In my writing life I have learned that one of the greatest problems is to get started. The sin of just making a cup of coffee to avoid the first syllable has been replaced by social media.
Now the budding writer in any genre has the perfect virtual rabbit hole to fall down. Journalists probably have it worse than poets, playwrights and novelists on this front.
That’s due to the nature of our work that is largely produced and consumed on the internet. This still revolutionary medium has increased the appetite of readers exponentially. And it’s especially true on social media platforms where the latest morsel of information is devoured in seconds.
Any traditional media outlet that was known for the quality rather than the quantity of its output has struggled. In my career as a trade journalist, I’ve been fortunate to be somewhat shielded from the internet/social media bludgeon.
This is because I have had editors that fought to preserve long form journalism in print. Justin Cash who hired me back in December 2017 as a senior pensions reporter allowed me to roam where my instincts took me.
And his successor Katey Pigden allowed me to do the same as news editor. I am grateful to both of them.
Reporters don’t realise it, but editors are the oil in the machine when it comes to journalism.
They deal with all the things reporters do not see. I only learned that when I became a news editor and then acting editor. The last nearly six years at Money Marketing have made me the professional I am today.
The experience has given me a tremendous amount and as the saying goes: ‘There are some experiences you can’t buy’. In my first three years at the publication I was allowed to grow in extremely important ways. These centred on tough-minded investigative reporting, detailed technical analysis and also long form narrative.
The first portion of my time at MM was focused on the fallout of the British Steel Pension Scheme scandal. The demise of the defined benefit market due to a handful of rogue advisers and a regulator that should have been on them earlier was a salutary lesson. The subject combined understanding a niche but critical area of financial planning with watching the horrific fallout on real people.
I came to understand how important financial advisers are as a community. While small in number they wield a disproportionate influence in the retail consumer market. This is partially due to sums of money they handle – especially when it comes to pensions – but also the sensitivity of the financial matters they deal with.
These range from pension death benefits, inheritance tax and funding social care. None of those matters are trivial and an adviser can make all the difference in both directions.
One wonderful trait of advisers is they are opinionated, passionate and feisty. This comes from their sales backgrounds and the need to promote their businesses. Many advisers work in very small firms and need to make noise to get noticed. That makes them a prime source for gossip and juicy stories.
I discovered all of these characteristics in the most dramatic away when I attended the Money Marketing Retirement Summit. That was in the summer of 2018 and a senior member of the Pensions Regulator spoke at the event. They were there to discuss the British Steel scandal but could not finish their speech as advisers heckled from the floor.
It took an intervention from Justin Cash to remedy the situation and I was surprised. The previous audience I wrote for at Professional Pensions – scheme trustees – would never have done that. Trustees are herbivores by comparison to advisers and usually have a slick PR team around them. The result on their quotations is apparent when you read them. They are on the dull side.
The next great episode was the world of Sipp providers where I dug around the non-advised part of the market. Two names became my reporting life for a year to 18 months: Carey Pensions and Berkeley Burke Sipp Administration.
To cut a long story short both providers were accused by former clients of facilitating investments they should not have. The legal cases attempted to answer this question: how much responsibility should a provider have to vet a client’s investment?
It was fascinating to attend the legal proceedings and gain more confidence in my court reporting. The next stages of my career at MM were very different and concerned being an editor.
My tenure as news editor and acting editor were steep learning curves but in a different way. They have taken up the last two and a half years. Here I discovered the nuances of human relationships.
And how to conduct appraisals of colleagues, measure progress and lead a team. I also learned how to promote and recruit people. Other dimensions: the art of delegation, teaching and conference producing were all on the menu. And I also became more comfortable performing on stage at Money Marketing conferences.
The great difference between a reporter and editor is this: as a reporter you are totally absorbed in your own work. As an editor you are a totally absorbed in everyone else’s.
So you can see I learned a lot across the pensions reporter, news editor and acting editor roles. But it is time to say goodbye and move onto new pastures. At the end of this month I will start in my new role as investment banking and capital markets editor at The Banker.
It is unfamiliar territory but I carry all the experience and skills I have learned with me. For that I am grateful.
