Today’s social media platforms can reach the public directly in a way that wasn’t possible a decade ago. But the fact remains that if you want to influence people in the policy bubble, nothing beats a good write up in a major news outlet.
Last week, we brought together a packed room of Berlin-based think tanks to talk about how to leverage the news cycle with Claudia Wessling, Director Communications and Publications at MERICS, Anja Wehler-Schöck, International Editor at Tagesspiegel and Wiebke Ewering, Head of Communications at German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP).
For anyone that couldn’t join, we wanted to break down our main discussion points, starting with a few of Anja’s top tips, see the full Linkedin post here!
- Make sure you are timely – the news moves fast and journalists work under a lot of pressure. Ensure there is an occasion or a hook, such as COP or G7 Summits, to increase the chances significantly of your work getting picked up.
Top tip: With foreseeable events, approach the journalist two weeks ahead of time to allow for your pitch to be considered in the planning cycle.
- Aim to be proactive… but not too pushy! Make sure you offer your expertise, especially if you have an exciting study or report being launched so that it is on the journalist’s radar ahead of time.
- Work efficiently and send a brief pitch before jumping into the entire piece. Sharing an outline gives a journalist a chance to think about an approach and discuss it with you – it also saves you time in the long run!
Top tip: Press releases are not a significant source for journalists these days – they prefer articles written by external experts.
- When writing and article, make sure you are clear and get your point across so that the reader understands why you’re writing the text and what your argument is.
- Add some originality so that it is clear what sets your work apart from the rest.
Top tip: Don’t be afraid to take a stand. Journalists love controversy.
- Ensure the topic is relatable and that readers will understand why the topic is relevant to them.
Claudia agreed with all of the above points and added that at MERICS, the team has invested a lot of time in becoming better known to journalists – the team give receive around 200 media interview requests per quarter!
“If you want to land in the media, you need to be ahead of the curve. You need to do the interviews when the problem arises. And actually, that’s what we train our experts to do. We have a clear plan on how we prepare our experts for being ready to talk to the media. This is an important part of our mission as we want to inform the general public but it is also important for the funding aims to be visible externally.”
Another key discussion point at the event was focused on the role of social media platforms in engaging journalists. Currently, LinkedIn is preferred for professional use, but the future of X remains uncertain for many think tanks due to ethical concerns and political bias.
In conclusion, effective media engagement requires training, centralised communication, and strategic planning to enhance visibility and attract funding. Below is a round up of how Think Tanks can start utilising the media more effectively;
- Experts need to be trained for media engagement to inform the public and attract funders.
- Centralised media communication is essential to streamline processes and respond swiftly to media requests.
- Planning ahead for predictable events like the National People’s Congress is crucial for effective media engagement.
- Leveraging social media and regular publications helps in disseminating expert assessments.
- The success of media engagement can lead to increased funding and recognition as an expert institution so it is worth doing!
Thank you to everyone who joined us in Berlin – to keep updated on all our upcoming events, sign up to our newsletter here.