The Times Property Team with Martina Lees, Senior Property Writer

In the hot seat:

Martina Lees: Senior Property Writer at The Times

Martina’s week:

• Planning meeting happens on a Thursday at 2.30pm for the following week’s copy across both supplements
  • Note lots of content gets commissioned before this (eg Home section)
• Monday morning – production meeting for Bricks & Mortar, finalising supplement
• Gets over 100 pitches a day
  • Emails: Good subject line. Be direct. Get to the story/point.
  • Don’t attach press releases, put them in the body of the email
  • Images very important. Put smaller image in the email. Dropbox.
  • What’s the story for our readers? Interesting and exclusive
  • Follow up via email. Thereafter – leave it
• Meetings: Near office. Experts/knowledgeable about their field. 2-3 weeks in advance.
  • Best time: 9am/10am. End of the week better.

Team Top Tips:

• Team generally starts about 10am in the office
• Focussed on
  • The Times’ Bricks & Mortar section
    • Copy deadline end of Tuesday
    • Goes to print Wednesday, published Friday
    • Best time to pitch: previous Thursday morning
  • The Sunday Times’ Home section
    • Lifestyle and features content
    • Copy deadline Thursday, Signed off 6pm Friday
      • Goes to print Saturday
• Team interests:
  • The big issues in property: climate change and how housing will have to change, air pollution, in-balance in wealth across housing, housing policy, cladding, leasehold
  • Property market data, trends, locations, insight, new angles to buying/selling/renting/letting/investing – with an emphasis on practical guides beyond the obvious, colourful anecdotes and case studies
  • Lifestyle trends: the topics you discuss around dinner parties on how we live now
  • Interested in appealing to families (upsizing, extensions) and younger readers (renting, first-time buyers)
  • Interiors
  • Gardening
  • Not London centric – interested in regional stories too

Sections breakdown:

• Bricks & Mortar:
  • Home of The Week: Carol Lewis
  •  
  • What does £X buy you in..: Victoria Brezinski
  • Movers & Shapers: Helen Davies/ Carol Lewis/ Martina Lees / Melissa York
  • Décor Decoded: Victoria Brezinski / Martina Lees
  • Save & Splurge: Katrina Burroughs
  • Let’s retire to: Helen Davies/ Carol Lewis
• Home:
  • Making moves: Carol Lewis
  • Market Watch: Melissa York
  • Makeover Masterclass: Successful housing project / makeover – Martina Lees / Hugh Graham
  • Home Help: Hugh Graham
  • Time & Space interview: Helen Davies/ Carol Lewis/ Melissa York / Martina Lees
  • Tried & Tested: Hugh Graham

Top Tips:

• Bricks & Mortar and Home supplement – two biggest selling property related sections in the country
• Audience is 40+, education, affluent, family orientated. Trying to win a younger audience
• Interested in exclusives. Don’t send us ideas that have been sent to other nationals
• Online analysis of stories hits, length of engagement and if led to subscriptions
• Everything in print goes online. But additional online content too
• Great images are very important
• Conversations are on the record