PR coverage posts







Research can sometimes have a bad reputation in PR circles, but in our experience, radio in particular still has an appetite for a story based on numbers. Many of the most successful broadcast days we do are based around some sort of new research. But with so much competition for air-time, how can you make your research appeal to broadcasters?

The radio group will network its breakfast shows on Capital, Heart and Smooth by the end of 2019 and will close numerous regional stations completely. Hoping to rival the likes of BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2, Global say they’re creating the three largest commercial radio breakfast shows in the UK on Capital, Heart and Smooth with 4.8m, 3.7m and 2.7m weekly listeners. It comes after Ofcom made changes to its localness guide and announced the deregulation of commercial radio in October 2018.




By Kate Fallis, Broadcast PR Consultant
So, you’ve booked in your broadcast campaign and the launch day has finally arrived. Now it’s showtime and the pressure is on your spokesperson to weave in key messages and branding within the interviews, to keep you, or if you’re an agency, your client happy.

By Kate Fallis, Broadcast PR Consultant
Securing overseas coverage for clients is becoming much more prevalent and often the icing on the cake off the back of a successful UK campaign. Many clients have an EMEA and global brief too and selling in to international broadcasters is increasingly a requirement.

by Matt Napier, Broadcast Assistant
Much like comparing TV to radio, some stories simply aren’t made for everything. If you’ve got a story with a visual aspect then TV will, naturally, be more appropriate than radio. However, if your campaign is based on spreading information to the masses using spokespeople and statistics, then radio will be the way to go.

By Kate Fallis, Broadcast PR Consultant
We recently had the pleasure of hosting Jim Grice, Head of News and Current Affairs at London Live, at Shout! Communications for a ‘Small Talk’. As a regional and national media veteran, we knew Jim’s insights would be invaluable to us and our guests, so we’d like to share them with those of you who weren’t there.

By Keren Haynes, Co-Director
At Shout! Communications we don’t think broadcast PR IS separate from “mainstream” PR, and it has always amazed us that there are those in the industry who think it is anything other than an integral part of any campaign.


By Arthur Perkins, Broadcast PR Consultant
Case studies are an excellent way to attract a broadcaster’s attention; whether you’re pitching to TV, radio or online, journalists always appreciate this way of making a story more relevant to their audience.



by Matt Napier, Broadcast Assistant
Forward planning, the perfect spokesperson, timing, availability… so much more goes into a radio day than you’d think. Read on for some top tips on how to make your radio day a success.


By Arthur Perkins, Broadcast PR Consultant
You think you’ve got a strong story; the stats and spokespeople are lined up, you call the planning desk and they want you to send over your press release, you get a call back, they’re interested! Then, the producer calls and says, “something else has come up, we can’t do this anymore”. Cue despair.


By Kate Fallis, Broadcast PR Consultant
Securing broadcast coverage can be the cherry on top of a great campaign, bringing all elements together on television and radio to reach millions, so it’s no wonder our clients love it! If you’re reading this, then chances are you’re someone who has either had first-hand experience with, or is interested in broadcast PR.


by Matt Napier, Broadcast Assistant
There’s some amazing podcast content out there – much of it available for free. Dramas, documentaries, educational, comedy… whatever you’re in the mood for, it’s there. And do you know what? The amount of competition out there for listeners means it’s all pretty darned good.


By Keren Haynes, Co-Director
When you eventually get there the end result is often fantastic: your brand or key messages can reach millions of people on TV or radio. But the journey there can be a bumpy road. This blog looks at some of the obstacles – and possible ways round them – that can mitigate some of the stress and hurdles.


By Keren Haynes, Co-Director
The central focus of an hour long, prime time television programme, on the UK’s most watched channel: when BBC One’s “The Apprentice” filmed on P&O Cruises’ flagship Britannia, it resulted in an amazing piece of PR generated coverage.


by Catherine Bayfield, Co-Director
BBC News likes certainty but needs change…that was the premise of the latest Shout! Communications’ Big Talk, featuring a prestigious panel of speakers including BBC UK News Editor Richard Burgess, Editor of the Victoria Derbyshire Programme Louisa Compton and Editor of BBC News at 6pm and 10pm, Paul Royall.


By Keren Haynes, Co-Director
Is broadcast PR expensive? It sounds like it should be, given how influential and wide-reaching television and radio can be.


By Arthur Perkins, Broadcast PR Consultant
Shout! recently hosted ITV Senior News Editor Arti Lukha for another in our series of Small Talks. Arti has experienced it all as a journalist, working her way up to the role of senior news editor at ITV News, where she works in conjunction with the programme editors deciding what stories the broadcaster will cover in their new bulletins.


by Catherine Bayfield, Co-Director
It is often seen as the icing on the cake or an expensive add-on, but including broadcast PR in a new business proposal isn’t as challenging as you might think.


by Rory Green, Videographer
Using video in PR campaigns is nothing new, but with equipment coming down in price and up in quality, professional looking video is possible on a small budget. I believe that this is one reason that there has been a huge surge in the amount of branded video content that is currently populating many websites and social media channels.


By Keren Haynes, Co-Director
Obviously broadcasters would prefer to shoot their own pictures, but when they don’t have the resources to do that themselves B-roll can become one of the most valuable tools in your PR kit bag.


By Arthur Perkins, Broadcast PR Consultant
In the latest installment of our Shout! Communications Small Talks, on Thursday 7th December 2017 we were delighted to host Chiyo Robertson, Editor of BBC World News TV Business Programming.


by Alex Hesketh and Kate Fallis
It’s that time of the year when we all like to reminisce… here’s a run-down of our favourite broadcast campaigns of 2017.


by Alex Hesketh, Broadcast Executive
Shout! was delighted to host another Big Talk featuring three fantastic broadcast journalists; first up was Matt Williams, Head of Home News at ITV News.


by Rory Green – Videographer
Editing can make or break a video production. Get it right and the video will be successful, but get it wrong and all that production work could be wasted.


by Catherine Bayfield, Co-Director at Shout! Communications
What would PR practitioners do without research? Some would say research has had its day, but we know that newsrooms short of resources no longer have the budget to fill every bulletin with investigative or breaking news stories. Often they’re grateful for some engaging content.


by Arthur Perkins, Broadcast PR Consultant.
Some of the biggest names in tech, a stunning location and a spectacular event…this is what we found when Shout! went international to film video content for Founders Forum’s inaugural event in Italy.


Journalists are the gateway to your success and your clients’ happiness, so it’s important to know when you might be doing more harm than good.


We look at the power of the fully integrated campaign, give some top tips and examine how what might seem like a complicated, wide-scale operation might be easier than you think.


In our years of media training, we thought we’d encountered every possible type of broadcast spokesperson. That was until Anthony Scaramucci appeared on the BBC, interviewed by Emily Maitlis on Newsnight.


Alex Hesketh looks into the recent trend of ‘punking’ guests live on air, which has moved broadcast interviewing into the social media age.


Clients will always want national coverage, and while national radio is clearly a great get, there are also other ways to reach your target audience.


Rory Green looks at how pre-production and optimisation are key for producing the perfect PR podcast.


Kate Fallis looks at how your brand can land PR coverage on national broadcasters without generating a stand-alone news story yourselves.


Kate Fallis highlights some of the things to keep in mind for choosing the perfect spokesperson for your next broadcast PR campaign.


Director Keren Haynes looks at effective media training can help PRs and brands get the most out of interviews on TV, radio and online.


Kate Fallis reports on the first of our latest Big Talk speakers: Tim Cunningham, Producer of Channel 5’s The Wright Stuff.



If you want to reach millions of people across the UK, why not consider a radio day? A radio day is a great way to get your key messages across and make your brand stand out.




Kate Fallis writes on her experiences after jumping the fence from broadcast journalist to PR professional…


Having the right voice behind your next broadcast campaign is important – so let’s take a look at the pros and cons of using an athlete spokesperson.


Thinking of delaying your PR story until after the General Election? You might want to consider a few things before you pull the plug…


Shout! Communications Director Keren Haynes looks at the best plan of action for PRs when a big story story takes over the news.








Shout! Communications recently held a Small Talk with BBC Radio 2 sports presenter and reporter, Matt Williams. Matt presents the sport on the Sony Award-winning Simon Mayo Drivetime show on BBC Radio 2. The show regularly reaches around 6.5 million people every week.















By Rory Green
As Videographer for Shout! Communications, I am lucky enough to get to edit some great video content. In the world of PR, videos need to be visually interesting, but often they need to be edited quickly and in some cases only a few hours after an event! In this blog I will share a few of my favourite post-production techniques that I use to add some visual flair to a video package – but don’t take up too much edit time.

























Many of us in PR wonder what goes on at TV editorial meetings. Who attends, what is discussed, what angles there are and the million dollar question; how do editors decide on the stories they want to broadcast.




Shout’s list of personalities we think broadcasters will be all over in 2016, so keep them in mind. We’ve included a mixture of people to accommodate any PR budget!







By Catherine Bayfield
Believe it or not, podcasts first came about in the 1980’s when they were known as audio-blogging. But it wasn’t until 2004 – when playback devices like the I-pod were introduced, that ‘podcasts’ became popular.











You’ve managed to secure a brilliant celebrity spokesperson for your PR campaign, but what next? If you are struggling to think of how to get the best results here are a few of Shout!’s top tips.




Shout!’s latest blog discussed the reason why celebrity spokespeople may or may not work for you.



Shout!’s latest blog explains the best way to enhance your chances of gaining broadcast PR coverage when pitching your January health stories.


Broadcast PR advice from the Experts – Essential reading if you are planning on using case studies in your next campaign.




Learn from the mistakes that the Shout! broadcast experts have seen to ensure your next radio campaign maximises coverage.


Essential advice from broadcast experts – read to make sure your next radio day goes without a hitch


Expert broadcast PR advice on why getting coverage on community radio stations could boost your media relations campaign.



Our top tips on how to boost coverage for your media relations campaign.


Need help to news hijack? Top tips from broadcast journalists


An online PR video is only successful if garners a ton of views. Find out how to create an engaging video that will be seen by as wide an audience is possible.


Need help securing broadcast PR coverage? Get tips and advice from ex-journalists.



Avoid these common broadcast PR mistakes to ensure you maintain the integrity and reputation of your brand.


Surveys are a great way to get your PR story covered – but to get maximum broadcast PR coverage, ensure you’re asking the right questions.


The best media relations tip for securing coverage for your next PR story? Give broadcast journos everything they might need on a plate.