KIERAN Findlay is editor of websites, Scottish Housing News and Scottish Construction Now.
He submitted this on March 2 2020…
What exactly do you do?
Primarily, I write stories for industry publications, Scottish Housing News and Scottish Construction Now. This involves working with press officers and PR companies on a daily basis as well as keeping up with local and national media.
As editor, I have responsibilities for the daily newsletters which range from overseeing overall content to social media management.
What did your working day yesterday comprise?
Each morning consists of assessing the previous day’s stories on Google analytics before checking the overnight news via social media as well as the morning’s newspapers. Once I’m happy I’ve covered all the bases I set about compiling the day’s newsletters.
Being a daily publication, the biggest issue we have to deal with is time. The newsletters are a digest of industry news, press releases and information gathered from the previously mentioned sources but for those stories which require a deep dive then I’ll be on the phone gathering information and comment from leaders from across the relevant sectors.
Mondays are especially busy as I’ll also have my advertising manager on the phone with a list of jobs and events which need to be included also.
Once the newsletters are published, we prepare for the next day by following up on leads for yet more stories and managing our social media platforms before we do it all over again the next day.
How different or similar is your average working day to when you started?
I joined the news agency straight from university about 13 years ago. Although the internet publications have always been my bread and butter, back then I also chipped in with the print media side of the company.
This saw me field all sorts of freelance requests from newsdesks across Scotland looking for a local slant to national stories or simply door-knocks, vox pops and (one time) a stakeout!
Now though we concentrate on our internet publishing and even that has changed dramatically. Gone are the dark days of html in favour of our bespoke system which has automated much of what we previously did in the background. This allows me more time to develop stories which I enjoy doing the most.
How do you see your job evolving?
In the short term, we’re looking to diversify into video production and podcasting so I’ll be keen to learn as much as I can about those and contribute what I can. As for further in the future, who knows? Technology is always changing how I do my job and the next five to ten years will be no different. What is important is that we stay nimble as a business and prepare for whatever is thrown at us.
What gives you the most job satisfaction?
A little feedback goes a long way. The analytics give an idea of what stories do better than others but it’s great to hear from our readers whenever we can. We’re a tight-knit team which punches above its weight so any recognition we receive is like a win for all of us.
