Greg Simpson, founder of Press For Attention PR, shares his media relations ‘don’ts’. I write this with a tricorne perched jauntily upon my head. This stylish hat covers that of a PR consultant of some two decades, that of a published author on PR and that of a former business journalist. Hat collecting aside, I’ve learned a LOT over two decades in the PR trenches in terms of how to do things the right way. Especially when it comes to pitching the media. Funnily enough, that bit is not actually what PR is. Not solely anyway. That bit of PR is what we term ‘Media Relations’ and is part of the toolkit we use. You can add in events, awards, thought leadership, blogs, white papers, stunts, partnerships, CSR, the list goes on. However, for MOST of the people reading this who are not PR specialists, this is the bit you will want to master pretty pronto to begin making headway – Media Relations. Hint, that word ‘RELATIONS’ crops up a lot in PR. You need to start thinking win/win and ensuring that you are both contributing. Anyway, rather than a list of DOs, I thought, why not flag up some DON’Ts? To aid my memory (2 decades is a fair old whack you know), I have asked some reporters who I know well and who will remain anonymous, barring one, the reporter of this very parish, Tess Egginton. Let’s start with Tess then shall we? “Not providing photos with their stories” really makes life tricky for Tess. This means that she has to go off and find a pretty dull stock photo to illustrate the article. Of course, her other option is to simply move on. Tess is nice. Tess tries to help. I say, try to help Tess. If you want a reporter to cover your news, at least find the time to get a photo done. Even if it is your LinkedIn pic that’s been doing a lot of heavy lifting content wise for years. It puts a face to a name and makes it far more likely that someone will want to read the article. You have to remember that it is Tess’s job to educate, inform and entertain her audience. Make it as simple as possible for her to do that and you will reap the benefits. I actually have a story in my drafts as this is being typed where my client is helping another organisation but the other organisation will not provide a photo. They “don’t have any.” Well, get one! It’s £100, maybe £150 and the reward will be 10x over. Until the photo comes, we can’t run the story. Well, we could but guess what, it is less likely to gain coverage and if it does, it is likely that the third party will barely feature. That would be a shame but it would be down to them. There’s plenty more, in fact, this might be my second book! Try blind copying a list of reporters and see how effective that is. I mean, how to make it look like you REALLY care about that relationship! Or pitching a reporter that has never covered the angle you have. Not because there’s been an editorial oversight but because you are asking an insurance reporter to write about diet hacks. Or a lifestyle specialist to cover the latest ‘insight’ on pensions. How about calling a journalist to pitch them when their X profile specifically says not to? Do your research folks! Or keenly flagging a story about Cambridge to a reporter who covers Derby – I have seen this first hand many, many times. Not always Derby, obviously! The “did you get my email” chase is never very welcome. If it didn’t bounce back, then yes, they did. Now, they might not have seen it. So, a better chase-up would be to send a different photo or an extra quote to see if you can add value. Most annoying of all? I would say one that us PRs and journos both despair of…failing to deliver before the deadline or going AWOL. If you are working with a reporter on something, don’t ghost them. If you can’t do something, tell them. Don’t fail to show up on the first date! Media RELATIONS remember. *There are NO guarantees in PR! Some won’t care one little bit.   A former business journalist, Greg Simpson is the author of The Small Business Guide to PR and has been recognised as one of the UK’s top 5 PR consultants, having set up Press For Attention PR in 2008. He has worked for FTSE 100 firms, charities and start-ups and conducted press conferences with Sir Richard Branson and James Caan. His background ensures a deep understanding of every facet of a successful PR campaign – from a journalist’s, client’s, and consultant’s perspective.

Latest Regional Growth Tracker survey data from NatWest signalled only a slight upturn in business activity across the East Midlands private sector in November. The headline NatWest East Midlands Business Activity Index dropped to 50.1 in November, down from 50.4 at the start of the fourth quarter. The latest data indicated a broad stagnation in output across the region’s private sector, with the headline figure well below the series average. Growth in output was linked by firms to orders for specialised products and stockbuilding. Weighing on the expansion, however, was economic uncertainty which dampened customer demand, according to panellists. East Midlands firms indicated a further contraction in employment midway through the fourth quarter. Although companies noted that planned redundancies and cost management solutions drove the decline in workforce numbers, the pace of decrease was only fractional. Average cost burdens increased at a steeper rate during November. Moreover, the rate of inflation was the joint-fastest since July (equal with September). Despite subdued demand conditions, East Midlands businesses increased their selling prices again. Output charge inflation was reportedly driven by the pass-through of higher costs to customers. Lisa Phillips, Regional Managing Director, Midlands and East, Commercial Mid Markets, said: “East Midlands firms signalled sustained efforts to expand business activity in November, despite demand conditions weakening. “Efforts to support output and hopes of growth in activity in the coming year led to a much slower pace of decline in employment. Moreover, the pace of job shedding was the softest in 2024 so far. “Encouragingly, firms were able to raise their selling prices again, and at a solid pace. Although margins were squeezed by a faster uptick in costs while output charges increased at a softer rate, companies were able to partially pass-through higher input prices to customers.” Performance in relation to UK Of the 12 monitored UK regions and areas, only six signalled a Business Activity Index reading above 50.0 in November. Of these six, the East Midlands recorded the slowest upturn. Nevertheless, the UK average only indicated a marginal expansion in output at the national level. November data indicated a second successive monthly fall in new orders at East Midlands firms. The pace of decline quickened to the fastest since June, but was only marginal overall. Anecdotal evidence suggested that the decrease in new business was due to weaker domestic and foreign client demand, and economic uncertainty. The fall in new orders contrasted with the UK average, with only Wales and Northern Ireland recording sharper declines. Nonetheless, East Midlands companies continued to anticipate an increase in output over the coming year in November. Panellists hope for stronger demand conditions over the next 12 months, although the degree of confidence dipped to the lowest in 2024 to date. As has been the case since October 2022, East Midlands firms recorded a decrease in backlogs of work in November. The pace of decline quickened to the joint-fastest since September 2023 (alongside June 2024). That said, the rate of job shedding was the slowest in 11 months and weaker than the UK average. Meanwhile, the pace of input cost inflation was quicker than the UK average, as companies noted that greater input prices were due to higher material, wage and utility costs. The rise in selling prices was slower than the series average and the UK trend, however.

A company has been fined after it failed to manage the risk of legionella bacteria in the hot and cold water systems at HMP Lincoln. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation followed the death of an inmate. Amey Community Limited has now been fined £600,000 after pleading guilty to a health and safety offence. Graham Butterworth died on 5 December 2017 after contracting Legionnaires’ disease while serving a prison sentence at HMP Lincoln. Water samples from Mr Butterworth’s cell and nearby shower blocks tested positive for legionella days after the 71-year-old died. HSE guidance states any risks of exposure to legionella needs to be identified and managed. The investigation, carried out by HSE inspector Aaron Rashad, found Amey Community Limited, which provided facilities management services at HMP Lincoln, failed to act on a risk assessment carried out in 2016, failed to put in place a written scheme for preventing and controlling legionella risks, failed to ensure that appropriate water temperatures were maintained and failed to monitor water temperatures in the water system in October and November 2017. This allowed legionella bacteria to multiply rapidly. Amey Community Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £600,000 and ordered to pay £15,186.85 in costs at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court on 3 December 2024. HSE inspector Stacey Gamwell said: “There is a legal duty to keep workers and inmates safe in prisons. The occupants of HMP Lincoln had been put at risk of legionella bacteria and developing Legionnaires’ disease because of Amey Community Limited’s failures. “Companies such as Amey Community Limited need to ensure they have identified any risk of legionella and have suitable and sufficient arrangements in place for managing the risk and control measures they have implemented.” This HSE prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Andy Siddall and supported by HSE paralegal officer Helen Jacob.