While the Webinar itself lasted a fair bit longer than 90 seconds, the insights gained from these 3 inspiring journalists were invaluable. They shared some of their best-kept secrets from pitching yourself as a key source for TV, to getting your article shared across Facebook and Twitter.

• Think Visual: Whether its print, online or a video clip for TV or Youtube, the visual layout is key. TV journalist, Adrien Taylor shared the idea that your video shouldn’t tell your story, it should show it. If you’re talking about Beach erosion, try to shoot it on a beach. Tierney Smith, Social media guru from Tcktcktck then backed it up with key insights that on Facebook and Twitter (not even mentioning Insta and P-trest) its the visuals that get all the shares. If you don’t like it, they won’t either.

• 90 second Rule: If it’s not exciting in less than 90 seconds, its not a good piece. This sounded shocking at first when Adrien said that all his TV clips have to be less than 90 seconds, but then Diego Arguedes Ortez, a journalist for IPS and Semanario, told us bluntly that even when you write an article, if it doesn’t capture your best friend’s attention in less than 90 seconds, its not worth writing.

• Show vs. Tell: If you’re developing a story, you never want to tell your audience what to think. What Adrien explained is that in both print and TV, you need to show the audience the story and let them make up their own mind. Think about the end of Inception - is the spinning top going to drop or not?

• Titles Tip the Scales: I thought 90 seconds was a bit out-of-hand. But then Tierney said that getting a catchy title can make all the difference between a great article and an invisible one. She then added her second trick to unlocking the doors of Virality - Key words. Remember to add those tags and make them sexy.
• You don’t need to be rich: When Adrien was talking about TV, I always thought you needed a fancy camera. But he said that a Smartphone is enough, or a simple Skype connection. Diego and Tierney then shared some of their best online resources for making visual graphics, they include Canva, Picmonkey, Piktochart, Pixlr and Creativebloq. Diego and the Climate Trackers used these to create some of the most engaging articles of COP 20 in Lima last year. So between an internet connection and a Smartphone, you have all you need I guess.
• Content is still the Killa: While everyone was getting excited about getting short and snappy, Adrien, Tierney and Diego reiterated that old journalistic saying that Content is Killa BRUH! Lining up a key source, an insight or a critical angle is still the best way to begin an article. Only then do you have a foundation to add your social flair.
• What’s your “WOO”: It was a late night for Tierney, so maybe that’s maybe why she went on about her “Woo factor”. But I think she’s right. What’s the interesting perspective and excitement factor around your article.
• Use your Leverage: As a young person who fell down the ugly tree a few times, I never thought I would be good for TV. But Adrien thinks differently. He thinks that young people are especially good for TV. If you’re somewhere where the news is, like at a conference, protest or event - why not send a pitch or a video clip to your big TV stations saying “Hey, check out this Awesomeness captured on camera”. Also, lets get real, while some say Climate Change is all about the next generation, it, like everything else, is really about us Gen X, Y, Z’s. Getting young people on TV is perfect for Climate Change. But young people are usually more passionate and interesting on TV. And because they are tech savvy - a Skype interview won’t scare the pants off us.
• Make me WANT YOU: When I asked from Diego and Tierney about what their number 1 key to writing about the INDC’s they both said it needed to be “engaging” - it needed to be “dynamic”. This may be another more articulate way of saying “Woo”. But I think its more a style thing. You need that “Woo” angle, but you also need an engaging style throughout.

In case you want to find out more, all three of these journalists said “if you want to know more, contact me”.

Basically, now I don’t feel bad about sharing their contact details on the Internet!

Catch up with Adrien Taylor, Tierney Smith and Diego Arguedas Ortez on Twitter - and go ahead and use the #climatetracker. While you’re there, go ahead and follow Adopt a Negotiator…and maybe we’ll share even more…