Hello, good reading, and welcome

Welcome to the new Media Pilot website. I will be blogging here on how journalists try to make sense of complex stories for a busy readership. At the same time I'll be making observations on how businesses that crave media attention often miss out on press opportunities because they cannot break free from a straitjacket of corporate jargon and cliche.

I'm a journalist who takes great pride in summing up intricate deals and services in a couple of short sentences that anyone can understand. And as a media trainer I take equal care in equipping people with the tools to tell their story in terms that will resonate with every audience.

I'll also use this space to keep readers up to speed with my work for the Financial Times and other publications. And I hope to be able to expand on what is still an elusive question for many in the PR world, namely how and why each story follows a very specific angle. This in turn dictates how I narrow down the pitches I receive and select who to interview.

With a bit of luck this just might make life easier for PRs who want to catch the attention of journalists writing for the nationals. It could even slim down the contents of my email inbox. Hope springs eternal!