Why are in-person events valuable for journalists? Key insights from a recent conference

Last week, Resonance ran the publicity for the seventh international edition of the Chatbot Summit, which was in the UK for the first time. As well as the 2,000 delegates and 50 exhibitors, Resonance hosted a contingent of journalists from some of the UK’s most well-respected AI and business publications. 

But why do journalists attend conferences, and what value do they gain from them? That’s what we sought to find out from the journalists attending the conference. These are the top reasons why journalists attend conferences.

They want to expand their knowledge

Tech is an industry that is constantly evolving. So, being static isn’t an option for journalists operating in this space. Innovations are consistently being brought to market and changing how processes run. 

Conferences are brilliant ways to expand your understanding of the tech landscape. It can be easy to sit within a particular niche and only explore subjects you understand and know. Events allow journalists to push beyond their original scope and learn new things. 

Most events give you access to a wide variety of speakers and topics through guided sessions, workshops, and one-to-one interviews, where you can ask leading experts about their work and upcoming projects. This can give journalists a great indication of where the sector is headed and give them a chance to brush up on any specialities. 

It’s about building personal relationships

Attending events is about more than just knowledge building. It’s also building personal relationships with your peers. The B2B tech community is small, so making connections with fellow journalists is essential. 

In-person conferences are helpful ways to foster a community where journalists can share useful tools and processes that might work for them and talk through interesting topics and stories. The panel discussion on Generative AI’s Role in Shaping Tomorrow’s Newsrooms, hosted by our Co-Managing Director, Tom Fry, was designed with this just in mind!

Bringing together leading journalists Peter Ray Allison from ComputerWeekly and Stephanie Ball from ERP Today, the panel served as a way to hear how new technologies are changing the newsroom. It was a great way to share insights and tips for getting ahead and advice on best practices.

It’s great to be able to learn from other professionals working in this space. Journalists and PR specialists work closely, and being able to meet in person and build trust is a great stepping stone to a positive long-term relationship. Journalists need to be able to know that who they’re speaking to appreciates their time and interests. Once you meet with someone and build this rapport, the stories they share are more likely to be of value and synced with your editorial focus.

These conversations and the intermingling of different specialisms and backgrounds can also prompt intriguing questions and lead journalists to consider new and exciting ideas. 

Gaining access to industry leaders

For many, being introduced to top executives at big tech firms is a huge bonus to attending any event. To drive the news, journalists need to have connections with industry leaders and having starter conversations at events is a great way to get your foot in the door for future partnerships and interviews. 

These initial in-person interviews allow journalists to build a bank of useful contacts that they can refer back to for future comments or as a springboard for future stories. This is incredibly valuable as it enables quick responses to breaking news stories by giving journalists unique insights that they can write about. 

Conclusion

Tech journalism is about being holistic. It’s difficult to know what will be the next big thing, so having access to industry leaders at events and being able to learn from experts is invaluable.

As PR professionals, our role is to work closely with the media and support journalists by sharing interesting insights and stories that our clients are working on. It’s great to be able to connect with journalists at conferences, as it gives us a chance to build personal connections and ultimately enable this relationship to thrive.