In the last of four blogs, each one featuring a speaker from our Big Talk 2025 event, we get insights from Debbie Ramsay, Editor of 5 News. We had a panel of four senior broadcasters – alongside Debbie Ramsay there was Richard Burgess, Director of News Content at the BBC; Andrew Levy, Director of News and Current Affairs at ITV; and Jonathan Levy, Managing Director and Executive Editor at Sky News UK.
Debbie Ramsay joined 5 News in 2023 from Channel 4 News, where she was Commissioning Editor for News and Current Affairs. Under her tenure, viewership for 5 News grew by 4% in 2024. ITN, which produces 5 News, said this made it the best year for the programme since 2018.
The focus is on a more working-class audience than other broadcasters and are most interested in domestic news.
With such good results, it’s no surprise that Debbie started her talk by bigging up the show, acknowledging the privilege of editing a linear show with growing figures.
To grow their audience, 5 News are going back to basics. In fact, when Debbie first joined, she wanted to find out all about the people on the other side of the screen: Who are they? What do they like?
The 5 News audience has conservative views, being pro-Brexit and anti-immigration. Debbie explained that the challenge is to address viewers without patronising them or telling them they are wrong to hold those views.
Debbie aims to give audiences all sides to a story, allowing them to make up their own mind about it, and not passing judgement on the opinion they land on.
She was also full or praise for presenter Dan Walker, who joined from BBC Breakfast in 2022.
What sort of stories does 5 News like?
The programme focuses on domestic news, with a little bit of international and a balance between serious and lighter stories. Debbie explained that the audience who tune in at 5pm are light news consumers, so they want to make sure they hit that balance right.
Debbie admitted that there are challenges ahead. In their case, it’s about persuading the channel to really focus on digital – something which is not easy given that their linear output is doing well. 5 News is at its infancy in terms of digital and has a lot to learn from the likes of Sky, BBC, ITV and Channel 4 regarding growing its online audience.
Debbie concluded that TV news is not dead yet, but it needs to start thinking in terms of video as opposed to news as a programme as this format may not exist in the future.
If you’re looking to get your brand on the news, here at Shout! Communications we specialise in helping brands secure media coverage on the most reputable news outlets.
With our extensive industry experience and contacts across TV, radio, online news and podcasts, we make getting media attention easier than ever.
Our media training also ensures that you and your spokespeople make the very best out of any news opportunity.
Let Shout! Communications help you craft, pitch, and land the story that will put your brans in the spotlight.
Email Hello@shoutcommunications.co.uk or call 020 7240 7373.
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Television media relations is often considered to be the icing on the cake.
Clients love TV because of its massive audiences and influence.
As former broadcast journalists, securing opportunities for clients
on television is one of our greatest strengths.
SPOKESPEOPLE
Your spokesperson is crucial to the success of your television campaign and, in order to maximise coverage, it helps to have more than one. Broadcasters have a bigger appetite than ever for live interviews and PR generated stories are more likely to happen earlier in the day than later. So having multiple spokespeople means you can facilitate simultaneous interview requests. For example, once guests are fully welcomed back into studios, if you have interest from BBC Breakfast we would recommend having one spokesperson in London and another in Manchester. This means you’ll be able to accommodate both Breakfast and other national television opportunities.
Before committing to a spokesperson, it’s important to make sure they are happy to be as flexible as possible. Will they commit to live interviews as well as pre-recorded ones? This is an issue that can often come up, so it’s good to check beforehand.
Will they get up early and stay up late? As we’ve said, PR generated stories have a better chance of getting on air earlier on in the day, when there’s less competition for news stories – but if the story is strong it may last all day. As with anything, better to warn a spokesperson ahead of time.
Sometimes the perfect spokesperson does not work for the brand you’re promoting, but is a paid-for brand ambassador, sometimes known as a third party spokesperson. For more about how we can help source a celebrity or brand ambassador, click here.
CASE STUDIES
Case studies are a great aid in the quest to secure television coverage. They can make a TV PR campaign feel relevant to the audience and they’re often very useful “wallpaper” pictures. A research story, for example, may be difficult to illustrate but if you have a case study you can say: “This woman is one of the X thousand people diagnosed with this condition each year….”
TARGETED AUDIENCES
TV can also be a great way to reach a relatively targeted audience; for example, if you want to reach women, securing a slot on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, This Morning or Lorraine is the holy grail. Alternatively, if you want to reach industry professionals and board directors, perhaps business slots on BBC Breakfast, Newsnight or News Channel are the way to go.
CORPORATE PODCAST PRODUCTION - THE LIKELY TIMELINE
PREPARATION
This, in our view, is the most crucial part of the corporate podcast production process. That’s because this is when we work out what you are trying to achieve by producing a company podcast series.
Who is it aimed at? What sort of effect do you want your corporate podcasts to have on them? Is there a call to action? Any production, audio or video, creates an impression and the most important part of our role is ensuring your podcasts truly represent you, in the way you want to be seen and heard.
Presenters, interview guests, music styles, even the image and font on the podcast thumbnail all play a part in this. At the same time, a podcast series needs to engage so that listeners keep listening. There’s no point ticking all your corporate boxes if the content is as dull as ditch water!
PRE-PRODUCTION
Arguably this takes the longest – deciding on, contacting and liasing with possible interview guests.
It depends on the content of your podcast, but it is possible to record several episodes in one go. This is a cost-effective way of producing a lot of content in one go, but it can be a challenge, getting everyone to agree to the same date!
If your podcast is based on current affairs for example, this won’t work. But we do offer studio recording sessions in half day bites and do work flexibly. So, for instance, one or two interviews could take place on Zoom.
Going in with a planned schedule is a good way of making sure the session runs to time. This keeps studio and editing costs down. You may want us to script some of the introductions and make a note of key points that should be included in particular interviews. Really the running order is a framework on which to build, once you’re in the studio.
RECORDING
Let the fun begin! Having climbed over all the logistical hurdles you should have access to all your guests. We always record more than you need, just in case , and our producer is there to oversee the session. That means ensuring there is enough suitable content to achieve what you set out to do.
Our recording sessions are structured, so that no one starts to flag. You want contributors to sound energised and enthused – not weary from being in a studio for too long.
FAQs
Q Podcasts sound expensive, are they?
For what they can achieve and how long they stick around, really no. The biggest cost is time – for the pre-production, the recording and then the editing. Having a plan, developed in the preparation and pre-production stage, should help you stick to budget.
You don’t want one podcast, you want a series of podcasts and the most cost effective way of producing a series is to do it in bulk. As mentioned above, this takes some organisation, getting lots of people to a studio on a given day, but all is possible.
Outcome
Content should reflect a business’ core values and is likely to relate to the company’s products or services, but it should not be an advert. Every listener thinks their time is precious and in order to give up any of that time to listen to your podcast they need to be entertained.
The skill in podcast production is to combine key messages with engaging content. The commercial element of a podcast needs to be subtle; even the most loyal customer will stop listening if the podcast is one long sales pitch.
Experts in your field, case studies and celebrities if your budget stretches that far, can all make effective interviewees.
Filming in New York
Outcome
Succinct soundbites along with cinematic, scene-setting montages of the event and location make for some beautiful videos. Founders Forum used the videos to promote future events and create brand awareness.
Filming in New York
AVOID OVERLY COMMERCIAL CONTENT
Content should reflect a business’ core values and is likely to relate to the company’s products or services, but it should not be an advert. Every listener thinks their time is precious and in order to give up any of that time to listen to your podcast they need to be entertained.
The skill in podcast production is to combine key messages with engaging content. The commercial element of a podcast needs to be subtle; even the most loyal customer will stop listening if the podcast is one long sales pitch.
Experts in your field, case studies and celebrities if your budget stretches that far, can all make effective interviewees.
Outcome
Succinct soundbites along with cinematic, scene-setting montages of the event and location make for some beautiful videos. Founders Forum used the videos to promote future events and create brand awareness.
