Good Broadcast Delivered Channel 5 News

 We sure did.

Last night, the PR and Comms community of the North came together to hear what work - and what doesn't - in the world of broadcast.

We've recapped the key findings from the event below.

465. 

This was the number of press releases that George Bleakley, Planning Editor at Channel 5 News, announced he had deleted just that day when he opened our event in Manchester last night. 465 press releases that George explained were irrelevant to 5 News either because they were offering guests for the weekend (when 5 News do not broadcast), or with subject matters and guests which were not relevant to their audience at all. The crux of the issue in all these examples being a lack of understanding and knowledge of 5 News, which George was able to remedy with a detailed insight into what sets 5 News apart from the likes of ITV and the BBC and how brands can work with them to create meaningful content for their audiences.

Key Insights 

Getting to know your audience

5 News's audience is at the heart of what they do; their audience drives what stories they cover and how they tell their stories. In contrast to other news outlets, 5 News's audience resides outside of London in the North West, North East, the Midlands and Yorkshire & Humberside with 68 per cent of their viewers being women. They have predominantly a CDE audience who are very mixed in their political opinions and stance on Brexit. 5 News can also boast that the majority of their 5,000,000 weekly audience as exclusively theirs as many of their viewers only get their news from Channel 5, whether that's online or on TV. This means that exclusivity on a story is not necessarily important to them as it's unlikely that their audience will have seen it elsewhere. Despite their audience typically aged 35+, 5 News have recently started to see a spike in young people aged 15-30 tuning into their 5pm news programme, and as such are conscious of finding ways to attract this younger audience through the stories cover, which should be a key consideration point for PRs. 

People-led stories 

Given their audience, George went on to explain how 5 News's content is driven by 'people-led' stories and hearing from real, everyday people as opposed to experts and politicians. Therefore the first question he asks himself when he receives a press release is: how is this relevant to our audience? As a domestic-focused news programme, human interest stories and news that will effect their listeners in the UK are key. 5 News rarely report on a story from abroad as 9 times out of 10 it will not affect their audience, so it is always worth PRs giving this consideration when planning activity. 

George was also able to give us a handy heads-up on subject matters 5 News are interested in receiving stories on in 2019 which include: plastics, climate change, poverty, health, universal credit and people's attitudes towards current issues that affect those families who define themselves as 'just about managing'. Equally quirky and wacky stories or stories which have an uplifting message can also be a good relief from Brexit. 

The dreaded B Word...

With Brexit dominating the news agenda and likely to do so for the foreseeable future, one of our questions to George was how 5 News cover Brexit and what opportunities there are for brands. 

The first rule that 5 News have is to never report from Westminster. When the House of Commons vote for Teresa May's Brexit agreement next Tuesday, we will see the BBC's Political Editor Laura Kuenssburg reporting from Westminster and most likely see Sky News stationing their programmes outside the House of Commons, yet 5 News will be in Birmingham, speaking to local people and businesses to find out how the outcome of the vote is crucial to them and what it will affect. There is an opportunity here for PRs who work with or for businesses in the Midlands and the North of England who want to talk about how they are affected by the Brexit vote; how it is crucial for their business and their workers. With many large organisations wanting to keep the subject of Brexit at arms length, there is an opportunity for SMEs to offer their opinion and voices in the discussion. 

Three most important questions from PRs

What makes a good story?

The most important part of the story is the headline. George said he will read the full press release if the headline grabs his attention. Relevance to audience, case studies, and a clear reason as to why the brand or organisations is doing it are also important factors. If it's a topic covered on an annual basis such as Dry January or Stoptober, finding a new angle or way to cover that peg is crucial. Also, TV being a visual medium, pictures are very important to tell the story. Obvious a point as this is, George says this often gets forgotten in the many emails he reads or the 100 phone calls he receives each day from PRs. 

One tip from George is if you don't have all the elements of the package, it's worth getting in touch offering the assets you do have and asking the question of what he needs to get the message across to 5's audience. Similarly if you have the filming opportunity but no story it's worth getting in touch as often the hardest job for broadcasters is finding people and getting filming opps, so if you have these assets, that's a bonus. 

What makes a good spokesperson?

No jargon. Whatsoever. 5 News won't put on an expert who uses language that their audience (and they themselves) won't understand, but someone who has something useful to say and who their viewers can relate to. Third party spokespeople are good, but having a celebrity that isn't relevant to the story at all is useless. 

At 5 News they love conflicting views, particularity for their 6.30pm discussion programme which George advised is worth considering when choosing your spokespeople for the story. 

Survey-based stories; yay or nay?

Yay, but for the right reasons and which makes sense when linked with the brand. The first question George will always ask a PR is why the brand has chosen to do the research. A good survey-based story is one which has explored the right subject matter for their audience, being able to identify straight away who it affects, and using a credible research agency helps to put weight behind it. 

Tip: minimum of 1,000 respondents and making sure the statistics quoted are accurate as the broadcaster will always check against the raw data. 

Summary of top tips from George:

· Build a relationship with a broadcaster is massively beneficial. George himself has a folder set up specifically for those PRs that he has build a relationship with and checks this folder first before any other emails from PRs, and will offer feedback on if it is not right for them. (So it's worth getting yourself into that folder)

· 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 broadcasters about yours. 

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

· Get to know the programme and the kind of content 5 News are interested in.

· Be proactive. Asking 5 News what they need for the story will boost chances of coverage.

· Email first before 9am then call before 12pm. No point contacting after this as the team will be well into planning for that evening's programmes.