Media Beat

JAG Media's Venetia Sherson and Philippa Stevenson write about media relations issues.

Why we need journalists

When I entered my first newsroom, I was a few weeks short of 18. The Vietnam War had just begun, long-haired hippies were protesting in the streets, Ray Columbus was belting out Till We Kissed and there was no such thing as private radio and television. Newsrooms in those days were havens for rogues and rebels.
Click to read on »

Act local, think global when talking to reporters

When I was a young journalist the term "parish pump news" was part of newsroom lexicon. Quite literally, it referred to snippets of news passed on by villagers when they gathered to get their water at the parish pump. The news may have been about the local drunk, the parish priest or the fruits of a successful harvest. Gossip and scandal were part of the daily brew. But only of interest to local folk who knew the characters.
Click to read on »

How to put legs on a story

Hamilton is like an onion, a newcomer to the city once told me. "It's got layer upon layer of good things." Such praise brings tears to the eyes of the average Hamiltonian. We - in the Waikato as well as its biggest berg - are more used to cheap shots.
Click to read on »

How to put more legs on a story

Have I got a story for you! You've identified a good story within your business, school, community or sports group that would have "legs" in the media. If that story does, indeed, have legs (newsroom parlance for a story that can run and run) then, after the initial report, you can expect to be contacted by more media interested in running your story.
Click to read on »

Web a Window to the World

Websites of all descriptions - company, government, social networks, blogs, experts and ravers - have quickly become ready resources for journalists hunting down a story. What does your website say about you? Have you even got a website to say anything?
Click to read on »