Introducing Andrea
Andrea has been working in the council’s Press and New Media team since the start of 2017.
In this interview, she talks about what inspired her to get into Press management, how she manages her workday, and what advice she would give to aspiring press and media officers.
What inspired you to get into your job?
I have always been interested in writing, press and media and my academic background is in English Literature. Following my Master's degree, I realised that I wanted to enter the world of journalism.
Journalists get a bad rap these days - labelled as fear mongers and truth twisters. However, I see them as having an absolutely critical function in a democracy and really wanted to be part of this world.
I worked at several publications, mostly in the finance sector, including Dow Jones Newswires and Wall Street Journal Europe where I covered amongst other things the fall-out from the financial crisis, particularly in relation to equity markets, currency markets and the impact on EU relations.
However, following the birth of my second child, I realised that the 5am starts were no longer for me!
A move into PR is a natural one for many former journalists. However, I was not keen to work in the private sector and I wanted to move away from financial services.
The opportunity to work in the press team at Enfield Council came at an opportune time! I was keen (and still am), to make a meaningful contribution to the place where I live and to help make impactful change in the borough through communications. I knew that the role would be incredibly diverse and challenging and it certainly has lived up to this reputation.
How does a typical workday morning start for you?
The day starts by listening to the news - the wider national agenda can sometimes inform what we may be focusing on locally.
I then check emails, largely for media enquiries and any overnight issues and of course scour social media thoroughly. Local people are using social media increasingly as their first port of call to raise issues, highlight problems or to comment on council projects. While X, formerly Twitter, is not what it once was, it still is the place where news is broken and journalists use it extensively to both gather and promote news. Community groups on Facebook are always very useful at shining a light on local matters, as are the groups on Nextdoor, when they are not talking about missing cats.
I take account of the outstanding media enquiries from the day before, and look at our newsletter and press release schedules. Our newsletters have become an increasingly important tool for the council to get information out to residents on issues that mean the most to them.
We have a managers’ meeting at 9am, chaired by the Head of Communications and attended by me, the Campaigns Manager and Internal Communications Manager. It’s extremely helpful to get a steer on what we should be focusing on during the day, point out any red flags and discuss deadlines. Given that a lot of the role is extremely reactive, our deadlines are constantly shifting and it takes some juggling to stay on top of key tasks for the day.
What advice would you have liked to have had about your profession if you were just starting out now?
Social media is an ever changing beast and in fact I would argue that it’s less “social” than when it first arrived on the scene. To keep up with the pace of change takes a lot of dedication and patience and continuous training. So, my first piece of advice is to keep on top of your professional development! You can experiment and innovate with digital and social media and have real conversations with real people. But make sure you do your homework before you delve in.
I certainly had transferable skills going from journalism to PR so I would certainly suggest to anyone entering the profession to know their skills and see how they can be adapted or newly shaped. From my experience, I found it challenging to write for a new audience, switching from a primarily finance and business sector to writing for residents of the borough. I would suggest reading George Orwell’s ‘Politics and the English Language’ which has some basic yet indispensable rules about writing plainly. For example: never use a long word where a short one will do; if it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it. In short, practice writing succinctly, sparingly and plainly. You owe it to your audience.
It is important to acknowledge the size and breadth of services that Enfield Council offers its residents. We are a very large borough - one of the largest in London - that is incredibly diverse. It is also an incredibly challenging place, with a stark difference between the west and east side of Enfield. I would say, in general, widespread knowledge about the services councils offer is quite low. The challenge for any council is to show how many things local authorities are responsible for and how they can continue to deliver these services to a high standard. Whichever organisation you work for, make sure you find out exactly what their priorities are, what they can deliver and where the challenges lie.
What is the highlight of your role so far and what is has been your biggest learn to date?
I have had the pleasure of working on some amazing projects. One of the most satisfying and unusual was the release of London’s first beavers in 400 years, in a specially created enclosure near Forty Hall. We received hundreds of media hits and continue to get enquiries from all around the world about our beaver scheme (the latest from a nature periodical in the USA). It was a very long process to get the media plan in place but we worked with the excellent watercourses team, Capel Manor College and Forty Hall Farm to get this amazing news out to the world. It was incredibly satisfying to see images of our animals beamed around the world.
But how quickly a good story can turn.
One of the beavers would not settle into the enclosure and unfortunately, she attacked her mate. This was incredibly distressing for the people involved in looking after the animals and we had to act quickly to remove the female beaver and relocate her.
My biggest learn, therefore, is don’t rest on your laurels. Be as nimble as you can because anything can happen.
What are your future professional aspirations?
To continue building a strong, proficient team that is capable in all areas of communications.
Local authorities are going through one of the most difficult periods since their inception due to years of underfunding, escalating costs and a stark rise in homelessness in London. But we have an incredible story to tell about many wonderful projects - our blue/green strategy and rewilding efforts; projects in Upper Edmonton; our culture offering at Dugdale Arts Centre; and much more.
My ambition is to make sure these positive stories continue to be told in bold and innovative ways, using the communications tools at our disposal.