Archive for September, 2010

I gave an interview for CIPR website’s recently launched TV strand, which streamed live on the internet yesterday and is now available on demand. Click here to watch it.

I spoke with Philip Sheldrake and Stephen Waddington; much was discussed, from the speed of change that technology forces on PR, how advertising is trying to muscle in on PR and what the future holds for PR.

It was interesting to get the questions straight from the people watching via Twitter – although I suspect that too many people were heavily editing my answers in order to tweet and were not listening to the points I was attempting to posit.

I suggested that PR people were too often like the cobbler whose own shoes were full of holes – we’re great at selling others but not ourselves – and this lack of attention seems to reinforce that point.

That grumble aside, there were plenty of incisive questions coming in and the show went remarkably smoothly. I’m looking forward to seeing the next interview.

Conundrum of the week is the strange case of why In Touch magazine ran a story suggesting athletic rumpy pumpy between Beckham and exotic model-come-prostitute Irma Nici.

I might be wrong, but it all feels so fake. Certainly, David Beckham looks set to sue the US magazine for the claims that he went a bit Rooney.

Bauer – who publish In Touch – clearly did not comprehend the chaos that would be unleashed. I suspect their office must have echoed with the cry of: “Bugger the truth, the story is too good to ignore!” The fall out and collective web chatter suggests a plethora of conspiracy theories. My favourite so far is the one that suggests that it is a hoax attempting to derail England’s World Cup bid. Read the rest of this entry »

Has Chris Moyles lost his marbles? Or just thrown them out of the pram? His tirade, live on air earlier this week accusing his employers of non payment of his salary, was a foolish public outburst that he might well come to regret.

The BBC has always been worried about the talent becoming bigger than the brand and situations like this, where the star uses his leverage in the press to air a grievance – well, it’s usually accompanied with the sound of the ironmonger making coffin nails.

Think of the Blue Peter folk who became too big for the show or the newsreaders who were too big for their low cut frocks. Every personality – even one as huge as Moyles – who thinks he is bigger than his station or broadcaster is playing a dangerous game. Moyles already has a big profile on Twitter – he didn’t need to do this live on air, and I’m betting he woke up the next day regretting it. Read the rest of this entry »

Before the Papal three-ring-circus moved into town, I was asked by a number of media outlets what I thought of the Pope’s PR apparatus. At the time, I commented that it didn’t take a rocket scientist to see that this anachronistic throwback was not fit for modern media purpose. Lacking charisma (in stark contrast with his predecessor, John Paul II), I suggested that Benedict would find it difficult to counter the unease at his tour of Britain. I suggested he was not “God’s Showman” – not instinctively sharp, witty or insightful and with a poor history in delivering the one-liners and sound bites that are the foundation of being a 21st century media success. Read the rest of this entry »

The more I think about Lady Gaga’s meaty costume worn at her appearance at the MTV Awards, the less sure I am about the intentions behind it.

Is it 1) a controlled and thoughtful satire in meat couture about the plight of women in the pop industry, who are oiled up, lubed up, dressed in schoolgirl attire and presented in an assortment of cheesily provocative poses for the pleasure of older men all over the planet, MTV being the spiritual home of this meat market? Given that Gaga has come out on the side of the outsider in a number of interviews, this is perfectly possible.

Or is it 2), a huge, desperate mistake, concocted in the back rooms of her PR company by giggling rejects from a Chris Morris media satire determined to multiply the outrage Gaga generates every time she goes out?

Given Gaga’s wardrobe people have been vying to outdo their previous creations (cigarette sunglasses, playing a piano sat on a toilet for the X Factor etc) each time they come up with a new one, it would be forgivable to suspect the latter. Read the rest of this entry »

It was saddening to read about the death of Eileen Nearne, aged 89, who had lived a reclusive life for 20 years and had few if any friends and a niece who lived abroad and last managed to visit her 6 months before she died.

It’s always sad to see someone left so alone in the world, but doubly so with Nearne as it turned out she was a war hero in the Second World War and none of her neighbours knew. A member of the Special Operations Executive during the war, she had parachuted behind German lines, been captured twice and talked her way out of trouble before being incarcerated in a labour camp – which she then escaped from and went on the run until the American troops arrived.

This modest woman spoke to no one about her exploits in the last 20 years of her life and was only saved from a council grave by the discovery of wartime French currency, her MBE and various letters that have now been sent to the Ministry of Defence.

But saddest of all is the sort of stories that are appearing in the tabloids at the moment – Wayne Rooney’s sex life still rules the roost Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve just seen footage on YouTube of a reality show that should have the PR industry quaking in its boots – PR-based reality TV show The Spin Crowd.

What I’ve seen suggests that it’s a show packed with clipboard Nazis, fashionistas and other fluffy-brained reprobates representative of the old cliché of what PR is supposed to be about – the sort of people who behave like 9 year olds who’ve found the booze cupboard and whose worldview is shallower than the mirage of a puddle.

The PR industry is undergoing a revolution at the moment – a lot of people are beginning to recognise that it can be a huge force in the world and that the captivating narratives it guides, for people, products and more, can be of enormous use and influence. Read the rest of this entry »

Why in God’s name is the media giving this bloody Pentecostal minister in Florida so much press? Pastor Terry Jones is simply a dangerous and deranged attention seeker. Look, I understand it’s a news story, but if the media had ignored him the frenzy could have been easily abated.

Jones has succeeded in projecting his need to be self-important onto a world stage and to use his religion to put down another religion. The US media, which gave Jones the oxygen of publicity, should hang their collective heads in shame. All that’s been achieved is a dangerous fanning of the flames of extremism and further terrorist activity. Read the rest of this entry »

Given the scale of the flood disaster in Pakistan, it is distressing to see that the British media seems to be missing any sense of urgency about it. Any coverage seems to be being abrogated in favour of the urgent news that Wayne Rooney may have slept with prostitutes.

I am beginning to wonder if there is any racism involved here, ingrained in our reaction. The country is in turmoil, but we are busy with shaming and hounding our sportsmen. America is busy too – attempting to stave off a nut with a church to his name who wants to burn the Koran on September 11th. But the PR pressure and energy the American government is expending on saying that this bigot is wrong could surely be better spent helping the Pakistani people. We are talking about a disaster on a magnitude as great if not greater than Haiti. And yet nothing seems to be happening. Read the rest of this entry »

In the greater scheme of things, does it really matter who William Hague shares a room with? I’m sure his wife, Ffion, would think it does, especially as she’s the one who’s been thrown unceremoniously to the wolves in the name of promoting her husband’s heterosexuality, in the wake of the rumour-mongering hoo-ha over his supposed relationship with special adviser Christopher Myers. I feel for Ffion, caught in a clutches of desperate PR ploy. Promoting a happy marriage is a recipe for disaster if the marriage is not actually happy.

The story floated in the Telegraph last week that a allegations about to be printed by Sunday tabloids would be met with strident legal action potentially alerted the wider audience that to a breaking scandal. This was rash and perhaps too clever. Read the rest of this entry »