Baker Bakes Bread

A loaf of bread, I seem to remember, with olives.

I used to work with this guy, Chris. Chris, now retired, was a bakery lecturer at the local FE College. Working in the marketing/publicity department at the time I would often get phone calls asking me to photograph different events, visiting dignitaries, award ceremonies, nothing too exciting. Every now and again Chris would phone. ‘I’ve baked a loaf of bread, can you come down and photograph it?’

Don’t get me wrong, Chris was a good baker and the bread was delicious, but I didn’t feel photographing bread was the best use of my time. It was hardly a news story. So often we declined.

Leafing through the local press the day after Chris’s call would often prove us wrong. A double page spread with a smiling Chris holding a loaf of bread. Chris always had a good story and knew how to work the press.

In less than a year Rainy City will be hosting the third Roller Derby World Cup. The best skaters in the world will fly in to showcase some of the best Derby you are likely to see. It may seem like a long way away, but time will pass very quickly.

One area I feel many teams fall down with is press and PR. Some teams have a good relation with the press, although it does feel that it’s the same journalists that pick up Derby over and over again. But many don’t. They don’t seem to see the value in their story, the different angles to come from to make it interesting. The upcoming Roller Derby World Cup is a great hook to get your local press interested in your event as well as helping to spread the message wider that the World Cup is coming to the UK. It’s all about telling a good story. And what better story is there than rags to riches, zero to hero? The sport is still relatively young and anyone form any one of the leagues around the world could be skating for their country in the years to come. As a hook to get the press interest in your next bout, it’s a good one. ‘Hey, yes, we are skating around our local sports hall, but in a year’s time, this is happening!’

Left – A loaf of bread. I baked it. I enjoyed making it. It tasted nice. 

Right – Williams jumps Freyda Cox during the semi-finals of the 2014 Roller Derby World Cup.

Which is more exciting?

Building a good relationship with your local journalist isn’t always easy, but persistence is worth it. After all, isn’t Roller Derby more exciting than a loaf of bread (I do realise this doesn’t apply if you are a baker, bread will always be more exciting)?

www.roller-derby-on-film.co.uk