Welcome to Lessons From A Journalist

how to secure press coverage

Discover who this course is for and how it will help you land media coverage.

Welcome from Suzanne Bearne, Freelance journalist for the BBC and Guardian

course FAQs

  • This course is for anyone who wants to be featured in the media. Whether you're the founder of a business who has never spoken to a journalist before or you're a PR with 15 years' experience (I run global workshops on securing press coverage which attract a mix of founders and PR agencies with decades of experience), this course is designed to help you or your client discover the tricks of the trade, when it comes to being featured in the media, whether that's across national newspapers, business titles, radio, TV, podcasts or consumer magazines. Featuring strong case studies, this fun and interactive course is aimed at anyone interested in securing more media coverage, whether you're a startup, an entrepreneur, a PR or a big business.

  • You'll come away understanding how the media operates, what journalists look for in a story, how to present you or your client as an expert, the fun and creative (and easier!) ways you or your client can land press coverage – without even having to draft a press release – how to pitch to a journalist (including what to include in a press release and the simple tweaks that can help catch a journalist’s attention), how to take advantage of digital platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, and lots of tips on building relationships with both in-house and freelance journalists, which I know can be more difficult than ever given how busy journalists are.

    We also explore the common mistakes made by PRs and businesses when approaching the media, and the dos and don'ts when it comes to working with the press. I've put together a full-length video full of insider tips to help boost your relationship with journalists.

    This course stems from 15 years' experience of working as a journalist and working with PRs and founders of businesses wanting to share their or their clients' stories. One advantage of taking the course is that you're hearing all this valuable information straight from a journalist – the one who actually picks up the emails and writes the stories. Thanks to my experience I can explain exactly what does and doesn't work.

    So whether you're a founder of a business who'd loved to be featured in a consumer title your audience reads, you're a press officer or PR wanting the inside view from a journalist who writes for national publications such as the BBC, Guardian and the Observer on what kind of stories they want or how to become the media's go-to favourite PR who they call whenever they need a case study or expert comment, then this course is for you. By the end of the course you'll feel more confident than ever in pitching to the media and will be bouncing with new and fresh ideas of ways to land press coverage across TV, newspapers, radio, magazines, online titles and podcasts.

  • I'm Suzanne Bearne, a freelance journalist for national titles including The Guardian, The Observer and the BBC, where more recently I’ve started working as a radio producer across shows like Today, Wake Up to Money and for BBC World Service. Like many freelancers, I have many side gigs. I'm also a copywriter, media consultant, and tutor.

    I started my career writing for media and fashion magazines, rising through the ranks from editorial assistant to senior reporter. During this time I worked on news desks, reported from national and international trade shows and fashion events, landed front-page stories, and wrote features and profiles of some of the biggest people in the industries I covered.

    I've worked as a freelance journalist since 2011, and have written for titles including The Evening Standard, The Independent, The i, The Metro, Stylist, Women's Health, Cosmopolitan, Positive News, and the Guardian, where I've worked as a commissioning editor. This course has been created from the perspective of a journalist with 17 years' experience of writing about small and large companies for titles such as the BBC, the Guardian, the Observer, The Independent, InStyle, Vogue, Drapers, The Business of Fashion, and many more. I've also freelanced as assistant editor at Professional Beauty and news editor at Drapers.

    As a freelancer I've covered many subjects. I've planned my funeral for The Telegraph; interviewed female Bletchley Park codebreakers for the Guardian; visited Myanmar to look at its burgeoning startup scene for the BBC; wrote about the hippest place in Bali for Refinery29; highlighted the impact of volunteering in a long feature for Stylist; scooped the Media Award for my Guardian piece on how the tech community helped with the refugee crisis; investigated the cost of attending a wedding for the Guardian; explored the rise of effective altruism for The Observer; researched the best independent shops for Vogue; covered getting a dress tailor-made in Vietnam for The Independent; looked into the alternative funerals industry for the BBC; explored how technology has dramatically changed the fashion industry for The Guardian and reviewed hotels and spas worldwide for numerous titles. That's always a tough gig.

  • The course isn't live – you can go ahead and access it and start it at any time - but I'm available for any questions regarding the course. I'm also available for consultancy and can recommend excellent PRs for short- and long-term projects, if needed.

    You can follow me on X/Twitter at @sbearne, Instagram and like my Facebook page. You can email me at susiebearne@hotmail.com. I also run regular live webinars and hold workshops for businesses and PRs across the UK and globally.

    There's also pre-recorded webinars you can access via my website that you can watch at anytime. For more details, please visit www.suzannebearne.com.

  • The key difference is there's a hell of a lot more content in the course. There's a whole chapter on how to pitch guest posts to the likes of Forbes and Entrepreneur, another section looking at how to pitch for gift guides and product placements, and it includes examples of sections you can pitch to straightaway and email addresses of publications to pitch to. There are a lot more tasks to complete, it's continually updated, and it's also yours for a whole year so you can keep referring back to it. However, if you book my webinars you'll still benefit from my 17 years' journalism experience and if you book for a live session, you'll be able to ask me questions through the live chat functionality.If you have attended my webinars or my workshop and would like to take the course, you can book this at 50% of the price (so £99). Please do email me if you would like a code. Please note this cannot be shared with anyone else.

  • Once you've purchased the course, the content will be yours to keep for a whole year and you can dip into it whenever you like. I will be updating the course regularly so you'll have access to all the extra content and tweaks to the resources page, giving you even more bang for your money.

  • I totally get this. Many of my workshops are, in fact, attended by PRs with up to several decades of experience and afterwards they always come up to me at the end or email afterwards to say something along the lines of: “I've never actually heard it from the perspective of a journalist before - I've learnt so many new things that I'm going to put into practice! Thank you.”

  • We don't bite! Yes, I'd be scared about being interviewed by someone like Jeremy Paxman too but thankfully we're all just human like you. So be brave and send us a pitch (after you've learnt the tools of the trade courtesy of this course, naturally!)

  • I’m interested in hearing more. Feel free to email me at susiebearne@hotmail.com.

Still unsure?

Here are some messages from business owners, press officers and PRs who have downloaded this course:

What an amazing course! Not only did it give me some insightful tips but more importantly it helped me with securing interviews and getting a job in this difficult time! Would highly recommend to anyone either starting out in PR or those who want to gain some more in-depth knowledge.
— Amelia Vevers, PR and marketing manager, London Central Portfolio
Suzanne is an accomplished journalist with a huge passion for supporting businesses. The PR course helped me to gain great insights form a journalist’s perspective and changed the way I approach PR strategy and practical tactics. The course delivers great value and offers very useful tips for entrepreneurs.
— Maggie, partner at a tech startup, London
I took Suzanne’s course over the Christmas break and have been delighted with the results. I have been actively focusing on PR in February and have manged to get feature in a numerous publications across two continents. Highly recommend the course
— Dr Nimrita S. Bassi, CEO of Marketing Essentials
Running a small business typically involves wearing many hats and spars moments of spare time to dedicate towards marketing, Susie’s course breaks down the essentials on a no-nonsense, approachable format that can be picked up as time permits. Her advice, based on her extensive experience as a journalist, provides practical insights into opening doors for small businesses.
— Katy Roberts, lighting designer, OR Consulting Engineers

Still unsure?

Here are some of the hundreds of business owners, press officers and PRs who have attended my workshops and webinars:

By attending one of Susie’s classes you can capitalise on all her knowledge and experience of working as a journalist for the BBC, The Guardian and The Observer. From practical tips to insights on how to identify, target and create opportunities for media coverage, Susie’s creativity and energy is inspiring. Her vivacious personality brings excitement to the process of storytelling and engaging journalists in that process. Whether you are new to PR or have years of media/PR experience, her classes are a trigger to keep refreshing your approach. After the class, I left with a notebook full of ideas and a commitment to ‘shaking things up’.
— Stella Harkness, press officer, University of Hull
After a training session with freelancer Suzanne Bearne, I came away feeling completely besotted with my chosen profession. After 20 years in this job, I didn’t think there was anything I didn’t know. I know that sounds full of myself but after a certain amount of time, you can say that, right? But actually, Suzanne taught me a lot of things that I’d either forgotten about, taken for granted or just hadn’t even considered.
— Lynsey Walden, director, Front Door Communications
Suzanne’s masterclass is fascinating, engaging, informative and a real eye opener. In the space of three hours I went from a complete beginner to feeling like I knew exactly what to do to get a feature published. She gives you the top tips and all the tools you could need to be successful. Highly recommended!
— Louise Mann, founder, Cocoa Libre
Thanks for a really useful and informative session. A little perspective shift and reminder of the good old PR/journo relationship (it’s so easy to get stuck in the in-house bubble!).
— Suzi Burns, head of consumer PR, N Brown
Your workshop was incredible. I learned more in three hours than I have in a very long time. Within a week I landed a feature with Metro and now have a good relationship with them. I’m so glad I came to your workshop.
— Dan Fallon, personal trainer and founder of Super You Project