The Inner Circle Round Up: Media News You Can Use September 2020

By Dee Donavanik

Goodbye, summer and hello fall! We continue to deal with a constant breaking news cycle, and despite some media shutdowns, we continue to find more and more outlets - and more opportunities for communicators to stay informed (and if they’re lucky maybe even secure a media placement or two for their clients).  

This September, another heavy-hitter joins the podcast game, a celebrity joins daytime television, a digital platform continues their rapid expansion, and a media outlet attempts to report on the news without any bias. Have you come across any interesting new outlets? We’d love to hear all about them on Twitter at @ScottCircle!

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You and Me Both: HRC Joins the Podcast Game

We’re now just weeks out from the election, and there’s no one better from whom to get insight on the process than someone went through it herself. Hillary Clinton is throwing her hat into the podcast ring with a 24 episode series that will cover everything from politics to friendship. Per HRC, “I’m excited to bring these eye-opening, powerful, sometimes hilarious conversations to the forefront and open up new avenues of discussion with some of the people I find most fascinating.”

The Inner Circle Take: It looks like Clinton has lined up a diverse roster of guests ranging from feminist icon Gloria Steinmen to the Fab Five’s Tan France. Don’t expect to be pitching the show your guest ideas any time soon, but definitely pay attention to the conversations that are taking place to see if there’s an issue that may be relevant to the things you’re working on. We know HRC knows how to make news, and her social media game has been especially strong lately. 

NowThis Earth: Covering the Changing Planet

Last month, we mentioned NowThis Kids, and the platform is at it again, continuing its expansion with yet another new channel. NowThis Earth is “dedicated to daily news coverage of climate, sustainability, biodiversity, species extinction and environmental justice. Content will be distributed across their vertical platforms including YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. 

The Inner Circle Take: The climate crisis is one of the most important issues of our time. If you have clients working on environmental or sustainability issues, consider approaching the channel with some visually engaging content.  There’s an opportunity to reach a huge audience here, as NowThis has reported that “audiences are five times more likely to engage with sustainability coverage than any other topic.”

A New Role For Drew: Talk Show Host

Drew Barrymore has recently debuted a new talk show on CBS, appropriately named “The Drew Barrymore Show.” It bills itself as “optimism TV, bringing information, inspiration and entertainment to the daytime audience.” The show will feature celebrity interviews, lifestyle segments and more.

The Inner Circle Take: The talk show will cover all the hot celebrity topics, but may have some opportunities for your clients. Barrymore frequently highlights products and items she uses in “Drew’s Picks,” features a Cookbook Club, and even has opportunities to feature everyday heroes (for example, with their Good Dad Program). 

NewsNation: Opinion-Free News?

Can opinion-free news truly exist? WGN America believes it can, and has launched NewsNation, “a nightly three-hour national prime time newscast that promises a neutral, opinion-free presentation of the day’s events.” The show has dedicated producers, media consultants, and academics who will evaluate each story and the language used for any bias.

The Inner Circle Take: If you turn on the television, it’s clear we are living in polarizing times. But there’s also a reason why certain cable news networks get such high ratings: most people want to hear opinions that align with their own views. As professional communicators, it’s important to see things from various perspectives and consume different channels of information. An opinion-free media outlet may be something great to add to your rotation. Time will tell if there’s appetite for such programming from the general public!

Why Now Is NOT the Time to Cut Back on Communications

By Daniella Burgos

During a pandemic, so much of the news cycle is focused on what’s “breaking,” and many organizations will find it difficult to break through the noise and get traction in traditional media. As a result, some might think that slowing down communications efforts during this time is the way to go.

But communications goes beyond media coverage, and this time of uncertainty is when your stakeholders need to hear from you most

Now is the time to evaluate how you are communicating with your stakeholders. Keeping up engagement helps solidify your relationship with supporters and allows you to be creative with your resources and messaging. Use this time to boost communication frequency and brainstorm different types of strategies that your organization can do to maintain engagement. Make sure you are reaching out to supporters on a regular basis, using the tools at your disposal: email newsletters, social media, and even sharing original content.

When dealing with uncertainty it is important to open the lines of communication and focus on building stronger foundations and creatively engaging with others. When evaluating your communications efforts, keep these strategies in mind:

Focus on empathy

This is also a great time to nurture some of your relationships with donors, supporters and don’t forget your dedicated staff and volunteers. Use this time to send more personal messages to supporters via email. Consider making phone calls, or recording a video or audio message and share it via Facebook or Instagram. Showing people that you care, while demonstrating what your organization can accomplish during hard times will help establish a more authentic relationship.

Get creative

Optimizing the way you communicate within your resources is important, so now is the time to experiment and try things that were on the back burner! Figure out which conversations you would like to be part of, and test out new evergreen content and hashtags on social media. Do a deep dive in your digital analytics to figure out what content is working and what is not on your website. Create fresh infographics or graphics for social media and messaging materials.

Make plans

Feeling connected is a critical component when building your relationships and making plans can help! Whether your activity is virtual or socially distant make sure your supporters know you are being active. Be active in conversations—plan to host a virtual meeting or panel discussion. Be active in the community—invite others to help your organization service your community safely. Create campaigns and content that have a specific end goal and purpose, tracking the progress along the way.

Stay relevant

Don’t forget, there is a fine line between boosting your communication and over communication.  Make sure that there’s a good reason for why you are communicating to your stakeholders—the information you share needs to be important, timely, and relevant to today.

[This post originally appeared on Agility PR Solutions.]

The Inner Circle Round Up: Media News You Can Use July 2020

By Dee Donavanik

As we come to the end of July, we’re now deep into summer.  While many “traditional” media outlets continue to be economically impacted as a result of Covid, we’re seeing more and more “nontraditional” opportunities. We’ve found everything from some high-profile personalities launching new initiatives (maybe it has something to do with all of the free time they suddenly have on their hands) to former journalists banding together to create something new!  

Check out these “new to us” resources, and let us know if there’s any media opportunities you’re excited about -- let us know over on Twitter at @ScottCircle!

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New Media Opportunities 

Oprah: The Queen of Media Reinvents Herself Again

There are few influencers out there who have had as much influence on the culture than Oprah Winfrey (from a feud with the entire beef industry to launching the biggest best-selling authors). While recently announcing that her monthly O Magazine is pivoting to a digital only format, she also announced a new show The Oprah Conversation that will launch on Apple TV+ in which she will “lead timely and intimate discussions with today’s foremost newsmakers, thought leaders, and masters of their craft.”  First up: Ibram X. Kendi, bestselling author of How to Be Anti-Racist.

The Inner Circle Take: I cannot count the number of times over the course of my career a client has asked me how they can get featured by Oprah, and you can be sure many of your clients will be adding this new outlet to their wishlist.  No one does Oprah like Oprah, and everyone in PR knows that a mention or feature from her is like the holy grail of publicity.  If you’re working with a high-profile thought leader who can contribute to a meaningful dialogue about current events, reach out to her producers and cross your fingers!

More Obama: Michelle Joins Spotify

Speaking of heavy hitters, Michelle Obama announced the launch of a new project with Spotify, the aptly named Michelle Obama Podcast. According to the first lady herself, in the first season, she’ll be speaking to those closest to her, exploring “the relationships that make us who we are. the challenges and joys of being a challenge of being a spouse, the friendships that help us through the toughest times” and much more. She hopes to cover issues that “we’re all dealing with no matter what’s going on.”  Her first guest?  Some guy named Barack (think his team had to pitch him?).

The Inner Circle Take: Unless you’re working with someone who is a part of Michelle Obama’s inner circle, it may be difficult to land a guest spot (but we’ll keep our ears open for updates). We do know that her words can have incredible impact (and often go viral), so pay attention to the themes and conversations that take place -- it may be something you can leverage when crafting your next pitch.

Deadspin Alumni: Staff Rebellion Leads to New Site

One of the biggest media stories of 2019 was the mass exodus of the Deadspin staff, who all resigned in protest after disputes with their bosses. Now, according to the New York Times “18 of the roughly 20 who quit last year - have reunited to start a digital media company, Defector Media, that they will own and operate themselves.” The initiative includes The Distraction, a new indie sports podcast and a soon to be launched subscription-based sports blog website. 

The Inner Circle Take: If media organizations are not going to adapt, journalists are going to take things into their own hands. This is a good reminder to always maintain relationships with friendly journos with whom you’ve established a relationship, as you never know where they’ll end up. In this case if you work on sports-related issues, then you might have an early in to this newest outlet. 

Alert D.C. Locals: New Digital Mag Highlights Creatives

We always want to show some love to our local media outlets here in the District. Digital magazine Summerhouse has recently launched. While the city might be best known for politics, this outlet will “celebrate D.C.’s distinctive DIY culture through independent, magazine-style journalism.”

The Inner Circle Take: What a great way for the local community to uplift its neighbors! If you know a creative who works in art, music, fashion, comedy or even runs a small independent business, consider reaching out to this outlet with some visual highlights of what makes them so unique. 

Circle Up: July 2020 Edition

By Daniella Burgos

In June we launched Circle Up, a collection of tips, games and activities to help teams stay connected and motivated while they work from home.

Since then we’ve been reflecting on the ways that Scott Circle Communications can stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement through our work every day. In the spirit of striving to live our core values of equity and justice, July’s Circle Up includes resources we’ve found helpful in educating ourselves about how to be actively anti-racist.

We hope it helps SCC’s purpose-driven clients, partners and friends to Circle Up with us right now. Make sure you sign up for our emails here if you want to be first to get next month’s Circle Up. As always, we invite you to share your ideas for adapting and growing company culture, even during difficult times like this. Join the conversation on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook

The Inner Circle Round Up: Media News You Can Use May 2020

By Elizabeth Harmon

Welcome to the May Edition of the Inner Circle Round Up. Since the pandemic began, we’ve noticed a decline in new media opportunities. This comes as no surprise as new outlets continue to face layoffs and changes. We’re still here to provide you news you can use in your day-to-day PR activities, so this month, we’re sharing some resources for PR pros during coronavirus and a few media opportunities to look forward to. 

Follow us on Twitter and share any opportunities you came across this month at @ScottCircle.

PR Resources You Can Use  

• How to correctly reference all the new pandemic lingo from AP Stylebook

• Best practices for pitching media during the COVID-19 crisis from Cision’s 2020 State of the Media Report

• How Companies Are Engaging Employees During COVID-19 from Institute for PR

• How to communicate during unprecedented times from Cision

• Who’s covering coronavirus from Agility PR Solutions 

• How to keep your culture thriving and your team morale up with CircleUp (SCC Plug!)

New Media Opportunities 

The New York Times: Tech podcast to launch this Fall

New York Times is launching a new tech podcast hosted by “Recode Decode’s” Kara Swisher. 

Known as “Silicon Valley’s most feared journalist,” she will bring her sharp interview skills and continue to hold major figures accountable. According to NYT, she will interview a wider range of individuals from political leaders to pioneers in science and culture.

The Inner Circle Take: We’re looking forward to more illuminating interviews with an expanded roster of interviewees from Kara Swisher. While many of the guests seem to be high profile, if the news cycle works in your favor, maybe your organization’s leader could speak to a timely issue on the new podcast. 

McClatchy: New Text to Audio feature

McClatchy is now offering a text to audio feature, following the trend of increased digital audio consumption. Its 30 news outlets now instantly offer audio versions of stories through AI and machine learning. According to MediaPost, in a soft launch with two news outlets, user engagement spiked. 

The Inner Circle Take: Is audio everything? Many news outlets are expanding their audio initiatives, opening up their stories to a whole new audience and keeping their current audience more engaged. For PR pros, audio means more people listening to their cause, their leader or new data. 

TIME: Newsletter Interview Series

TIME has rolled out a new newsletter series, The Leadership Brief, which will focus on business and technology. The weekly newsletter will feature leaders from Peleton, Accenture, Microsoft and more. Noting unprecedented times, TIME deputy editor Eben Shapiro said “many businesses are filling a leadership void vacated by the government. That is a really important change we believe we need to cover and explain to our audience.”

The Inner Circle Take: Has your organization stepped up to meet the new needs created by the pandemic? Is your leader taking an innovative approach to leadership during this unprecedented time? Maybe TIME’s new newsletter will be an opportunity for you.

Circle Up: June 2020 Edition

If you’ve been following Scott Circle Communications on social media (which you can do here, here, and here), you’ve most likely seen some of our team’s efforts to add a little levity to our new remote work reality. While playing WFH Bingo, meme-ing with the team and sharing cooking tips,  it occurred to us that we were creating a model for how company culture can adapt – and even thrive – under these most challenging circumstances. 

Since our team mantra has always been “how can we be helpful?”, we figured, what better way could we show leadership and be creative in a way that inspires others than to share our ideas for keeping connected and motivated! Each month, we’ll invite you and your colleagues to Circle Up with us, sharing activities and resources we hope will help add some brightness to an uncertain time. Things to get you moving, tapping into different parts of your brain, and creating space for conversations with the people you’re Zoom-ing with every day. 

If you want to be first to get next month’s edition of Circle Up, make sure you sign up for our emails here. And don’t forget to share your ideas with us on social media – we just might feature you and your team!

What I Wish I Knew About A Career in Communications

By Dani Townsend

Graduation marks the successful completion of studies. Receiving one’s diploma is akin to being initiated into the club of adulthood. After years of exams, papers and projects, most graduates feel as if they know everything necessary to enter the workforce. However, the transition from education to career can bring the fear of the unknown. At Scott Circle Communications, we discussed what we wished we knew when entering the workforce – specifically, what we wish we knew before beginning our careers in communications and public relations. Here are some tips our team has to share:

Laura Gross: Follow your passion. 

When you are doing PR, you are living and breathing what you are doing all the time and others must see your passion for the work too. In order to be successful, it helps to be “all in” on what you are working on. If you love clothes, maybe fashion PR is for you. If cooking is something you love, working to promote a restaurant or a food brand might be ideal for you. Of course, there will be plenty of times you will need to work on something that is just a “meh” project or something you can’t 100% get behind – after all, no job is going to be perfect. 

Kellie Murphy: Walk in other people’s shoes. 

A range of experiences in different communications environments gives you a broader perspective that can make you a better counselor and client. Having worked both in-house and at agencies during my career, I feel like I am able to see things from my client or consultant’s point of view, depending on where I’m sitting. My experience as a consultant made me a better client because I had an understanding of the process from their side of the table and was able to articulate my goals and needs more clearly and keep my expectations realistic. Having hired and managed consultants in the past makes me sensitive to the internal pressures and demands that my clients face, which allows me to anticipate their needs and questions and set them up for success.   

Dee Donavanik: Consume information – and lots of it! 

The more you read different types of media, the more media knowledge you have when it comes time to try and get a client placed somewhere. You’ll already know the format of articles, or the topics that interest a reporter... so when you reach out to them, you know that what you’re offering is on point and you’re not wasting your time. A reporter/producer can tell if you haven’t done your homework or bothered to look at their previous work!

Daniella Burgos: Be flexible. 

In communications and PR, flexibility is critical, and you must be able to pivot at a moment’s notice because clients can change their plans or specific resources might not be available to complete certain tasks. You need to have the ability to handle whatever comes your way, expect the unexpected, and keep coming up with different solutions to a problem. 

Lauren Farber: Tend to your creativity.

When your work challenges you to write from different points of view, or to stay ahead of news in a demanding industry or subject area, it’s easy to feel completely creatively wrung out. You’ll need to summon your inner resources to push through, and that means carving out space for thinking about or doing something other than the problem you’re trying to solve. No one is an infinite fountain of good ideas. You need to work your other muscles to be a stronger creative thinker.

Elizabeth Harmon:  Get ready to research.

Research is a driving force of so many aspects of PR and communications. From media relations to messaging to new business, having strong research skills will help you grow in your career. You may research supporting evidence for your media pitch and create the perfect media list or look into new ideas for a new business brainstorm. Having an understanding of research processes to better understand your audience or messaging tactics is also something you want to keep on your radar.

Matheson Sharp: Everyone is learning, all the time! 

There are webinars, workshops, tutorials, podcasts, books, magazines...name the medium and there is a way to learn about communications and PR. Understanding that the industry is constantly evolving, and trends and tastes are changing, is critical to staying in touch and keeping up with the times. It is never too late to develop a new skill or polish an old one, and by keeping an eye out for new opportunities you will be prepared for what comes next. 

Dani Townsend: Be open! 

Be open to learning new things, to learning new ways of doing things. And most importantly, be open to asking questions and be open to asking for help and suggestions. Don’t take for granted what others can contribute to your growth. It takes a village. And that applies to all facets of professional development.

No matter the course graduates take after walking across that stage, they should feel proud to have reached this milestone. Even if you are not interested in communications, certain tips ring true across all fields: tend to your passions, nurture your creativity and never stop learning. You’ll go far.