Tomorrow's Business: Exert some energy to win this power struggle

Tomorrow's Business is a Roxhill and Signal Media newsletter edited by Simon English, Senior City Correspondent from the Evening Standard. It looks at what is going to drive the business news agenda tomorrow. 

When a nerdy issue like caps on energy prices goes mainstream, newsrooms are disrupted. The balance of power shifts. It stops being a business story which the business editor can control and becomes a somewhat awkward internal struggle

The politics desk just want the row to be as loud and long-lasting as possible. The consumer desk wants to bash big energy companies for ripping off readers. And the biz desk, the one most likely to have some sympathy with the energy giants, finds itself on the back foot.

Suddenly the "expert" reporter, the one who has been writing about energy for decades, either gets sidelined or is found wanting. He has to be able to explain very complicated things to an editor suddenly interested in an issue for the first time in very straightforward ways, often in front of everyone. If he can't, he looks foolish. The pressure is considerable. Trust me, I've been there.

The flak's role in these rows is to start at the beginning. Explain the nuances simply. Remember where the consumer and political editors are coming from. You can fight. But only on their terms. If the May price cap is actually going to make energy bills higher, demonstrate your case, in terms clever children could understand. That's what editors are, more or less.

The rest of the daily blog identifies questions business desks will be discussing tomorrow as well as his press release of the day and other snippets of information to help the PR industry.

Do sign up here to receive it daily: https://www.tomorrowsbusiness.co/sign-up/roxhill/