Media Training Update w/c 7th October

“Audiences just know. People can tell when you are being spontaneous and when you are simply reading or reciting.”

Jeremy Clarkson

Part 4, Episode 5 of Year Of The Expert poses the following question… 

If A.I. allowed you to read notes from your laptop screen, yet give the impression you were maintaining eye contact with the camera at all times, would you utilise it to undertake a TV interview?

The short answer should be “no, absolutely not”, however for a bit more nuance…

LISTEN HERE

Good morning. It’s Monday 7th October. The week ahead:

Monday: MPs return to Westminster

ESA launches Hera mission

Tuesday: Nobel Physics Prize winner announced

Wednesday: Votes today (and Thursday) will whittle the Tory leadership candidates down to the final two

Post Office CEO appears at Horizon IT system inquiry

Thursday: Release of Boris Johnson memoirs

Nobel Literature Prize winner announced

President Biden in Germany

Friday: Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize announced

Monthly GDP estimate

Jay Blades in court on controlling behaviour charges

Sunday: 100 days ago: new UK government formed

Quite the mea culpa from Laura K this week…

Sky News has also pulled its 1-1 Johnson interview, for different reasons:

READ MORE

As the Israeli offensive against targets in Lebanon continues, The Media Show assembles a stellar cast to discuss the challenges for journalists reporting the story from Beirut and Jerusalem.

Well worth a listen.

LISTEN HERE 

Whilst writing about Phillip Schofield’s “redemption arc” (I know…), PR consultant Mark Borkowski said this: 

“The public’s attention span is about as long as a TikTok clip, and the news cycle is just as fleeting. 80% of online news stories hit their peak within 20 hours, meaning that we collectively forget them faster than we scroll past useless ads.”

BORKOWSKI ARTICLE

The 20 hour stat intrigued me. It’s taken from research by consultancy MX3. Here’s some context I found interesting, with a link to the research below: 

“Articles focused on breaking news have shorter lifespans than deeper reads in science and technology. Reports on weather and disaster, for example, receive 80% of their page views in less than a day while articles related to science have a median completion time of 34 and 36 hours.”

MX3 RESEARCH

The Guardian was the biggest commercial news website in the UK in August, overtaking The Sun and Mail Online in Press Gazette’s monthly ranking.

READ MORE

Footnotes:

On this day: Ninety sets of Swedish identical twins travelled to Felixstowe for a brief shopping trip on this day in 1977. (For context: READ MORE)

Weather: A balmy 18 degrees in Canterbury. 16 degrees in Cardiff. 31 degrees in Cairo.

Coffee? Inside Edge is in Brighton and London this week

Mutts: Designated driver…

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