Event summary: Top tips for pitching the Business and Money desks at The i
We’ve spoken to Jessie Hewitson, Business and Money Editor at The i. Read on to find out who to contact and when to make sure your email lands with a bang, and the stories that will prick up their ears.
Three top tips
- The new Wednesday i Money supplement covers personal finance news, house buying stories and renter issues.
- As The i is digital first, the news team doesn’t have the traditional print deadlines, meaning lead times are more fluid.
- Humanising a finance story with a case study showing how people are being impacted is a popular move with the team.
Audience
- Age varies from print to digital. Digital readership tends to be younger.
- Jessie says The i enjoys a larger readership outside of London compared to The Times and The Sunday Times.
- Readers come from all walks of life with a broad range of salaries.
Make note of the business pitching hours for each of the key business desks, and more. Find out:
- Their key areas of interest
- When to include surveys or research in pitches
Top tips on how to secure coverage
Who to contact
- Jessie Hewitson is the Business and Money Editor.
- Grace Gausden is the Deputy Money Editor and handles mortgages, energy, and savings.
- David Connett focuses on the business pages as Deputy Business Editor.
- Laurie Havelock is the Business and Money Reporter and is responsible for pensions, investments and cryptocurrency.
How to contact
- The preferred method of contact is via email.
- Journalists are happy to meet for a coffee but don’t waste their time – come prepared with a good story and detailed content.
- They are happy to receive follow ups but three attempts with no reply means no interest.
When to contact
- The i has daily news meetings at 10am, so pitch before then.
- Grace and Jessie plan the news pages up to a week in advance when possible. However, as they are digital first lead times are often fluid meaning there is space for big late stories.
- Do not pitch after 4pm.
What to pitch
- Business and finance are central to The i.
- The i newsteam preferring fresh stories that they can develop, rather than those that have already been widely reported.
- Jessie needs three to four headlines for her daily 10am meeting. Exclusive stories are always appreciated.
- Pitch as much detail as you can. The more background information you provide the more attractive your story will be to the journalist.
- They want their newspaper to be relatable to and easily understood by people from all walks of life.
- Catchy headlines, good visuals and relevant data are essential to a good pitch.
- Hot topics for the business team this year and next include energy, pensions, property and how people spend their money.
- Small businesses are also a key focus – Jessie feels they tend to fall in between personal finance and business.
- The new i Money Wednesday paper supplement section focuses on personal finance news, first time buyers, renter issues, mortgages, and prospects for the housing market.
- Stories that investigate how financial issues are impacting the man on the street are especially popular.
- Interviews with experts or the people featured in the case studies are extremely helpful.
- The team are also keen to hear about stories that go beyond, and have nothing to do with, the cost-of-living crisis and energy problems.