Where Media Meets Communication
“Social Media is a sewer.”
Getting the truth is an expensive business, there are no shortcuts.
Former BBC News Panorama reporter Tom Mangold reflects on 50 years in the journalism profession.
Thank you to all those who suggested questions and ideas.
Giovanni Ulleri, Matt Allwright, Toby Sculthorp
And thank you to Jack Grindrod for the fantastic edit!
If you want the truth, it’s there.
I recently sat down with my Dad and old-school BBC and Fleet Street journo, Tom Mangold, to discuss all things media.
“They can orchestrate lies in the most clever ways.”
We referenced a great report by Daniel De Simone on the BBC 10 News, the night before.
Tom Mangold shares advice for spokespeople: be prepared, avoid jargon, rehearse key points and take responsibility in tough interviews.
“There was no dead rat in the yogurt.”
Thank you to everyone who suggested questions for veteran journalist, Tom Mangold.
How do we protect the truth?
“The people who don’t believe in fact-checking are wrong.”
Thanks to all those who suggested questions for Tom Mangold. I tried to ask as many as I could.
Tom Mangold discusses what makes a bad political interview and whether media trainers are to blame
“95% of all political interviews are garbage.”
Thank you to everyone who suggested questions for the interview with my Dad, Tom Mangold.
I did my best to ask them all.
Our Dad, Tom Mangold, gives a unique explainer on why today’s media and journalism needs to adjust.
The journalist does their homework. For a great interview, the interviewee must do theirs.
This is why every spokesperson should do their prep.
Abby Mangold speaking with Journalist Tom Mangold about truth in the media and where to find it.
Can we trust anyone in the media in 2025?
Being interviewed isn’t as easy as it sounds. And media training always helps.
Here’s a candid explainer on one approach to media training with Tom Mangold.
Tom Mangold is an award-winning journalist and author.
Reporter on circa 120 episodes of BBC Panorama.
He’s 90 and STILL working
He cycles every day
At his heart, this man is a journalist. And he’s also our Dad.
Earlier this year I asked people what they’d like to ask him. It felt like the right time to put HIM in the hot seat for a change.
So, we sat down and discussed – media, truth, interviews, social platforms, crisis.
To kick things off, here’s his take on his craft.
They say never work with animals, kids and family.
Well I broke all those rules when I interviewed my Dad, Tom Mangold, with a cameo by Zak!
Thanks to everyone who suggested questions to ask this ‘veteran broadcaster’!
Jess Mangold and I are busy editing together the highlights, more to come very soon…
This is my Dad, Tom Mangold.
If you asked him, he’d tell you I stole everything I know from him. I will neither confirm nor deny this.
I’m going to film interview content with Dad and share it online.
We tend to talk about:
Watch this space for unique insight from someone who has worked in the media industry for more than 70 years!
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.
Many television viewers were surprised at the honesty and frankness of my interviewees in the recent BBC 4 ‘Jeremy Thorpe Scandal’ which ran as a complimentary programme to BBC Drama’s three-parter on the same subject.
What viewers may not have appreciated is that those interviews were conducted at a time well before the black arts of media training and crisis management had overwhelmed the television news and current affairs business. I say black arts because teaching people how to deal with the television interview can have a benign or malign effect. Continue reading “Tom Mangold on Media Training”