26 things you should know about the media in Southeast Asia

A-Z
Startup to Media
Tuesday, 19 August, 14

Who am I?
Elaine Huang
Previously, an intern with Inter Press Service, studied Mass
Communication at Ngee Ann Polytechnic spec. Journalism
Correspondent (Southeast Asia) at e27
Beats I’m interested in: dating, travel and fashion

A = Accuracy
How does a journalist fact-check their work?
- Calling up sources, web analytics tools, making sure claims are
substantiated
- Evolving as online publications prefer “fastest fingers first”;
however, that does not mean facts should not be double-checked

B = Beat
Area of coverage
- Geographical? e.g. Singapore, Malaysia, Southeast Asia,
Silicon Valley, India, Middle East etc
- Genre specific? e.g. Gaming, E-commerce, Government,
Wearables, Education, Travel, IPOs etc
Remember sources

C = Content
Media landscape
- Traditional: Newspapers, Magazines, Radio, Television
- New: Online articles, podcasts, videos, e-books
Ways of monetisation for new media:
- Paywall per article
- Advertising
- Subscription fee
- Content marketing
- Events

D = Deadlines
On average, optimistically:
- News (1 source, max 500 words): < 3 hours to complete*
- Feature (4 sources, max 2000 words): a week to complete
- Profile: (1 source, max 1000 words): < 2 days to complete
Average journalist in Southeast Asia (new media) = 2-3 stories a
day consisting of news, features and profiles.
* breaking news usually take about 30 minutes

E = Embargo
Purpose:
- From your perspective: ensure uniformity, to get maximum
exposure
- From the journo’s perspective: get in-depth insights, fact-check
claims
Breaking an embargo

F = Finding news
Where do journalists find news?
- Google News
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Company blogs/pressrooms
- Sources

G = Gift of the gab
Learn to give good quotes
- be clear, elicit an emotional response and grab attention
What’s a bad quote then?
- unclear, filled with jargon, factual data
“Our new app will help stray cats find a good home,” said ABC,
CEO, XYZ.com.
“It’s cold outside and these poor stray cats have no where to go.
We will help them. We will give them a home,” said ABC, CEO,
XYZ.com

H = Hierachy
How the organisation works
- Editor, Sub-editor, Journalist, Guest writers etc
News rooms

I = Inverted Pyramid

J = Journalist
Main difference between a journalist and a blogger
- Objectivity (which is sometimes overrated, according to some)

K = KISS
KISS = Keep It Simple, Stupid
Don’t use a long word if a short word will do the job
Don’t confuse your reader
Don’t confuse the journalist
Don’t confuse anyone

L = Language
Basic rules, courtesy of George Orwell:
1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which
you are used to seeing in print
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word
if you can think of an everyday English equivalent
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright
barbarous

M = Mistakes
Corrections:
- Only for factual errors
- Not for vain errors like “I said something the wrong way, but it
still makes sense, but I just want to make it sound like I’m more
educated!” Sorry, you had your chance.
Amplifications:
- When journalists failed to clarify the first time round or when
certain nuances were not conveyed through the first writeup

N = Noisy
Don’t shout in a noisy room. Whisper. Or use a loud hailer.
How do you grab a journalist’s attention?
- Fantastic email subject line
- Straight to the point pitch
- Build a relationship without having an agenda
- Share knowledge freely

O = Off The Record
What’s OTR?
- Not made as an official or attributable statement
Make sure you state it before you share anything, and make sure
that journalists will stand by your request to stay anonymous.
How can a journalist bypass this? Going to another source.

P = Press Conference
Purpose?
- To be fair to all publications, to ensure commitment, meet
journalists and build relationships, save time
Cost?
- Venue, manpower, food, materials (paper, files, bags etc)

Q = Questions
What if a journalist has questions?
- Follow up deadline
- Ask if answers were satisfactory
- Help by reinforcing main points
Facilitating a Q&A session between press and company?

R = Release
Elements of a sample press release:
- When? IMMEDIATE RELEASE/EMBARGO
- Where? Singapore -- or Penang, Malaysia --
- Start with most important points
- Provide a good quote
- Biography/background information
- Way of contacting public relations officers
- Include photos

S = Social Media
You can reach me at
- Facebook (Elaine Huang)
- Twitter (_osculate)
- LinkedIn (I seldom check it)
- Email (elaine@e27.co)

T= Tools
Tools used by a journalist:
- WordPress
- Hootsuite
- Buffer
- Slack
- Google News
- QuickVoice Recorder

U = U and I
U... more like YOU!
You = human, and human stories work really well
What’s a human story?

V = Valuable
What is valuable to a journalist? Exclusives? Time? Knowledge?
Put your feet in a journalist’s shoes

W =Write
Write your company blog
Media mentions are important
Off-tangent note: to be a writer, you just have to write. Guest
posting can help in terms of awareness, SEO...

X = X it out
Be your own editor, X-ing the parts that don’t make sense, don’t
add value etc
X also stands for X-factor, which might not be a single thing
Give something Xtra!

Y = YouTube
Nope, they’re not paying me but...
YouTube videos are great if you’re building a SEO presence
Especially for writers. But why?

Z = Zzzz
Don’t make people fall asleep with your words (unless you’re a
hypnotist/sleep therapist)
Relevance of beat matters a lot here. Why?

26 things you should know about the media in Southeast Asia

Recommandé

Recommandé

Contenu connexe

Dernier

Dernier (16)

En vedette

En vedette (20)

26 things you should know about the media in Southeast Asia