What exactly is a newsroom?

With everything happening in the world, today might seem like an unusual time to discuss a communications tactic, specifically an in-house newsroom. But, then again, it’s also quite timely given the current global events and the impact they have on people’s lives (including their mental health).

I’ve always spoken about how we are working amongst an engaged workforce and living amongst everyday activists (term coined by Brett Kobie). This shift, I thought, had essentially put an end to corporate jargon, making stories about people's constantly changing realities more significant.

Speaking of stories, they possess this incredible power to evoke emotions, making people feel, think, and act. But for some reason, only a handful of Brussels advocacy organisations—yes, looking at you, EFPIA - European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (with Vaccines Today), the European Environmental Bureau (with Meta from EEB) or MedTech Europe (with This is MedTech)—have invested in a newsroom mechanism that prioritises people-first storytelling over an economy-first approach.

I am amazed that in a town known for its power dynamics, where everyone seems to know everyone, and Politico’s playfully-worded playbooks, organisations haven’t fully embraced the concept of an in-house newsroom as quickly as they could. So allow me:

What exactly is an in-house newsroom?

It is a storytelling mechanism that tells your organisation’s or your cause’s story from a people-first perspective, explaining why you do things the way you do. I’ve written tonnes about it. See link in comments.

Why should you invest in a newsroom for your organization or your cause?

1. Newsrooms help you tell the story that traditional media is not telling.

2. Helps you share the fantastic studies and local news pieces that typically end up in our inboxes or (dear lord) PDFs or on SharePoints, and bring them out into the real world.

3. Assists your organisation, industry, or cause in assessing the impact of your actions on people, which is more crucial now than ever.

Your newsroom holds loads of potential. Here are some directions you could take with it:

1. Utilise the newsroom to make your purpose or your perspective known.

2. In your newsroom, focus on opportunity than on guilt.

3. Share stories, evevn the ones that involve failures.

4. Think small. Think inspiration.

If you enjoyed reading insights on newsrooms within organisations, let me know. I have so much more to share!