The relationship between a journalist and PR professional is synergy in its simplest form. As a young communications professional, I was drawn to the high-pressure, tell-all world of journalism. However, PR ultimately won my heart.
Before joining Pinstone, I was a magazine editor in a niche, B2B focused area of equine sport. This targeted industry had similarities to the agricultural sector, which attracted me to Pinstone. My skillset transitioned smoothly from one side of the marketing communications industry to the other.
Bringing editorial skills to Pinstone
In my former editorial role, I was the person at the end of the phone, accepting press releases and commissioning features. I understood how my publication worked, what I was looking for, what angles worked within my planned issue and how someone could get my attention.
Since joining Pinstone, I have brought my journalistic and editorial skills to the fore. I provide the team with training in media targeting, selling-in processes and interviewing techniques.
This training forms part of the Pinstone PDP, our personal career development programme. As part of Robin’s Pinstone Ladder blog, he spoke about the power of the PDP and how it drives our team to progress and improve not only our agency’s service, but also our individual skills through skill sharing, internal training and collaboration.
By leading internal training sessions, I hope I have helped those looking to progress up the Pinstone ladder, and at the same time champion their PDP individual goals, to locate their inner journalist and get to the heart of every story.
Jen’s top tips for preparing for an interviewing:
- Consider your output type and tailor content to suit
- Know your subject:
- Topic
- Person
- Know your purpose
- Prepare a tentative theme
- Prepare your questions
- Use a spider diagram
- Pose open ended questions
