"Workers of the world unite; you have nothing to lose but your chains... And you can be on the TV news at 6." Karl Marx... Possibly.
"Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you're probably watching the wrong channel." Groucho Marx... Definitely.
Anyway, I've said this before and I will say it again. News viewers don't like stuffed suits, professional blowholes and CEO's who want to sell you stuff. They like to watch stories about other, normal people like themselves. Workers, mums, truck drivers and the like, who sweat at a days manual labour for a living wage, instead of shuffling paper clips, perusing spreadsheets or raising their taxes.
Many a time I have interviewed the bosses and politicians, who have been heavily media trained to give sound bites that avoid the question, tow the company line and give nothing away. Sod that.
Give me an oil stained, sweaty, safety helmeted hairy bloke who works at the coal face, who earns his money from hard graft, instead of the stuffed shirt and tie mannequins on auto speak any day. I promise you, TV news viewers will thank you for it.
Trust me, show a talking head spouting figures, time spans or excuses, and Mrs Miggins will mentally switch off and go cook the dinner. Show a working grafter with something to say and the interest in your story will rise. News viewers like normal everyday people with whom they can connect and empathise with.
Only politicians and policy wonks are interested in what another politician has to say. Only a CEO can empathise with another business suit with his views on modern working practices and pay scales. I bet that 98 percent of our viewers are other working drones, just like you and me, who work hard to feed the family, who would rather see the view from the bottom rung of the greasy ladder, than the bottom line of a government or corporate spreadsheet.
So here's to the working class of this fine nation. We should see and hear more of them.
Paul Martin is @ukcameraman on Twitter.
www.media-attention.co.uk
"Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you're probably watching the wrong channel." Groucho Marx... Definitely.
Anyway, I've said this before and I will say it again. News viewers don't like stuffed suits, professional blowholes and CEO's who want to sell you stuff. They like to watch stories about other, normal people like themselves. Workers, mums, truck drivers and the like, who sweat at a days manual labour for a living wage, instead of shuffling paper clips, perusing spreadsheets or raising their taxes.
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| The Working Man... smiling, sweaty and hairy with a sense of humour. |
Many a time I have interviewed the bosses and politicians, who have been heavily media trained to give sound bites that avoid the question, tow the company line and give nothing away. Sod that.
Give me an oil stained, sweaty, safety helmeted hairy bloke who works at the coal face, who earns his money from hard graft, instead of the stuffed shirt and tie mannequins on auto speak any day. I promise you, TV news viewers will thank you for it.
Trust me, show a talking head spouting figures, time spans or excuses, and Mrs Miggins will mentally switch off and go cook the dinner. Show a working grafter with something to say and the interest in your story will rise. News viewers like normal everyday people with whom they can connect and empathise with.
Only politicians and policy wonks are interested in what another politician has to say. Only a CEO can empathise with another business suit with his views on modern working practices and pay scales. I bet that 98 percent of our viewers are other working drones, just like you and me, who work hard to feed the family, who would rather see the view from the bottom rung of the greasy ladder, than the bottom line of a government or corporate spreadsheet.
So here's to the working class of this fine nation. We should see and hear more of them.
Paul Martin is @ukcameraman on Twitter.
www.media-attention.co.uk
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