Most people have heard of the ‘five Ws’ – and honorary ‘H’ – that are the cornerstone of journalism, writes Lucy Stephens.
Dubbed by Rudyard Kipling as his “six honest serving men”, as trained journalists who are now using our skills in PR, we know to keep the ‘When? What? Who? Why? Where? and How?’ at the heart of our stories.
It’s the mantra that children are taught in primary school when learning about news writing. That’s for a very good reason. Working to this framework helps make a story connect with as wide an audience as possible.
The rule holds good whether you’re producing a story digitally, for social media, in a magazine, or on the radio or TV. Whatever the medium, the audience still needs to relate.
But here’s the trick: skilled writers know which ‘W’ to emphasise for maximum effect. They also know which to adjust to make a story click with different audiences. Seasoned hacks call this ‘re-nosing’. For any businesses who consider they have no story to tell, a good PR company will be able to tease out the best angles for a range of different audiences.
The Who
Stories about celebrities are a classic case of the ‘who’ of a story being its main point.
Lots of us are highly curious about the lives of the rich and famous. In celebrity tales of the tabloids, the ‘what’, ‘why’ or ‘where’ is hardly important. Interested in Taylor Swift? Who cares if she’s in London or LA – we want a glimpse of the real Taylor. We want to know how her life bears any tiny relation to our own. We want to drill down into the ‘who’.
The What
Stories of incredible charity fundraisers are a case of the ‘what’ of a story being the most important thing. In this case, someone doesn’t have to be a celebrity to do something remarkable. Your neighbour is planning to sail around the world for charity? In this case, we are interested in the ‘what’, the ‘why’ and the ‘how’. The ‘when’ can take a back seat – unless your neighbour is doing this feat next week, which dials up the immediacy factor somewhat.
The Where
But perhaps the most overlooked ‘W’ is the ‘where’. Most people don’t really consider their geographical location a useful factor in telling their story. If your business sells all over the UK, your story should be national, right?
Well, yes and no.
If all the media in this country was housed in a library – and a lot of it probably is, somewhere – the librarian has many things to consider when it comes to classification.
How is it best for them to arrange the thousands of titles, websites and other outlets that are telling the stories of business, charities, celebrities, restaurants, bars and every other enterprise in this country?
Top among these considerations would probably be location. Manchester has a range of papers, magazines and websites relating to that fine northern city. Likewise London, Birmingham, York, Scotland and Wales.
Of interest to all those media outlets will always be, first and foremost, the ‘where’.
As PRs we see this all the time. When pitching stories to media outlets, we’ll always be asked where the central characters are from. Ticking the right ‘where’ box enables a newspaper or digital media site to make space for the story. It’s the most important factor for their audience.
A current campaign we are engaged with at Penguin PR bears out this reality. We are very proud to be working on the story of couple Izak Lewis and Sophie Stonehouse, who are currently in the middle of a 273-mile bike ride up the UK. With a difference: Izak is doing the ride on a unicycle.
That’s the ‘what’ of this story.
But at its heart is the ‘why’. Izak’s father, Patrick, taught him to ride a unicycle. Patrick had been planning a long charity unicycle ride of his own, but sadly his mental health struggles overcame him and he took his own life before he could do it.
Ten years later, Izak is finishing his father’s journey, in aid of a charity that is specifically saving lives, reducing male suicide by delivering ‘tough talks’ in male-centric workplaces, encouraging men to talk and share their feelings. Notts-based Tough to Talk has worked with big names such as Balfour Beatty and Thames Valley Police and is having a real impact.
We worked with The Press Association to distribute this story, to try and help Izak and Sophie raise money for this charity with their efforts.
Their story has received widespread coverage.
When looking at where it has been used, we can see how important location, location, location has been.
The story was covered by Yorkshire Live. Izak is a barber originally from Yorkshire. It was covered by the Manchester Evening News. That’s where the couple live. BBC Radio Sussex interviewed Izak and Sophie as they began their ride in that county, which also happens to be where Sophie is originally from.
And because it’s a moving story, the Daily Mail has also covered it, in their ‘Real Life’ section.
As the couple move up the UK, we’ll use their location to try and boost their amazing ride as it reaches each area.
How does this relate to you, your story, your business, and your need for PR? Lots of people feel they don’t have a story to tell. But whoever you are, and whatever you’re doing, you’ll always have your ‘where’.
In other words, never forget your roots.