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When the papers break the PR rules

In: #GoClare, BBC, Clare Balding, Customer Service, media, PR, Reputation, Sunday Times · 02-Aug-10 10:44 · Comments (2)

The public outrage at the treatment of Clare Balding by the editor of The Sunday Times has this week again shown the power of Twitter as a tool for expressing public opinion and gaining support.

Following a complaint made by the BBC broadcaster about a review of her upcoming show ‘Britain by Bike', Balding received a response from the Sunday Times editor, which then fuelled her to write to the Press Complaints Commission. Balding, who made her debut last month on the social networking site, tweeted about the experience and later commented that she was ‘truly stunned' by the response.

What is perhaps more surprising about this debate (at least from a communications perspective) is how The Sunday Times reacted to the complaint. Whatever side of the argument you fall on, it is fair to say that the response to the initial complaint broke all the PR (and customer service) rules; rather than acknowledging, showing some empathy, then stating his case, the editor appeared to launch straight into his own political views, serving to fuel anger around the debate, rather than calm the situation. And all this in the knowledge that the response would, at the very best, be judged by fellow journalists, and at the very least be scrutinised by the wider online community.

Publishers are not exempt from the examination of the wider public and need to consider the reputation of their brand in their communications; and, like any business, this could mean getting some good PR advice.

 

Helen

The morning after the night before – is negotiation the key to a successful relationship?

In: Media, PR, Topical News · 13-May-10 09:06 · Comments (5)

This week saw the establishment of the UK’s first coalition government and two leaders from opposing parties brought together to lead the country. Over the forthcoming months it will be interesting to see whether David Cameron and Nick Clegg are able to establish an effective working relationship. I imagine that right now they feel much like one might the morning after an arranged marriage, or marriage of convenience, and they are now left sharing a bed with someone they barely know.  

I’ve heard before that the key to success in a marriage is negotiation. I’m sure negotiation skills will be vital between Cameron and Clegg to ensure their relationship, and the country’s government, is a success.

As a PR person I am only too aware of the importance of negotiation in relationships. My role is to ensure a client meets its business objectives through successful PR campaigns, whilst also providing the media with newsworthy stories. Negotiating between what the client wants to say to raise the profile of their business, and what a journalist wants to hear to put together an exciting story that will sell their publication, is therefore fundamental.

Whilst at times this can be a juggling act, with a full understanding of the motives of both parties, open and honest dialogue and the management of expectations, an agreement can be made to everyone’s benefit.  

Let’s just hope our new leaders can use the same skills to lead the country back into the black and on the path towards a strong future.

Lindsay

 

 

How much has the media swayed your vote?

In: Current Affairs, Media, Topical News · 06-May-10 15:25 · Comments (3)

Finally, after being exposed to masses of media coverage, the day has arrived when over 44 million UK people can decide who to vote for in the General Election. It's been interesting to see what tactics the different parties have used to raise their profiles over the past few weeks; using celebrity endorsement, debating policies on live television and meeting the general public face to face.

It's obvious when you read some of the national newspapers which party they are backing, with some giving warnings to their readers of the consequences of voting for the other parties and stating why they think one leader would be better than the rest. For instance, this morning's Mirror was warning its readers not to be conned by David Cameron, Sun readers were left pondering if Britain could take five more years of hard labour and the Daily Express told us that David Cameron is our only hope.

It really makes me wonder how many people actually take notice and really base their decision on the views of their favourite newspaper. I'm sure this is the case for some voters as the power of the media is very strong, particularly on a day like today. But, I hope that most of us will actually make up our own mind as to which party would best serve both our local area and country and not be too swayed by scare tactics plastered across most of today's nationals.

Angela

Would you pay to use Facebook?

In: Human Interest, Media, Social Media, Topical Interest · 22-Apr-10 17:18 · Comments (0)

This is an interesting question for millions of global users to ponder. I think the prospect of even paying a few pounds per month for a service that people are used to accessing for free would go down like a lead balloon. In fact, if this rumour turns out to be true then many Facebook users, including myself, wouldn't hesitate to simply delete their accounts and look for other ways of communicating with the outside world.

Understandably the social media site is looking for ways of generating additional revenue from its 400 million users worldwide, but it risks upsetting its contacts and losing them from its enviable database. Many of us have shared our personal thoughts, feelings, discussions and photos with friends and family on Facebook for many years and will be really disappointed to have to pay for it. However, maybe it was too good to be true for us to have access to such a collaborative and interactive site for free for so long and possibly it's only a matter of time before there's a cost associated with it, which will be a huge shame.

But, this is definitely a sign of the times as The Sunday Times and Times only announced last month that it too will charge the public to access its online material. More of us are using the internet to access information, read books, order goods and communicate, rather than read hard copy material, and organisations are obviously looking for ways to take advantage of this. Personally I wouldn't be surprised to see more businesses going down the same route in years to come.

Angela

Podcast flies to the rescue for BA boss

In: Ascent, broadcast, media, news agenda, podcast, PR · 31-Mar-10 16:33 · Comments (1)

Picture the scene: a very fraught PR team has to position their client at the top of the national news agenda as the company is in the middle of one of the most controversial industrial disputes for decades.

But you don't want any awkward questions to have to deal with from journalists intent on trying to catch you out.

Answer: Record a podcast and let them play that on the News At Ten instead.

I realise I should spend my weekends doing more interesting things but I was genuinely impressed by the way the British Airways boss Willie Walsh managed to bypass all the tricky questions that were destined for him but at the same time managed to get his message across on the evening news, uninterrupted and on his terms.

Mr Walsh has come in for some serious stick over his handling of the BA cabin crew strike that dominated the news agenda very recently as hundreds of Air Mile-hungry media execs wondered how they were going to get to the Maldives for their late winter/early spring/Easter/any excuse holiday.
While the latest news reports were running across the broadcast media complete with furious trade unions, the journalist said that BA had not given them a statement, but instead sent in a podcast of Mr Walsh sitting in his office, telling it like it is from his point of view.

It was well produced and they even got him to look just to the right of camera as if talking to a journo stood behind a mic asking questions.
Here are Ascent we felt it achieved a number of things. First the aforementioned bullet-dodging which is always good, but it also meant that a written statement wasn't sliced up by the editor and read out in a surly voice by the news programme presenter.

The risk is that they news programme won't run it of course and you don't get any of your messages across, but the journalist then stands accused of not giving the airline right of reply in that case and given the option of nothing at all and something, they are more often than not going to take something.

I wonder if this will set a trend and broadcast news journalists will spend even more time splicing together pre-recorded video statements from comms teams, rather than being able to source their own material? And maybe the days of being made to look a fool on TV by a smug-faced journalist are over as well.

 

Simon  (former journalist)