In the hot seat:
Emma Dunkley: Banking Correspondent at The Sunday Times
Emma’s week:
- Beats: banking and financial services but also interested in diverse financial subjects.
- Smaller companies with well known brands are of interest (eg Monzo, Starling).
- If smaller company raised funds or backed by well known City figure / credibility.
- Focus is very much on finding scoops, exclusives on M&A or corporate stories, high profile interviews, price sensitive stories and hard hitting editorial.
- Aim is to write one leading feature per week (800-1,200 words), written up on Thursday.
- Needs depth, colour, humanization, anecdotes and details on the individuals.
- Meetings: Tuesday and Wednesday – best time for meetings, breakfasts / lunches.
- Thursday: Writing up feature piece / interviews etc.
- Friday: News list suggestions submitted – 6 or 7 news stories/ scoops. Busiest day.
- Very happy to receive press releases/ emails as long as PR understands that unlikely lead to coverage as not a scoop or exclusive /or been covered during the week.
Sunday Times Business Team:
- Monday – day off
- Tuesday 10am Team meeting. Feature ideas pitched. Post-match analysis of the previous weekend.
- The perfect feature is something about to happen, people are talking about it but not hit the mainstream press and involves interesting characters?
- Thursday: Team meeting + writing up feature piece / interviews etc
- Friday: News list suggestions need to be in. 6-7 news stories/ scoops each submitted. Chase news as it has to be as fresh as possible.
- Saturdays are devoted to writing up the news pieces and filling in on ones that have fallen over.
- Saturday: Late duty reporter can follow up on anything breaking until midnight – copy deadlines at 10pm and midnight.
Top Tips:
- Team can produce over 30 articles per supplement.
- Stories need to be a scoop or an exclusive. A new angle or completely fresh story
- Print first strategy. Saturday night, print stories get loaded up online.
- The Interview slot – the ideal candidate is somebody who is colourful, runs a big business and is topical. Pipeline of interviews ready. Keen on female interviews.
- UK focussed however finance is global. UK angle will help.
- Keen to cover the broad spectrum of opinions regarding Brexit.
- Quotes policy: Conversation on the record. Can be flexible and check factual accuracy at the end of the conversation.
- Surveys: If exclusive and large enough, insightful enough – possibly.
