The Inner Circle Round Up: Media News You Can Use September 2020
Goodbye, summer and hello fall! We continue to deal with a constant breaking news cycle, and despite some media shutdowns, we continue to find more and more outlets - and more opportunities for communicators to stay informed (and if they’re lucky maybe even secure a media placement or two for their clients).
This September, another heavy-hitter joins the podcast game, a celebrity joins daytime television, a digital platform continues their rapid expansion, and a media outlet attempts to report on the news without any bias. Have you come across any interesting new outlets? We’d love to hear all about them on Twitter at @ScottCircle!
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You and Me Both: HRC Joins the Podcast Game
We’re now just weeks out from the election, and there’s no one better from whom to get insight on the process than someone went through it herself. Hillary Clinton is throwing her hat into the podcast ring with a 24 episode series that will cover everything from politics to friendship. Per HRC, “I’m excited to bring these eye-opening, powerful, sometimes hilarious conversations to the forefront and open up new avenues of discussion with some of the people I find most fascinating.”
The Inner Circle Take: It looks like Clinton has lined up a diverse roster of guests ranging from feminist icon Gloria Steinmen to the Fab Five’s Tan France. Don’t expect to be pitching the show your guest ideas any time soon, but definitely pay attention to the conversations that are taking place to see if there’s an issue that may be relevant to the things you’re working on. We know HRC knows how to make news, and her social media game has been especially strong lately.
NowThis Earth: Covering the Changing Planet
Last month, we mentioned NowThis Kids, and the platform is at it again, continuing its expansion with yet another new channel. NowThis Earth is “dedicated to daily news coverage of climate, sustainability, biodiversity, species extinction and environmental justice. Content will be distributed across their vertical platforms including YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.
The Inner Circle Take: The climate crisis is one of the most important issues of our time. If you have clients working on environmental or sustainability issues, consider approaching the channel with some visually engaging content. There’s an opportunity to reach a huge audience here, as NowThis has reported that “audiences are five times more likely to engage with sustainability coverage than any other topic.”
A New Role For Drew: Talk Show Host
Drew Barrymore has recently debuted a new talk show on CBS, appropriately named “The Drew Barrymore Show.” It bills itself as “optimism TV, bringing information, inspiration and entertainment to the daytime audience.” The show will feature celebrity interviews, lifestyle segments and more.
The Inner Circle Take: The talk show will cover all the hot celebrity topics, but may have some opportunities for your clients. Barrymore frequently highlights products and items she uses in “Drew’s Picks,” features a Cookbook Club, and even has opportunities to feature everyday heroes (for example, with their Good Dad Program).
NewsNation: Opinion-Free News?
Can opinion-free news truly exist? WGN America believes it can, and has launched NewsNation, “a nightly three-hour national prime time newscast that promises a neutral, opinion-free presentation of the day’s events.” The show has dedicated producers, media consultants, and academics who will evaluate each story and the language used for any bias.
The Inner Circle Take: If you turn on the television, it’s clear we are living in polarizing times. But there’s also a reason why certain cable news networks get such high ratings: most people want to hear opinions that align with their own views. As professional communicators, it’s important to see things from various perspectives and consume different channels of information. An opinion-free media outlet may be something great to add to your rotation. Time will tell if there’s appetite for such programming from the general public!