Why do so many PRs rule out ‘Sunday for Mondays’? We routinely get pushback from clients when the slot is suggested. I don’t understand it. It seems that it has somehow become ‘received wisdom’ – perhaps on the basis of a project that failed to launch. But rejecting it out of hand is actually evidence of the disconnect between PR and the media. A misunderstanding of what the media wants.
When I was working weekend shifts as a journalist, I loved having a couple of Sunday for Mondays up my sleeve – a light-hearted one was always good to help put a smile on people’s faces on Monday mornings, while a serious, issue-based one stood the chance of growing legs and setting an agenda for the week ahead.
Having moved over to PR over 20 years ago, I haven’t lost any love for them, but am always surprised at the amount of resistance to them in the PR world.
Best pitched during the week, with any pictures/video/accompanying assets all client-approved and ready to go, we’ve yet to be disappointed by a Sunday for Monday show.
But don’t take my word for it – here are the thoughts of a couple of Fleet Street stalwarts, who argue the case.
John Sturgis, who has news edited for MailOnLine, The Evening Standard. ITN and The Sun over 25 years, said: “Sunday for Monday stories are such an established part of newspaper life they even have their own abbreviations: Sun For Mons or even S4Ms.
“They’re a staple part of the industry for several reasons; first and foremost because no news editor can rely on anything live actually happening on a Sunday – the sleepiest day of the week – and so feels much more confident with a news list that’s largely prepared in advance.
“The slot also represents a second or sometimes final attempt to get in stories that may have struggled to be published earlier in the week; no one wants work done to go to waste so the S4M list can provide salvation.
“Finally, reporters aren’t exactly falling over themselves to work at weekends – and a slower news day means a slower rota. That in turn means that by having oven-ready stories to make up a good proportion of Monday’s news, you leave your smaller pool of staff to deal with more pressing live events.”
Sunemployment Editor Jane Hamilton said: “As any journalist knows, Sunday tends to be a quiet news day, so we love to bank up shiny and exciting ‘Sundays for Mondays’ to fill the pages of the paper and the website on Monday mornings.
“They are a win for clients for three reasons:
1. Firstly, as we receive them in advance under embargo, they get extra time, care and attention and are written to the very highest standards.
2. Secondly, they will be placed in the paper and online early, meaning they usually get a better ‘show’ than normal stories processed later in the day.
3. Thirdly, a good Sunday for Monday goes everywhere – it can make a follow-up feature, be a talking point on the radio and TV breakfast shows or the morning TV chat programmes.
“Think of it as a way to shout when everyone else is taking a Sunday snooze!”