Staff Profile: Molly Powell, Real Life Features Writer

PA Media’s Real Life team produces engaging human-interest content on a regular basis. These stories are crafted from the ordinary and everyday people that the team find and speak to each day, unwrapping their unique stories and helping them share it to a wider audience.

One of the key players in the team is Molly Powell, Real Life Features Writer. We speak to Molly to find out what an average day looks like for her, what have been her standout stories, her hopes and dreams for 2024, plus much more.

• What is your job title and can you give us a top line summary of what your role entails?

My job title is a Real Life Features Writer, and it involves sourcing and writing exclusive stories about weird and wonderful people. 

• What does an average day look like for you?

My day usually starts off by searching for interviewees. This is always really varied – I look for anything from throuples to sexual abuse survivors. I’ve recently got into using Google Bard to help my searches too, by generating lists of popular hashtags and terms used by different community groups. 

I then do interviews over the phone, to learn all about the lives of these extraordinary people. Again, this is super diverse. For example, this week, I’ve interviewed two inspirational brothers who are running 10k every day in January, to raise money for dementia UK after losing their grandparents to the condition, the tallest woman on OnlyFans and a woman who has foxes as pets and uses them for therapy.

I also have regular meetings, twice a day, with the rest of the brilliant Real Life team, to discuss the schedule and any ideas we have.

• What’s some of the standout stories you reported on last year?

My best performing story of last year was about a man who had £85,000 limb-lengthening surgery to go from six foot to six foot seven – it was such a fascinating interview and the story ended up going viral, appearing in outlets such as The Mirror, Insider and LadBible.

Another one of my favourite stories was ‘Gay throuple hopes to be second in US to officially be parents’ – this story was a pleasure to write, and was so interesting to hear about how they navigate their relationship and traditional gender roles. It featured in publications such as New York Post and Mail Online and was debated on GB News.

A further stand out article was ‘Girl, 7, comes home from school with ‘sniffles’ and dies the next day with strep A.’ I felt as though this was such an important piece to get out there as it raises awareness about strep A and the potential warning signs. The article was picked up by Metro, Daily Express, The Sun, The Independent, and many more outlets.

• Did you notice any trends last year – was there a certain type of story that proved a regular occurrence with the people you were speaking to?

I think stories related to the cost of living crisis proved popular and resonated with a great deal of readers. For example, I wrote a story about a mum-of-two who managed to clear £40,000 of debt and bought all of her Christmas gifts second hand to try to save money amid the cost of living crisis. I also spoke to a woman who collected yellow sticker items from the supermarket to give to Ukrainian refugees. 

• Why do you think human interest stories are so popular with audiences?

I think human interest stories have the power to resonate with people, and make audiences feel as if they are not alone in any difficulties they are facing. Whether it’s raising awareness about a health condition or any personal struggles, we often get comments from others who have been through similar things and say they found our articles comforting. 

With our more wacky stories, such as a woman who has a fear of peas or a divorcee who turned her ex’s villa into a nudist resort, I think audiences are just fascinated by the lives these people lead. In interviews, I always try to ask the questions your average joe would be thinking, as well as those harder questions which may take a bit of encouragement for interviewees to answer.

• Tell us about yourself outside of work – what are some of your hobbies?

To wind down, some of my favourite hobbies are going to the cinema with friends, cooking, and reading. I also love going to gigs in and around Sheffield, where I’m based.

• Finally, what are your hopes and dreams for 2024?

In 2024, I’d love to learn even more about AI and how we can use it to our advantage in the newsroom. I’m also keen to do some more in-person interviews and hopefully get myself on a press trip! 

Learn more about PA Media’s Real Life offering here.

Watch the on-demand webinar recording of How journalists can find real people online: Driving engagement with human-interest stories hosted by Real Life Editor Edd Dracott who talks more about how the Real Life team find these ordinary people with incredible skills. Watch here.