“There’d be no point in me being here if I couldn’t say what is happening. I have to try and do my job as honestly as I can. But they can pull the plug anytime.”

Fascinating interview with the BBC’s Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg in the Sunday Times.

“It’s going back to the old days of Kremlinology, where you were constantly trying to guess what it all means, who’s standing next to who at the top of the Mausoleum during the parades and what battles are taking place within Kremlin walls.”

On Ukraine: “Putin was someone who prided himself for years on being able to outsmart the West…But it’s all gone wrong. It’s been a disaster.”

READ HERE (paywall)

It’s Monday 17th July.

Good morning. The week ahead…

Monday: Interim report from the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry

Tuesday: BBC DG Tim Davie appears before the Lords Communications Committee

Wednesday: UK inflation figures 

Fourth men’s Ashes Test 

Thursday: FIFA Women’s World Cup begins in Australia and New Zealand

Friday: Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer open in cinemas across the UK

Sunday: Voters in both Spain and Cambodia go to the polls

“You’re less likely to be mugged…”

Thanks to Ben for passing this absolute gem our way. Extraordinary candour from the Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland tourist board in the mid-70s.

I think our well-spoken friend may be beyond media training, though I’d politely point out to him that the elegant riff on cholera in Italy, murders in New York and landmines in Israel was perhaps ill-advised…

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

L is for Lighting:

The glare of studio spots can be unforgiving, especially in HD when blemishes and wrinkles look so much clearer. They can also generate heat fostering that unnecessary blush. So always take the advice of the professionals and accept make up if offered. When you are undertaking the interview in what we call “quality” then you’ll not really have any say on the lighting. Skype is a different matter. It’s your responsibility to look good. So avoid film noir shadows by getting plenty of natural light in to the room.

READ MORE

Regarding The Sun’s breathless, judgmental and inaccurate coverage of the Huw Edwards story, it’s worth noting Samantha Fox was just 16 at the time the paper decided to manufacture this situation… 

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. 

Footnotes:

An explosion in the Tower of London left one person dead and 41 injured on this day in 1974.

Highs of 37 degrees in Athens today and 20 in Birmingham.

And this week’s dog-pic-footnote…Stan in pond (again)…

Back on Monday with the final Briefing before we take a break over the summer. Have a good week.



Team Inside Edge

It’s Monday 10th July.

Good morning. The week ahead…

Joe Biden is in Europe this week, starting in the UK on Monday where he will meet King Charles for the first time since his coronation, as well as the PM. 

Potus will be at the NATO Summit on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Elsewhere… 

Monday: the Mansion House dinner 

The Lucy Letby murder trial could be coming to a close, with the jury due to begin deliberations .

Tuesday: Amazon workers in Coventry hold Prime Day strike.

Wednesday: London premiere for the Barbie movie.

Thursday: Junior doctors in England begin five-day strike.

Friday: Report on whether Diet Coke sweetener aspartame should be declared a carcinogen. 

Media comings-and goings…

Kate McCann moves from Talk TV to Times Radio – she’s their new Political Editor.

Christopher Hope leaves The Telegraph to join GB News. His last story was – predictably – about a new royal yacht, a subject he returns to with frightening regularity.

And Debbie Ramsay is the new editor of Channel 5 News

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

K is for Knighthood:

So it’s Professor Dame (insert surname) right? A tad complicated but producers are bright enough to cope with protocol and you should always be introduced in the way you wish. Audiences like to hear from people who’ve earned their spurs and achieved their doctorate or have gained seniority as a Director of a project, become a CEO or have been appointed Head Of Operations. It’s especially important in a challenging situation – it shows the organisation is taking the issue seriously and is fielding a senior spokesperson.

READ MORE

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. 

Footnotes:

The Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior was blown up in Auckland harbour, New Zealand on this day in 1985.

Highs of 21 degrees in Exeter today and 20 in Cardiff.

And this week’s dog-pic-footnote…

Back on Monday. Have a lovely week.



Team Inside Edge

Starting this week with a simple question. Is this news?

It’s Monday 3rd July. (Where did June go?)

Good morning. The week ahead…

Monday: High Court hearing continues in Cabinet Office challenge to Covid-19 inquiry

Wimbledon starts

Tuesday: Rishi Sunak makes his third appearance before the Liaison Committee 

Wednesday: Westminster Abbey service marking 75th anniversary of the NHS 

Thursday: Rare Rembrandt portraits auctioned at Christie’s 

World Artificial Intelligence Conference opens in Shanghai 

Friday: UK Athletics Championships 

A nugget about headline writing from a Times interview with Poldark star Aidan Turner… 

“What’s different now, what is perhaps a post-2015 thing, is people saying things that are baldly untrue: barefaced, to your face, they will tell you stuff that isn’t true. And they will say it in a very convinced way.”

Krishnan Guru-Murthy on 25 years at Channel 4 News

READ MORE 

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

J is for Jokes:

Some of our delegates are worried they won’t be sparky enough and look to comedy as a way of brightening up their delivery. It is a dangerous path. Some jokes will simply fall flat. At other times it might make you appear flippant on a subject which some people might be taking very seriously. Then there’s the hazard of pre–records where subsequent editing might remove the necessary context to the one liner. Leave the funnies to stand up pros – you will be sparky enough if you’ve worked on compelling content.

READ MORE

And speaking of jokes…

Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the House of Commons recently questioned what the Yes Minister characters Jim Hacker and Sir Humphrey would have made of the current glut of political podcasts. It’s worth quoting in full, because it’s actually genuinely funny for a politician…

“Bloomberg UK Politics is listened to by people that own the country. Politicial Thinking is listened to by people who run the country. The Rest is Politics is produced by people who failed at running the country, Women With Balls is listened to people who should be running the country. And Chopper’s podcast is listened to by people who think the country should have a royal yacht.

Newscast is watched by people who love the BBC, Coffee House by people who hate the BBC, and The News Agents by people who used to work for it…

We are blessed with a plethora of media outlets, but it does get confusing.”

And for context, here’s the glorious original…

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. 

Footnotes:

Jim Morrison, the lead singer of American rock group The Doors died of heart failure in Paris, aged 27 on this day in 1971.

Highs of 15 degrees in Grasmere today and 19 in Portsmouth.

And this week’s dog-pic-footnote…

Back on Monday. Have a lovely week.



Team Inside Edge

“Oh come on, we’re not gonna start there, we’re not gonna start on misconduct…”

Train wreck interview number 1 from Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley, desperately keen to talk about a lick of paint for a police station and rather less keen to talk about systemic problems in his force. 

According to ITV News reporter Sam Holder, “We were told we could ask anything. However that turned out not to be the case.”

WATCH HERE

It’s Monday 26 June.

Good morning. The week ahead…

Monday: Hajj begins 

Tuesday: Launch window opens for Virgin Galactic’s first commercial spaceflight

RCN strike ballot result expected

Wednesday: Kevin Spacey stands trial on a string of sexual assault charges

Second men’s Ashes test begins

Thursday: (and Friday) EU Leaders Summit 

Friday: The government’s attempt to block its own inquiry from accessing Boris Johnson’s unredacted WhatsApp messages is heard at the High Court

Saturday: London and Madrid Pride rallies



UK assumes presidency of the UN Security Council

“I don’t feel that I’m prepared at all for this, Ami. And it’s all getting a little bit above my station, sorry.”

Train wreck interview number 2 from Lib Dem candidate for Somerton and Frome Sarah Dyke for the Guardian politics podcast. Asked about deprivation in the area she said she’d drunk her coffee a bit too fast, before asking “what do you want to know?”

Enter stage left Ami (the aforementioned Lib Dem press officer) who suggests getting the candidate a glass of water before the interview is terminated. 

LISTEN HERE (12 minutes in)

Rare Shameless Plug…

I was asked to run a series of half day sessions on Pitching to Journalists last week. We gathered insights from a wide range of senior producers and print editors and there are some terrific tips. It works well for small or big groups, online or in-person. As you know the MMB is never about plugging stuff, but we put a lot of work into it and are proud of the result, so if you’d like more info give us a shout. 

(CNN’s Media Correspondent Oliver Darcy on the extraordinary events in Russia this weekend…)

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

I is for Indent:

There is no “right” length to an interview answer but it might be helpful to visualise your wording as if it was laid out on a page. A paragraph should embody a single thought so a few sentences is a pretty good baseline for an answer that allows you to get in to a bit of substance but is also digestible for the presenter and audience. Expand on some responses; be sharper with others. Variety is good. A para that last a whole page is never good – so edit yourself or you will be interrupted.

READ MORE

BBC Breakfast proudly unveils its new studio. Which looks strikingly similar to the old one…

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. 

Footnotes:

“Ich bin ein Berliner.” JFK made his ground-breaking speech in Berlin offering American solidarity to the citizens of West Germany on this day in 1963. 120,000 Berliners gathered to hear the President speak.

Highs of 23 degrees in London today and 20 in Newcastle.

And this week’s dog-pic-footnote…lazy sunny days

Back on Monday. Have a super week.



Team Inside Edge