Years ago I was lucky enough to work with Ange Anderson from Nova 106.9. Many of you would know her as the bubbly, energetic and savvy breakfast newsreader who spends her mornings joking around with Ash, Kip and Lutsy, as well as delivering Brisbane’s breaking news.
This week I got to catch up with the blonde bombshell and ask her a few questions for our blog. She was more than happy to share her knowledge of the industry with us and explain how PR’s can make sure that pitch gets across the line!
How long have you worked as a journalist? I’ve been a radio journalist in the Brisbane and Sydney markets for the past seven years. I landed my first job on air in my final year of studying for a Bachelor of Communications at Griffith University on the Gold Coast.
How long have you worked as a journalist for Nova and what’s the best part about it? I’ve been part of the Nova family for almost three years. I spent the first year in our Sydney newsroom before securing a transfer home to Brisbane. I love the relaxed and supportive environment at Nova. We all work hard, but we’re encouraged to do that while still having fun – on and off air. It’s a real team effort – we support each other to do our absolute best every day to deliver relevant and entertaining content for our listeners.
What percentage of pitches delivered by PR’s would you consider a ‘good fit’ for the news? To be honest only around 20 per cent of media releases I receive are a ‘good fit’ for Nova’s breakfast news bulletins.
What kind of pitch works best for radio? Email is the best form of contact for me, preferably with a one page press release containing all the relevant information, along with a phone number for a direct contact to interview if necessary. Even if I am interested in the story I often simply don’t have the time to call for more information or speak to a publicist who then has to organise an interview. A brief phone call from a publicist who is following up to confirm if a release was received is fine, but in my experience, if the journo is interested in the story they would be already running it.
What is your PR pet hate? My pet peeve is PR professionals who ring me to pitch a “breaking news story” which I “must run” as “rival stations are onto it already”. Attempts to bully journos into running a story never works!
How do you think the relationship between journalists and PR’s is changing? I feel PR professionals and journalists understand and respect each other’s profession. Most PR consultants are interested in getting to know how a newsroom runs, which in turn helps them make better pitches.
What could PR’s do better when it comes to working with broadcast media? The best tip would be to be considerate of a journo’s work environment and their time. In radio we work to extremely tight deadlines where literally every second counts. Sending out an embargoed media release the afternoon before – with all details including contact for talent – is ideal. Providing the story is relevant to our listeners, you are more likely to get a run sending it the afternoon before as I’ll still be in the Nova newsroom prepping for the first bulletin the following day.
What sets NOVA apart from other morning programs? The Nova breakfast show aims to be relate-able and entertaining for our core under 40s demo. Listening to Ash, Kip and Luttsy is like hanging out with your mates. The boys are funny, cheeky and sometimes clueless! I laugh as much as our listeners at their antics.
How can PR’s appeal to this style? Nova news is about bringing our listeners up to date on the information they need to know. We like to think of it as the ‘water cooler chat’. Pitch stories which are relevant/ local and sometimes a bit quirky.
