Ian Wylie is an experienced journalist who writes features for the Financial Times and The Guardian and produces and presents radio programmes and podcasts for BBC Radio 4 and Monocle Radio. He also teaches journalism to undergraduates and postgraduates at Newcastle University. His family includes three (mostly) grown-up children and an elderly Labradoodle, Jesse James.
1. Can you give us a bit of your “back story”? What led you to your current career path?
I studied economics at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, thinking I might become an accountant. However, I got involved in the student magazine and decided journalism might better fit my personality and skills after a coursemate (and future wife) said she found my essays interesting. After graduation, I started as a trainee journalist at a Kent industry publishing house. Their titles included Timber Trades Journal, Chemist & Druggist and Carpets & Floorcoverings Review!
People sometimes sneer at B2B publishing, but learning the core journalism skills there taught me the importance of knowing and serving your audience. In my spare time, I started pitching feature ideas to national newspapers. After many months and rejections, I finally had an idea accepted by The Guardian. That began a relationship which turned into a permanent job. I worked as a reporter, feature writer and section editor at The Guardian for 16 years. After this, I took the offer of voluntary redundancy so that I could freelance and work more flexibly around my family.
2. Can you share your most interesting business school story from the last 12 months? What made it stand out?
Business school communications is incredibly efficient and professional. That’s a good thing, but it’s also refreshing when you come across students, graduates and faculty willing to speak out, even if (or especially if!) it might not align with the party line.
I’ve just been working on a story for the FT about how business schools are responding to the Trump-inspired rollback of DEI and sustainability initiatives. I was pleased to find a recent business school graduate who was very frank about the changes happening in his workplace.
I understand fully that the primary purpose of business school communications is – putting it crudely – to put more bums on seats. But readers often find honesty and authenticity more appealing than gloss.
3. What are your dos and don’ts for business schools pitching to you?
Business school comms professionals are among the best I’ve come across in any sector, so I don’t want to preach to the converted.
I appreciate how most of the people who pitch business school ideas to me are so knowledgeable about their clients, the publications I work for, the people who edit them, and the kinds of stories and treatments that get published.
I try to respond to as many pitches as I can. But I also respect the PR professionals who don’t feel the need to “chase up” pitches and who don’t get upset when the answer is (very often) “no”.
4. What are the top 3 things business school communicators can do to make your life easier?
Again, I’m preaching to the converted here, but:
1. Keep it brief – I know academics can be passionate and verbose about their subjects, latest programme or research. However, briefer pitches that answer the “so what?” question quickly will have a better chance of success than a long press release where the answer is buried in paragraph 15 or 16.
2. Keep the reader in mind! Sorry, but the job of a journalist like me is to serve the reader’s needs and interests, not those of the school. Most of the time, my features help both parties. It’s always worth considering how a pitch might be framed from the reader’s (e.g. prospective student) perspective.
3. Think visually. Editors sometimes worry about making their pages (print or online) attractive and appealing to readers who might not instinctively feel like reading 800 words about business schools. A striking photograph, of a person, place or activity, might be the factor that gets a pitch chosen.
5. Who are you writing for at the moment, and are you working on any exciting new projects? Can business schools get involved?
I contribute features to most of the FT’s business school-focused special reports. I have a couple of regular gigs writing short advice articles for the CMI-affiliated Institute of Consulting and the Chartered Association of Business Schools’ Help to Grow platform for SME leaders. Occasionally, I write features for The Guardian on several topics, from the seas and oceans to press rights and freedoms.
I sometimes contribute audio packages and interviews with entrepreneurs to Monocle Radio’s Entrepreneurs and Eureka programmes. And most recently, I’ve produced and presented documentaries for BBC Radio 4 on small-town newspapers and the dying art of asking questions.