Introducing Cavendish Newsroom.

Written by Verity Barr, Director

Ofcom’s recent survey of the UK’s news habits painted a stark picture for the traditional media. Newspapers and their websites saw the number of people saying they used them drop to 34% while the use of online news sources – predominantly Facebook, YouTube and Instagram – rose to 71%.

“Well, that’s not a big surprise,” said most people.

We all know there’s been a seismic shift in the way we consume news over the past few years. The rise of the citizen journalist, the ubiquity of TikTok, the 24/7 news cycle . . . no wonder it’s been hard for old school newspapers to keep up with the pace.

All of which might lead you to think “why is this the right time to launch a new media service?” The answer is simple: because coverage still counts.

Media coverage in the right place at the right time with the right story has real impact. It’s visible, and when it’s written by a respected journalist for a respected outlet, it’s credible. It raises profile, shapes people’s perceptions and, when it appears in a trusted news source, builds reputational capital.

As part of a multi-channel comms campaign, earned media coverage absolutely has a place. When it’s integrated effectively, it forms a critical component of any truly smart digital engagement strategy.

And let’s not forget the coverage buzz. Show us a CEO who doesn’t want to wake up and see their name in the FT and we’ll show you a pig that can fly.

To put our clients on the front foot and make sure we’re leveraging all this as effectively as we can, we’ve created the Cavendish Newsroom – a dedicated team of media-savvy experts bringing a fast-paced newsroom culture to our media service.

Led by Chris Lee, our Head of Media Strategy, the team draws together ex-regional and national business editors, political media advisors, creative storytellers and coverage-hungry PRs. Their objective? To leverage their media nous and connections to craft compelling stories, position clients front and centre of the conversations that count, and generate coverage that will shape and shift perceptions. Their newsroom culture will see them reacting quickly to the daily news agenda to create impactful opportunities, building long-term relationships with the journalists that matter and sharing a depth of understanding with our clients that will level up their media profile.

As we all know, preparation is everything, so the Cavendish Newsroom offer also includes media training and bespoke spokesperson briefings. Having prepped the Mayor of London and our new Prime Minister for interviews, it’s something we’re pretty confident Chris and the team can deliver to the highest standard.

Yes, we really did mean the Prime Minister . . . Chris joined us from the Labour Party where he led the London communications team, including a stint as Keir Starmer’s press officer.

If you’d like to find out what Cavendish Newsroom could do for you, get in touch.