Yesterday, I attended the launch of The Daily Telegraph’s new Technology Intelligence division – a department dedicated entirely to the paper’s renowned tech expertise.
At the breakfast event, we heard from two of the most senior team members – Robin Pagnamenta, Head of Technology Intelligence, and Harry de Quetteville, Special Correspondent.
The audience was largely made up of PRs from across London. Robin and Harry expertly guided us through the key areas on which his team will be focusing and how we, as public relations and communications consultants, can help them break the best new tech stories – from artificial intelligence to cryptocurrency, cybersecurity to data protection, aerospace innovation to driverless cars. The list is endless.
Why, you may ask, might a newspaper as established as The Daily Telegraph put on an official launch of its technology division? As Robin and Harry emphasised, never has it been more important for journalism to report on the technology that is shaping our lives on a daily basis and at a lightning pace. Technology Intelligence is a bold initiative that aims to position The Daily Telegraph as the leader of technology journalism in the UK.
Almost every aspect of our daily lives is governed by the technology that surrounds us. We have, for better or worse, become dependent on technological inventions for almost every task that we carry out – whether it be buying clothes, cooking a meal, calculating basic sums, watching your favourite programme on demand, and so on and so forth. Unabashed and undaunted, technology has been making a palpable intrusion on our lives and it shows no signs of abating.
In fact, according to Adam Alter in his book Irresistible, 40 per cent of people have some kind of internet-based addiction, from checking emails (with the average worker checking his/her emails 36 times an hour) to mindlessly scrolling through Instagram and Twitter or, more seriously, gambling online.
No wonder then that media outlets have started to create departments that focus specifically on researching and reporting on such an all-encompassing sector.
One of the fundamental points that the Technology Intelligence team was keen to emphasise was its aim to unleash Britain’s entrepreneurial spirit and establish a dynamic hub for the tech community.
London, in particular, has become a magnetic and exciting ecosystem for tech start-ups to flourish. Being an entrepreneur can often feel like a lonely voyage. As PRs, we look to open up opportunities for innovators in their field to break into international markets and provide them with a forum to voice their opinions and share their revolutionary ideas. Newspapers, such as The Daily Telegraph, are at the forefront of the industry, bringing technological innovation to the public consciousness – now more than ever.
Drew Salisbury is an Account Executive at The PR Office.