PR and the Future of Angling

David Stocker

In spite of reassurances from politicians currently in power that angling is safe with them, the long-term future of angling may be less secure than many of us would like to think. In the absence of any significant anti-angling campaign, organisations devoted to wildlife conservation for its own sake, a philosophical questioning of the relationship between humans and animals, a general fearfulness among parents for the safety of their children when participating in unsupervised outdoor activities, and an ever-expanding range of choices of leisure time pursuits taken together could detrimentally impact on our sport in the long term. I’m broadly in agreement with those who believe that angling in general needs a strategy that seeks to present to the general public a positive view of the sport, so as to create in the public mind an image of angling as an entirely normal, non-eccentric activity engaged in by decent people, which delivers positive benefits not only for the individuals concerned, but also for conservation and wildlife. In short, the aim is to create in society a general presumption in favour of angling.

As an angler of some 40 years, who has spent four of the last five years working in the regional media team of the Countryside Alliance, I have spotted an opportunity for angling to increase its visibility, raise its profile and hopefully win friends among the general public which I’d like to flag up to the widest angling audience. Indeed, this could be the one area around which coarse, sea and game anglers could unite and get away from the divisive factionalism that allegedly holds back our sport.

During the latter period of my time with the Alliance, I became increasingly aware of an under-exploited opportunity for increasing the visibility of angling. I discovered that there’s a ‘market’ for the re-cycling of ‘good news’ stories involving fishing, that may have originally appeared in our specialist media, but which can often be re-packaged for publication in the mainstream regional and local press. Unlike our national media, regional media is more parochial and seems far less concerned with the ‘issues’ of the day, and much more concerned with:

a) individuals who live within their territories, or

b) events that take place on their turf.

More often than not, they are hungry for material and a well-timed approach to a local or regional newspaper can often create extensive, non-judgemental coverage of our sport.

Whatever kind of event may be happening, or whoever is felt worthy of profiling, good photographic opportunities significantly increase the likelihood of coverage, so do ‘think pictures’ wherever possible. The availability of press photographers is often limited, so it may pay to take your own pictures. My advice; digital is best, with a minimum resolution of 4 million pixels, and I recommend taking tons of shots because if you’re not a professional photographer, there will likely be a mere handful that will warrant reproduction in a local paper. More generally, regional and local journalists and photographers tend to be in short supply over weekends, so if you’ve a decent story expect more interest from them during the working week.

Those among you who enjoy writing may like to write your own press releases to accompany a story, which can be emailed to newspapers. Email works particularly well in this respect because lazy journalists can cut-and-paste all, or some of your text into the copy that they are writing. You can also attach digital photos (no more than a couple – they can gum up inboxes something rotten), and provide the whole package. But I would always advise telephoning the newsdesk or the features editor before you send anything. They receive tons of electronic press releases every day, and a bit of a chat-up with a journalist beforehand can alert their attention to your story, and perhaps provide you with a personalised email address of the journalist who’s interested in seeing it. Never forget to ask about this!

As for the release itself keep it short and punchy, make it clear in the headline that it has local significance (eg, Worcester Schoolgirl Nabs Monster Fish in City Centre), remember to check that you’ve included all the ‘who, what, when, where and how’ elements, and don’t forget that the audience is the general public, and not ourselves. A ‘tutti-frutti boilie on a hair rig’ means nothing to Joe Public, but the fact that it’s the first time our fictitious schoolgirl has ever been fishing, that it nearly pulled her in, and is bigger than anything her dad has ever caught are the things that will interest journalists. Also try and include a quote at the end of your release from the key individual in the story, and always provide a telephone contact number ‘for further details’. And never forget to get parental consent for any newsworthy stories involving youngsters, if they’re not your own.

Raising Angling’s Profile

Experience, then, has revealed that there exist numerous opportunities to put angling into the mainstream news-and-features realm of the regional press, and, to a lesser extent, local radio. Whilst some regional newspapers do – laudably – have regular angling columns, a discussion of these is excluded from this piece because essentially angling columns are an example of anglers talking to each other, and not to the general public. In contrast, I have outlined below a number of examples of how aspects of our sport can be marketed to the regional media, by identifying themes that might subsequently interest a wider public:

* Angling throws up numerous examples of individual excellence and achievement. Individuals and/or clubs who win significant competitions (or qualify for national/regional teams) whether these are fishing competitions or tangential activities like those who win fly-tying, or habitat restoration awards, can all be flagged up to regional media for general news/feature pieces.

* Angling or angling-related events that have a degree of quirkiness or novelty, that take place within specific media territories can be presented as news and/or feature pieces. The first-ever UK indoor Fly Fair held in Staffordshire, or a tournament casting championship event are the kind of things I have in mind here.

* Angling events that involve increasing participation in the sport, especially with non-stereotypical client groups like women, members of minority ethnic groups, the disabled, the newly retired, etc, can frequently generate coverage.

* Angling businesses are frequently employers, and in some cases quite significant ones, in a regional context. A major business expansion, open day, or relocation could be ‘sold’ as a news piece. Anniversaries of the establishment of these businesses could also be exploited.

* A local person (especially a youngster) catches a monster fish, or a monster fish is caught from a local water. There should be more of the kind of pictures that fill the Angling Times/Anglers Mail in the regional press. You just have to convince them that this is a really unusual catch.

* Angling celebrities are frequently created by virtue of individuals who write for the numerous publications that service our sport. These people live somewhere, so, with their blessing, they can be offered up as subjects for feature pieces that are character-driven. It may be that a county is stuffed with achievers in this respect. This, too, can be flagged up to regional media.

* The creation of a new fishery can warrant press exposure, with a second bite of the cherry presenting itself on the anniversary, or subsequent anniversaries of the creation of such places. By way of an example, Stocks Reservoir near my home in Lancashire will this year enjoy its 20th anniversary as a public fishery. At the same time it will be the 10th anniversary of the current proprietor, Ben Dobson, taking over the venue. There’s a real double header here that I hope he will exploit.

* Fund-raising events that themselves do not involve angling, but involve raising money for angling projects can be employed as newsworthy items.

* The history of long-established regional angling clubs, be they the oldest, biggest, etc, can make worthwhile feature material. Has the history of a long-established club like the Macclesfield Prince Albert AA ever been told to the public, for example?

And in a national context, for those who may be more ambitious to spread the gospel…….

* The booming men’s magazine market offers opportunities to perhaps interest editors in fishing events, in particular those that could be specially tailored for them. An enlightened fishery owner might consider putting on a beginner’s day for journalists on GQ magazine, for example, which when written up and published might serve to flag up the appeal of the activity.

* Women’s magazines offer opportunities too, but these might best be exploited in the context of angling as an activity suitable for bonding the relationship between fathers and sons, in particular. Arguably young mothers are crucial to the long-term future of angling; if the activity is to be seen as acceptable they will not discourage offspring from participating at an early age. This could be an interesting and potentially rewarding area to target.

And finally, a reservation. Oddly enough, recognition that angling can serve as a potential antidote to ‘social exclusion’, that we’ve heard a lot about recently, can actually be problematic in terms of media exposure. Youngsters introduced to the activity as a diversionary tactic to steer them away from anti-social behaviour are unlikely to want their pictures in the paper, nor will their parents. They would be identified as potential troublemakers. Also, the idea that badly behaved youngsters are in some way being rewarded provides opportunities for the more reactionary correspondents to start ‘having a go’. Not something, I feel, that should be encouraged.

I offer these observations up in an attempt to make a case that there seems to be considerable scope for increasing the exposure of the activity of angling itself (as distinct from the interests and achievements of the bodies who represent it) to the widest possible audience, and that this might serve in some way to safeguard the long-term future of the sport we love.