Tag: Journalism

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What kind of journalist were you?

Evening post - Airport staff set for high life with TV fame featuring Abby Mangold

Jess and I are often asked this.

People’s interest veers between fascination and horror. I am hugely proud of these roots and the lessons I earned, such as…

• People love being asked about themselves. Thoughtfully chosen, well-timed questions allow people to share something about themselves, cracking open a door to their world.
And with the privilege of being invited in…

• it pays to listen closely. The tone of voice, the pace at which they speak. These are as important to what someone is saying as the words they use.

• And with that always ask the obvious – who, what, when, where, why, how – sometimes twice to be sure you have truly understood.

Every journalism job added to the skills I use in crisis communications and media training now.

And I was pretty chuffed to make it into the papers myself once while filming for a BBC Airport special from Edinburgh Festival!

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What I learned from Anne Robinson…

Anne Robinson

I worked with Annie Robinson from the late 90s, initially as a researcher at BBC Watchdog.

What you see with Annie, is what you get in real life. She is tough and a class act. She knows what she wants and what she doesn’t want and it’s that approach which brought her success, originally on Fleet Street (at the time a heavily male dominated world) and latterly on BBC TV.

She’s well known for her sharp wit on The Weakest Link, turning every contestant to jelly but that was nothing compared to her legendary performances on BBC Watchdog.

In every interview, she manifested the ‘killer opening question’, and I learned so much from those on camera grillings. Particularly since I sat in the chair opposite her during programme dress rehearsals, assuming the role of the company spokesperson.

During live transmission, I watched as nervous leaders tried, and often failed, to hold the corporate line.

So now I media train people to assume the unexpected from the moment they walk into the studio, or even before – remember the series The Thick of It and Nicola Murray’s faux pas as she left the national newspaper interview?!

It’s true that interview styles and approaches have changed but I wouldn’t be doing my job with clients if I didn’t channel a little of my inner Anne Robinson.

What are your favourite interview moments?

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What do we really offer?

Mangold Team Meeting

What do we actually offer?

That’s a big question that we explore often: what makes us and the business, Mangold Consultancy, different to any other crisis comms and media training consultancy?

We have many USPs but the two main ones are that we’re journalist-led and insight-driven.

Let me explain.

Journalist-led:

– With over 25 years of experience in journalism (BBC, national newspapers and regional media), social media, politics and communications, we provide unique insights into how the media works.

– We can identify and anticipate solutions to potential issues before they arise and bring a cynical journalist’s perspective to our work, always questioning communications to ensure credibility.

Insight-driven:

– Over the last decade, we’ve honed our approach based on client needs and the ever-evolving social and media landscape.

– Senior leaders find peace of mind knowing that we have faced challenging situations as both journalists and communications specialists.

– Our experience and resilience allow us to ask the tough questions necessary for complete crisis preparedness and management.

Why does this matter?
It’s a fact that no organisation is too big to get it wrong. Many of the largest ones miss the most obvious issues. Near misses and tragedies often stem from a weak culture or lack of prep.

That is why we put our all into preparation, covering every scenario to ensure our clients feel fully equipped and ready for any situation.

At Mangold Consultancy, we’re passionate about helping organisations communicate effectively and manage their reputations. Our insight-driven, journalist-led approach ensures our clients are always prepared, credible and resilient.

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Journalism runs in our blood

Abby Mangold and Jess Mangold in meeting

Quite an odd statement to make but with all the experience I had during 15 years at the BBC and my time since then working on the other side of the media in crisis comms – I eat, sleep and breathe interviews.

My sister, Jess Mangold, is the same after years as a print journo. We’re both voracious consumers of news, media and social content.

And of course it helps growing up with a Dad in the business, where dinners are filled with ferocious debate about current affairs.

Listening to big interviews constantly, across a range of formats and setups, we digest and analyse content and ask did that work? What went wrong? Why did they approach the interview that way?

Take the infamous example of BBC Newsnight, Emily Maitlis and Prince Andrew. The work put into that – the preparation by the team including the fabulous Sam McAlister, meticulously researching and investigating – made for a jaw dropping interview. It’s not about attacking the interviewee as some have done in the past, it’s all about the preparation.

I approach every challenge from the perspective of a journalist and that’s how I deliver for my clients.

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The press doorstep – can you handle it?

The press doorstep - can you handle it?

Only watch this if you KNOW how to handle a doorstep*

The infamous doorstep only ends when the journalist leaves with something.

A no comment, a closed door, or in this case a response.

Managing a doorstep takes some well thought through choreography.

*Full disclosure, this one features my Dad, Tom Mangold, in action on BBC Panorama in 1997 so I may be biased.

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Who’s talking now?

BBC 50:50 The Equality Project

As a BBC producer I heard many outstanding female voices – from presenter Anne Robinson cross-examining CEOs on BBC Watchdog, to numerous female Executive Producers standing up to big bullying businesses trying to kill a great story.

I was part of production teams crafting complex programmes in challenging circumstances. These experiences shaped my own voice, including in the media training room, where I support people preparing to go on the record or in day to day interactions providing crisis management and corporate communications support.

Continue reading “Who’s talking now?”

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Media & Presentation Training 2.0

Media and Presentation Training with Mangold Consultancy

As TV news anchors around the world set up studios in their homes with teleprompters, specialist lighting, makeup and HD broadcast cameras; interviewees must also up their game. “News” needs experts, spokespeople and human stories more than ever and the best people you will see and hear, the ones who get invited back, have received media & presentation training – even if they are speaking from a laptop in their living room. Continue reading “Media & Presentation Training 2.0”

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The Business of Local Newspapers

The Business of Local Newspapers

Local newspapers have long teetered on the edge of survival, at risk of relegation to a picture postcard England past, where cub reporters cover village fetes, write the splash on local crime and all before tea time. So the announcement that local publisher Johnston Press is being bought out has triggered further analysis on the future for local news. Facebook has stepped up with a suspiciously well time announcement of £4.5m, to hire and train 80 people as community reporters. Johnston Press is reportedly one of three local publishers in conversation with the social media giant.  Continue reading “The Business of Local Newspapers”

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Mangold Consultancy just got a new Mangold!

Jess Mangold

Very excited to welcome Jess Mangold as a Director, bringing a fresh and complimentary set of skills and experience to Mangold Consultancy.

Jess’ has a brilliant combination of journalism and communications experience.  A trained newspaper journalist who has worked across daily regional and national print titles, she’s also got a mean black book.  Continue reading “Mangold Consultancy just got a new Mangold!”