people are news and news is people

 

That was the first thing I was taught in journalism school and probably, next to a smattering of shorthand and an ability to touch type, the only thing I remembered.

Its a simple maxim, always put people at the heart of any story you do. If you're writing about a gas pipeline - write not about the logistics of laying it but about the hapless householders whose back gardens are about to become a building site.

Even hacks on the dullest trade journal should look to put people at the heart of their stories - a tough ask if you work for Estates Gazette or Gravel Now.

I'm not a staff journalist any more, I've gone over to what my ex-colleagues call The Dark Side. I now help third sector clients gain coverage in regional, national and specialist media.

But the news is people and people are news maxim still holds true for me.

I spend a great deal of time with clients finding great human interest case studies to sell in to journalists. I want people who can vouch for the fact that their lives have been changed for the better by my clients.

I know some charity PRs are unhappy with what they call the Tyranny of the Case Study.

And I understand. It can be difficult to find that Libran single mother, with a mixed race child and a missing limb at 4.30pm on a Friday afternoon.

And isn't it great when you meet that deadline, only to find that there's been an government resignation/Big Brother eviction/inexplicable change of mind that makes your case study surplus to requirements?

It is easy to be cynical, but I've done work in the education sector and dug up some remarkable stories that would have your average features editor cartwheeling around the newsroom with joy.

There was the pensioner who used her degree to set up a sexual abuse survivors network, the ME sufferer who became a BBC weather presenter after studying environmental science and the former New Romantic pop star who journeyed into space thanks to his degree in Aeronautics.

I made that last one up, but you get the picture. You're always looking for the kind of stories you would want to read about.

Case studies are tough to get and take a little bit of managing and updating but the pay off in terms of great positive coverage is fantastic.

And in terms of media relations, it is the perfect deal. The journalist gets that human interest story of tears, heartache and triumph over adversity and you get that shameless plug for your otherwise rather worthy but dull event.

It's true, people are news and news is people.

Keep it simple.

Will