Good Broadcast Delivered BBC Breakfast

Peter Ruddick, producer at BBC Breakfast, told a Manchester audience about how PR can and cannot work in broadcast news.

BBC Breakfast is undoubtedly one of the key targets for any PR targeting broadcast – but according to the outlet, many PRs only target the weekday slots – ignoring weekend opportunities. BBC Breakfast is open to pitches outside of Monday to Friday, which can be hugely beneficial to PR.

However, it is key that each story has some form of a peg. A story from an organisation without a peg could be seen simply as a plug – so it is key to understand what else is happening in the news agenda. BBC Breakfast has to have a justification for running the story over every other pitch – and major event – that happens.

In truth, survey stories can run on any day. As such, surveys need to stand out – they need to have a reason, and they need to be editorially balanced. If it sounds like it could come directly from the mouth of the Marketing Director rather than issues your customers/stakeholders or the nation as a whole are facing then it probably needs additional work.

Something new to that day or a new trend that is crucial, there is no such things as a new news story – we have covered all these stories before. But if there is a new way of covering it, such as a wry take in a survey or a new trend to discuss then that will work.

Think national – just because BBC Breakfast has a base in London and Salford it does not n these are the only areas it covers. Peter highlighted that the background of the show is not a specific location – and could be anywhere in the country for this reason. Stories need to reflect that too.

Brexit

Brexit has dominated the news agenda in recent years – having a knock-on effect on PR campaigns. PRs used to talk about the birth of a Royal Baby or announcement of a Royal Wedding as a major detractor from campaigns – but Brexit movements make producers of all outlets change scheduling to comment on developments.

For BBC Breakfast the major change has been around planning. They acknowledge that Brexit does not just affect PR planners – the outlet has often had to ‘rip up’ the running order and start all over again. Major stories and interviews will get side-lined for breaking news.

This is not something that is going to go away – regardless of where the United Kingdom stands on October 31st. The machinations and wrangling of either trade deals, legality of Parliament and future relationship with the EU will continue to dominate the agenda.

The audience acknowledged that in the last few years, it has been challenging to encourage organisations to speak out on Brexit. For BBC Breakfast, this has been less of a challenge – but they noted that some do feel hesitant to talk on the subject.

BBC Breakfast highlight that it would be remiss of the outlet to talk to a major business and not discuss about the subject and so it is something that organisations are going to have to engage with.

To help, BBC Breakfast highlighted that not every organisation has to have an opinion on Brexit. It may be that not every organisation is affected by the subject – and so saying either of these things is absolutely fine. Staying silent on the subject is not.

How BBC Breakfast Operates

For landing a story on the outlet, understanding how BBC Breakfast operates is key.

When it comes to planning – stories of interest are pencilled in, but the team will only decide on the running order between 1000 – 1100 the day before the story is planned for.

Peter revealed the ‘BBC Breakfast Wheel’ which is the way the outlet operates on an hourly basis during the show.

·      Between 0600 and 0915, BBC Breakfast views each hour as a wheel.

·      Between 0600 and 0610 is the news belt. This is pure breaking news that has happened between the ten o clock news the night before (sometimes earlier depending on the size of the story) and 0600.

·      0610 is usually an interview which relates to one of those breaking stories.

·      0615 is the weather – broadcast either on location or in London with Carol.

·      0620 is a feature item which relates to the news – it is worth noting that is not usually ‘fluffy’.

·      0630 is a recap of the breaking news.

·      0640 is an in-studio discussion on a general story.

·      0645 is a recap on the weather

·      0650 is another feature item.

·      The remainder is a business slot which rounds off the hour.

This pattern then repeats itself throughout the show – except for towards the end where lighter events take place – such as a celebrity and lifestyle interviews.

BBC Breakfast then talked about the major opportunities for PRs here – and highlighted that the key areas within the breakfast wheel is the ‘40-past slot’, anything just after the hour needs a bigger reason to run as it will need to relate to the news agenda. 20 past and 50 past slots are planned as much as a couple of weeks in advance – be prepared!

However, reactive news is everything to BBC Breakfast and can change the entire running order. Often interview times are cut shorter and sometimes, regrettably, interviews get cancelled with very short notice. On the flip side, a changing news agenda can mean that some guests can sometimes get longer slots than planned.

So, when you confirm an interview with BBC Breakfast – ensure you stay on top of the breaking news overnight!

Pitching & Tips

The morning meeting at BBC Breakfast takes place between 1000 and 1100. Due to shift patterns, the planning team arrive at 1000.

As a result, calling between 0900 and 1000, you are likely to speak to someone who is not involved in planning the show. BBC Breakfast reveals that calling first thing in the morning is, therefore, the worst time to try and get in touch with them – making forward planning key.

So how do we forward plan for BBC Breakfast?

There will be one person working on next day’s show, one person planning 2-3 days ahead. However, if it is a major story or a big interview, they will plan ahead.

However, PRs should not wait.

If you have a story for two weeks time – send it over. Let the outlet know all the details so it can go into the mix of planning. It almost certainly will not be pinned down until days before – but it will be recognised.

So how do you make your pitch stand out? Ensure you give as much information as possible. Peter highlighted that sharing video and images in the initial pitch is a huge benefit for him. Some journalists prefer you to follow up with this information after – but for Peter (and many TV outlets) understanding what the visuals look like is key.

Therefore, offering BRoll or footage is important. Similarly, what locations can you offer? What do they look like? All of these are questions that will make BBC Breakfast’s decision easier when coming to make a call on your pitch.

Once shared – leave it until a few days before and make contact again.

And that contact should really be email. It is likely that when you call you’ll catch BBC Breakfast in the middle of something else – and will be asked to email the information across. Similarly, do not call during the show hours – focus will be on output entirely.

According to Peter, personalised pitches are noticed more. ‘Hello, Peter’ will catch more attention than ‘Hello’ in a mailing list. However, make sure that the names are correct – many pitches come in for ‘Paul’.

Summary of top tips

·      Understand the way in which BBC Breakfast operates each hour – and pinpoint where you see your story working best.

·      Get in touch early on. Forward-planning and working together on a story is important, especially if another organisation is looking to get a cover a similar issue around the same time as it gives you the opportunity to speak to BBC Breakfast about yours.

·      Be flexible with spokespeople but also with the story. It's important to work together to shape the story.

·      Share as much information on footage and filming location as possible.

·      Understand that the news agenda will always take priority – at any stage during the pitch process.

·      Be prepared to comment on issues outside of your story.