Hello and welcome back to Media Spotlight: 3 Questions with…
This week we sit down with Stephanie Hunt who is a Senior Editor (APAC) at Storyful. Storyful is a unique platform that was founded by pioneering journalists to be the first social media newswire. It was created out of the need to break the news faster and utilise social content to add context to reporting.
Boasting a very diverse media background, Stephanie was also formerly a Supervising Producer at Weekend Sunrise and Program Editor at Al Jazeera English. She is also a Co-Creator and Executive Producer at Habari Productions.
Suffice to say Stephanie knows a thing or two about differing news mediums and how to cut through, so here’s what she had to share with us:
Please explain your role within the newsroom:
I lead my team of journalists to cover the biggest national and international news. Central to my role is knowing the news cycle inside and out and knowing what readers/viewers want to see.
What do you look for in a good story?
There are three key things I look for: First is a good news hook – is it timely to the current news cycle? Second is a unique and compelling angle or character at the centre of the story. And third is a great visual opportunity – whether it be for still photos or video/broadcast.
What advice do you have for small businesses who are pitching the media for the very first time?
Be authentic and embrace your story: Be proud of your history. Find your unique and compelling voice and be confident to tell your story.
- Think about the pictures/video opportunities you can add to the story.
- When you pitch to the media, keep the email short and punchy with all the relevant info. Be aware of the day’s news stories and look for a news hook which could help you. When you pitch, do your research and know what other stories the media outlet has published that month, or run in their TV bulletin that week etc. You don’t want to be pitching a story that ran last night.
- Have a few angles up your sleeve and be ready to pivot or tweak your story angle if needed. Good luck!
You can follow Stephanie on Instagram and Hari Productions on Instagram and Facebook.
And if you want to learn more about the world of PR and how best to engage the media, then check out The PR & Publicity Blueprint – our 6 week online PR course and media relations masterclass which is jam packed full of everything you need to know to become PR and pitching pro in no time.