom Open Democracy is cutting about a fifth of its staff, including its head of news, news editor, and political correspondent.

It’s evidence of just how tough it is for the sector. (We really do need this news source at the moment.)

READ MORE

At the other end of the news spectrum, The Sun halved its losses last year with lower phone-hacking costs. The Times grew revenue but saw a drop in profits due to higher costs. New figures filed with Companies House also reveal TalkTV made losses of £53.7m in its first full year on air.

Source: Press Gazette

“One of the many mysteries of the combined BBC News Channel is why it has such a low story count given its worldwide resources. The half hour from 7pm only had two full stories, and nothing from the UK. It feels too thin too often.”

Roger Mosey, former Head of BBC Television News

Excellent story from Associated Press about what X/Twitter has become: a platform full of “right wing pseudonymous influencers who act as alternative information sources.”

READ MORE

Footnotes:

Brilliant sports writer Henry Winter has been made redundant by The Times. Terrible decision.

Word of the week is definitely pseudonymous.

The United States bombed Tripoli in retaliation for Libyan terrorist attacks on American targets in 1986.

Highs today of 9 degrees in Carlisle and 9 in Glasgow.

Just time for the obligatory dog 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