Into the mind of The Editor

By Amit Mohile

Life in the day of an Editor

Being an Editor isn’t any easy. While some editors love arm chairs, many of them are hands on.
They are the first to arrive in the office, and the last to go.

The editor in any media house does more than editing

copies. On any given day, editors have to attend
meetings, answer email, make phone calls to various
stakeholders, put through money for checks, come up
new ideas; approve art work and page layouts.

The higher
an editor is
on the media chain, the more responsibilities he has.

Newsroom Challenges

The challenge, for all news organisations, is to take

control of the news agenda by increasing the amount
of original journalism.

More than sixty one

per cent of Editors &
Senior Editors spend
time doing things
which don’t bring him
much value.

Editors are constantly looking at

devising policies, investigating issues
and focusing on getting out stories
which will make them a news leader, hence meeting PR agencies and giving them time is last on
their mind.
 GBM MEDIA RELATIONS POLICY

The GBM media relations policy takes into account complexity of tasks an editor has go through.

 Editor conversations are highly encouraged with the Partner &

Managing partner.

 CA’s/Senior Consulting Associates can connect and participate
in pitches accompanied by your media expert in your region.
 Associates, Senior Associates & ALP’s may connect with beat
correspondent’s upto Assistant Editors after running their
pitches past TMC/TMRC.

PR PITCHES HORRIBLY GONE WRONG

PR agencies have always been damned for not understanding the

complexities of connecting with Editors. Having their names
pronounced wrongly, calling the editor and checking when is the story
going to appear is a strict No. No. But some people just don’t
improve…

Here are some incidents in the last few months that exhort you to
follow the GBM media relations policy seriously..

1) The Kushan Mitra Incident

Some PR folks Kushan “Hello..Am I talking to Cushion Mitra” This is what he had to say.

 He says “OK, my name is not pronounced 'Cushion' it is Kushan - say it now - Kuuuu-
Shaaan. Pronounce it wrong PR folks and I will hang up. Guaranteed”
 Also please don’t send mass mails or high resolution mails to him. A PR agency sent
six mb mail on Indian Idol and he was very upset for clogging his inbox.

2) The Priya Ramani Incident

Smart PR execs called Priya Ramani Editor Mint Lounge stating if interested, they could share some
“Exclusive” story angles with her.

 She says  Dear PR lady, if you send me an email saying "we can also initiate few exclusive
story angles with you" be prepared to face the consequences”

3) The Joji Phillip Thomas Incident

Joji Phillip Thomas Assistant Editor Economic Times wasn’t spared either

 “I sincerely wish PR executives call on your mobiles only when urgent, please SMS or mail
for the other things.”
 Got a call where PR executive asks, ‘got my release’? I say yes & hang-up, but 5 mins later,
next call – are you carrying our release?
 I reply saying that am yet to take a look at d release. Then 3rd call in another 5 mins: ‘have
to seen it?’ I say yes & hang-up
 10 mins later, the fourth call comes– ‘what do u think of the release?’ I explain it is k. ‘So it is
being carried?’ I don’t know what to Say

ENGAGING WITH EDITORS-JOURNALISTS

 Get the name & designation right.

 First SMS and then call.

 If you have to talk keep it very short. Most editors put in long
hours poring over stacks of manuscripts and they don’t like to
be disturbed

 Treat editors with respect even if you don’t agree with them.
They do the work because they love it, not because it’s making them a millionaire.

 Don’t call editors to argue on why you are right. Editors rarely change their mind. Instead
deal with their feedback with maturity. Find answers to feedback and revert on an email.

 Journalism is not art, which is difficult to understand. What’s important is to present your
pitch in an interesting way – but don’t waste time trying to fashion fancy sentences.

 Use simple language that tells the story as clearly and unambiguously as possible.

 Be logical in the way you order the facts.

  Make it easy for them to digest the information.

Follow the Six Honest Men Principle

“I have six honest serving men, (They taught me all I

knew); Their names are What and Why and When And
How and Where and Who.-‘ Ruyard Kipling’

Before you decide to call a senior editor or an even an

assistant editor run yourself through these six principles
and then make a pitch to the editor

 Who - are the people involved?, What - happened?, When - did it happen?
 Where - did it take place?, Why - did the event to take place (the cause)?, How - did it
happen?