In the hot seat:
Amelia Murray: Chief Reporter at The Daily Mail
Amelia’s Week:
- Interested in fraud/scams, interesting money-making ideas, strong human-interest stories, women and finance stories, fintech and apps that make finance easier, and inter generation finance.
- Happy to chat and talk through a story. Wednesday / Thursday generally better days. Monday and Tuesday simply busier given deadline.
- Tries to organize a lunch and a coffee per week. Booked usually 3-4 weeks in advance. Wednesday / Thursday / Friday best.
- 150-200 emails a day. Reads them all. Ideally don’t follow up. Will get back to you if interested.
Money Mail Desk:
- Money Mail Readers: 40 years +, traditional, conservative, curious, want to protect their money, savers and want to know how to grow their money, worried about their children/ grand-children, retirement issues/money.
- Money Mail interested in the big issues: mortgages, pensions, property, smart meters, injustices, warnings, money growth themes, holding large organisations to task, challenging the government, issue that has a direct impact on someone.
- Published on Wednesday’s. 8 pages. Feature length stories.
- However, team can be asked regularly to write money stories for front / news section.
- Daily Mail has a really strong ‘campaign’ spirit to it. Eg Pensions.
- Team meeting mid-morning Monday. Read w/e PF sections. Missed anything?
- The team don’t really have beats / they can cover everything, though have a few topics that each specializes in.
- Print only. No interaction at all with This is Money.
Top Tips:
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- Wednesday / Thursday generally good days to pitch.
- Case Studies: want more. Ready made and exclusive. Brief the participants. Strong data – and have the case study reflect the supporting data too.
- Female quotes / interviews
- Surveys: Money Mail does not simply cover research, habits or behavior unless unusual / interesting. Has to be useful: a warning, advising, telling someone / call to action.
- Emails: Subject is key. Strong top line. Has to mean something.
- Money mail will not write London centric stories. Interested in the national trend.
- Embargoes: They are helpful. Timeframe decision to do story or not.
- Relationships with key reporters and their interests is key.
