Reserved or devolved: checks before Scottish media outreach

What to take away

Why ownership comes before the pitch

Work out who owns a Scottish story before you write a word of the pitch. The owner decides which official source you check, which contact you approach and which desk will care. A wrong guess about ownership shows in the first line of your email.

Newsrooms in Edinburgh and Glasgow apply a simple test: does this story change something in Scotland, or does it only mention Scotland? A UK-wide announcement with a Scottish paragraph will usually be dropped. A devolved decision, a Scottish court ruling or a Scottish public body's data will be picked up.

The two cities ask different questions. Edinburgh is where the Scottish Government, the courts and much of Scotland's financial regulation sit, so its newsrooms ask which portfolio, which law and which official document is behind the story. Glasgow newsrooms ask what it means for their readers and institutions.

The table below sorts the four kinds of Scottish story that media outreach meets most often, and says where to check before you write.

Sorting a story into devolved or reserved

Start with the Scottish Government's own output. Its news pages carry ministerial announcements, consultations, appointments and responses to events, organised by date and portfolio. Read them before you write, so your pitch connects to something already in the news cycle.

The feed also shows which portfolios are active that week and the wording officials prefer. That wording matters, because a pitch that borrows it reads as informed, and one that gets a title or a responsibility wrong invites a correction from the desk.

The Scotland Act 1998 is the test for what is devolved. Schedule 5 lists the reserved matters, and the Scottish Parliament can legislate on matters that are not on that list. Check a doubtful topic against the Schedule before you pitch.

Not all activity in Scotland is devolved. The Scotland Office represents UK government interests north of the border, and reserved matters include defence, immigration and most taxation. Its published material helps you separate reserved from devolved matters before you pitch.

Taxation is split. Revenue Scotland collects and manages Scottish devolved taxes, such as Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and Scottish Landfill Tax. Check the Schedule and Revenue Scotland's pages before you call a tax story reserved or devolved.

The Scottish Parliament and its committees scrutinise devolved bills, so a bill story belongs on the Parliament's pages as well as the Government's. When a UK bill touches devolved matters, the Scottish Parliament is asked for legislative consent, a point a reporter may raise.

Use three quick questions on every draft:

If question one has no clear answer, the pitch is not ready. A story that confuses reserved and devolved responsibilities will be spotted quickly by a reporter who covers politics every day.

One wording rule is worth keeping. Never describe the Scottish Government as a regional administration. It is a devolved government with its own mandate, and reporters notice the difference.

Checking the body behind the story

Many Scottish stories belong to an agency rather than to the government itself. Examples of named bodies include Transport Scotland, NHS National Services Scotland and Revenue Scotland. Check each body's official pages to confirm responsibility before you pitch, and quote its name exactly as it appears there.

The Scottish Government's website has published contact details for press-office and general enquiries. Use the current details there rather than an old list from a previous campaign. A stale list sends your email to someone who moved on, and the story loses a day it may not have.

Keep a Scottish section in your list, with the portfolio or body beside each contact. The guidance on how to maintain a media list applies here too, and an entry that records ownership saves the sorting step next time.

Court stories: who to ask and what to avoid

For courts stories, the rules are stricter. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service provides court-service information, while the Judicial Office for Scotland is the place to check published contact information on judicial matters. Neither is a pitching desk, so treat them as sources for facts and contacts.

Court reporting can engage contempt rules. These include the Contempt of Court Act 1981 and Scottish common-law rules, as well as reporting restrictions under the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 and the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937.

Before any court-related pitch goes out, tick each of these:

The safest timing is simple. Wait for the judgment, or pitch the policy question the case raises once it has concluded. A pitch that waits looks careful. One that gets ahead of a ruling can look reckless to a desk that has to stay inside the law.

What to attach: documents and Freedom of Information

Policy desks want evidence they can check. Attach the primary document, whether that is a bill, a consultation, a determination or a judgment. A pitch that points to a document the reporter can open in a minute is easier to say yes to than one that asks for trust.

If your figures come from a response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, state its source in the email. Part 1 of the Act is headed Access to information held by Scottish public authorities, and the Scottish Information Commissioner oversees FOI in Scotland.

State the number of people or pounds affected only if you have it from a document. Do not round it up, and do not guess it. A figure with a source is a hook, and a figure without one is a risk to the whole pitch.

Five steps for a devolved policy pitch

Once the story is sorted, the pitch itself follows a short order. Each step answers a question that a Scottish desk will otherwise ask you in reply.

A charity wants coverage of a new duty on Scottish public bodies. The weak pitch says a UK charity welcomes a change in Scotland. The strong pitch names the Scottish Government portfolio and attaches the relevant order.

The strong pitch also quotes a Scottish service manager and offers the charity's Scottish director for interview. It notes the commencement date and the number of bodies affected. Smaller organisations can read more on reaching regional media on a limited budget.

Matching the story to the desk

Once the owner and the document are settled, choose the outlet. The four main Scottish titles want different things, and the table sets out what each wants and where to send it.

BBC Scotland carries the widest reach and will often want a filmed or recorded element. If your story has a real person, a location and a clear change, say so in the first line. If it does not, do not pretend it does.

STV competes for the same audience with a more visual, story-led approach. Its newsroom responds to clear human impact and to stories with a strong Glasgow or west of Scotland dimension. Provide broadcast-quality images or a willing interviewee.

The Herald, based in Glasgow, is a strong home for policy detail, business impact and investigative follow-ups. The Scotsman, based in Edinburgh, leans towards constitutional questions, legal affairs and economic policy. A story about a bill's passage, a court judgment or a tax change fits its agenda.

Write each approach to its desk, and use the structure in the email templates as a base. The same facts can go to all four, but the first line should change for each one.

Timing a pitch around statistics releases

Plan around the Scottish Government's official statistics publication calendar, which lists upcoming releases with dates set in advance. Statistics drive a large share of Scottish policy coverage, so work with those dates rather than against them.

If your story uses a statistic that is about to be updated, wait for the new figure. Pitching a superseded number damages your credibility with a newsroom that will check the source within minutes.

If your story is separate from a release but relevant to it, pitch the day before and offer comment for the day itself. Newsrooms plan statistics coverage in advance and welcome a prepared voice. Avoid the morning of a major release unless your story is directly about it.

A simple habit helps: read the calendar weekly, note the dates that touch your sector, and build your own calendar around them. If you are still choosing between a wire and direct approaches, the comparison of wire distribution or direct approaches shows what each can do for a devolved story.

Common questions