Behind The Spin

Snap happy or picture perfect

Joseph Sharp says that getting the right photograph needs as much careful planning as other aspects of a PR campaign

Pictures can provoke a number of emotional responses: fear, anger, pity, admiration, lust and desire, to name a few.

For example, readers of magazines filled with images of celebrities see the pictures in differing ways. Some groups will see the polished images as something to aspire to - big houses, fridges and cars represent success and happiness to them. Others feel pity and even frustration after seeing the pictures because they may believe that the over-consuming lifestyles pictured are damaging the world’s physical and social environment.

Global warming changes attitudes to nuclear power

Dorothy Seed (left), Head of Communications, Corporate Affairs, BNFL, says that growing public understanding of the impending energy crisis has reduced hostility to nuclear power

It is a memory that still remains with me.  As our holiday flight prepared for take-off I heard a loud voice from a few rows behind.  “I work for Public Enemy Number One”. 

A few seconds pause, as fellow travellers like me assumed the very vocal passenger was about to refer to the Inland Revenue.  But no, it turned out he worked for the nuclear industry and was just expressing his own feelings about working in an industry that nobody liked or trusted.

That was back in the 1980s when the UK nuclear industry was going through a very difficult time. Company press officers were inundated on an almost daily basis with negative stories at national and local level and they were permanently on the defensive. 

There was also another side to public attitudes, perhaps best summed up by a comment I received from a member of the public visiting a nuclear exhibition stand in North West England.  “Nuclear power, that’s a thing of the future isn’t it?”  The fact that, even in those days, nuclear energy was contributing more than one fifth of the UK’s electricity supplies was generally not widely known.

See it right

Heather Smith does a consumer test to find out which websites are accessible to the two million people in the UK with sight problems

Jamie Oliver grates nutmeg on to a bowl of pasta and Sainsbury's report an increase in weekly sales of the spice from 1,400 to 6,000 jars. The stomach-churning sight of fat oozing from cigarettes in a British Heart Foundation TV ad sends addicts 'in droves' to smoking cessation clinics.

These facts reinforce what PR practitioners already know about the ability of the well-chosen image to sway hearts and minds.

Website designers also understand the power of the visual image. Buttons, banners, Flash animations, photographs, colour schemes and text are all used to create the right impression with visitors. But what happens when the target audience has difficulty seeing these images? How do companies communicate messages effectively to visually-impaired audiences on the web?

According to the RNIB, two million people in the UK have sight problems. Of these, approximately one million are classed as blind or partially sighted. The web is especially important for the visually-impaired who may find accessing services through 'traditional' routes difficult or impossible.

Getting Students to Get Out

Eileen Jones, who heads the PR course at Huddersfield University, was impressed by recent Behind the Spin articles on Blogging (here, here, here, here).  But she says there are dangers in students spending too much time at the keyboard.

Firstly, blogging suffers the same fate as much unedited, web-placed material. Much of it is poorly written and personally opinionated, so that the occasional item of excellence has to be sought with the fervour of a gardener in search of a four-leaved clover.

Secondly, young people coming into university to study PR and journalism appear to have a scepticism of their own. Some are unimpressed by the ego-centricity of some blogs; others see yet another “new media revolution” which they believe will be surpassed or bypassed in a few years’ time.

We may be wrong, very wrong, and we will certainly not sit back and ignore what is happening in the blogosphere. But it is Tony Bradley’s demand “People skills are a must” that engages my attention more.

He says:  “I mean being curious about people (the ones you like and the ones you don’t!), what makes them tick, how they respond to communications and how and why they make the decisions they do.”

My experience as a teacher is that young people – bloggers or not – belong to a generation which has lost the ability to engage directly with people. They can compose a text message (under the desk, during a lecture, without looking at the keyboard,) but they are afraid to make a phone call to someone they don’t know.

From Soap Box to Soap Opera

Television, Politics and the Dumbing-Down of the Electorate

There has been a good deal of speculation in recent years concerning the negative impact of the media, especially television, on politics and political culture in British society, writes Liam French.

Poor election turnout rates and political apathy, particularly amongst young people, is often attributed to the increasing attrition of political culture brought about by the trivialising effects of the media. Politics now has to be packaged in order to grab our attention amidst the many media and communication channels that dazzle and distract us.

To this end, politicians come to rely more and more on PR consultants, press advisors and image-management experts. In today's media saturated society, image management is paramount and manifests itself in various practices such as 'the walk-about' (or ‘the ride-around’ in David Cameron’s case), the press conference or carefully stage-managed public appearance at a high profile media event.

The Road to Eden

Chris Hines, the founder of Surfers Against Sewage, is now Sustainability Director of the Eden Project in Cornwall. He spoke to the Behind the Spin conference about the steps individuals can take to improve the Environment

Sustainability impacts on every single aspect of our lives: the air we breathe, the food we eat, pollution, environment, quality of life, happiness…

And for most of us, once we earn over a certain amount (£22,000 is often quoted) we don’t become any happier. When I get stuck in a little wicker box at the end of my life and put in a hole or burnt I’m not going to say: “Damn, I never did get that Mercedes Turbo SP20 Super charged car”.

The things that I will regret will be not having spoken to people like you, not having gone and seen my parents, my partner – all of those things – and celebrating the natural environment that I live in. So we need to change some of our value systems.

Every organisation and every person has an impact and sustainability is about minimising that impact, maximising the efficiency of what we’ve got and making it relevant.

Action speaks louder than words, and we at the Eden Project put in a lot of effort to make sure that we do walk the talk.

Spread the word about China's secret

Behind the Spin reader Hazel Tan writes:

I have just started up in business with the support of the Prince’s Trust.  China’s Secret aims to turn tea drinking into a visual and aromatic experience – through our unique handcrafted flowerball teas, which when brewed reveal a flower on the inside.

Here is a film clip of the tea blossoming - http://www.chinasecret.co.uk/tea_movie.php?movie=tea1

Despite funds being tight, I am rather ambitious and would like to see some fast business growth. I quite understand the importance of PR however, am intimidated by cold calling. So my 2 questions are:

1) Are there any students requiring/wanting work experience that I can tap into? Which universities do you recommend I approach (ie. those with good courses in media relations?). Perhaps they could use my business as a case study for students to work on?

2) Do you know of any large PR companies who would be willing to assist me pro bono or for a minimal fee? An award winning design agency designed my entire brand, packaging, etc. for a very very small fee.

In return I offer creative freedom, opportunity to gain real life experience and a great product (if I say so myself!). Aiming for the high-end publications, TV and radio.

What happens when the “new media” isn’t new enough?

Guest editor Kevin Overbury welcomes you to Behind the Spin Issue 13...

Just a year ago – certainly two – few PR professionals would have really known what was meant by the terms blogging or RSS feeds or podcasts. They might have prided themselves of knowing about “new media”, but by that they probably meant websites, or email, or for the really adventurous the ‘listen again’ options on the BBC website.

Now what we might call the “new new media” words are entering the industry’s consciousness. More and more PR professionals are recognizing that they need to learn, and learn quickly if they are to provide clients with a genuinely comprehensive service.

Indeed three conferences on blogging and new media hosted by Sunderland University attracted a large number of PR professionals eager to learn. This issue contains a series of articles about blogging, podcasting and citizen journalism and a host of other new ideas to bamboozle the technologically illiterate. They are written by the people who will be tomorrow’s mainstream PR practitioners – students and graduates to whom the new media is just part of the way life is.

Citizen media or the death of journalism?

Journalism has long been a professional career with set regulations and standards. Now citizens can act as journalists, writing anything they desire either through internet news pages or blogs. Katrina James describes how the PR industry will be affected.

New media and old skills: the way ahead for PR

Weblogs and other social softwares are changing PR - and staying ahead of the game can offer opportunities for students looking for first career break. If PR is about projecting a reputation, a showcase blog can be a help, writes Philip Young

How the UK's top student blogger made his name

Knowing that blogs exists and will change PR is one thing. But getting your hands dirty and starting one yourself is the real way to face up to the changes ahead. Sunderland University PR student Stephen Davies provides a first-hand account of success.

IBM: Big Blue blogging

Jodie Cooper finds how IBM, one of the world’s biggest companies, has turned blogging into something its employees do naturally – both internally, and on sites for the world to see.

Turn on, tune in and soak up the images

Television is about presentation, entertainment and amusement – and today’s politicians know that it’s overwhelmingly the best way to get through to a generation of young voters turned off by House of Commons debates. Sadie Phillips looks at the implications

Tinseltown shows its serious side

Six Oscars, six different films – and not a blockbuster in sight as this year’s main Academy Award winners put thoughtful, serious movie-making at the forefront. Matthew Cook looks at how the big-budget spectaculars were ousted, and what’s on the blocks for the year ahead

When the Talkies come to town

Talking films soon ousted the silent movies. But despite our ability to add sound to every medium from websites to mobile phones, the PR industry has yet to give its clients’ publics anything worth listening to. Reginald Watts explains why a sound strategy for a public relations campaign will soon mean exactly that!

Graduation anecdotes

The excitement of graduation and the world of fulltime employment with benefits, and a fantastic social life is immense during the final academic semester, writes Mercy Kaggwa.

Speed Dating with PR professionals

Bournemouth University CIPR representatives Victoria Goddard and Amy Ashworth enter the daunting world of event organisation to arrange a ‘speed dating’ evening with PR professionals.

Why PR degrees need PR

Work in a bar, or get a PR degree? According to some in the industry, when it comes to jobhunting one is as good as the other. Christina S. Holm explains why they are wrong.

Making a podcast out of a crisis

Chatrooms, podcasts, blogs, webcasting, RSS, digital interactive TV, 3G mobile telly-phones, vidcasts, blackberry, broadband, wi-fi – the list goes on. The range of gadgets and electronic communication media that have exploded on to the scene in the past five years is having a significant impact on today’s PR practitioner, particularly in times of crisis, writes Susan Black

According to a survey of 20 UK Public Relations practitioners:

• Over 80 percent of respondents have researched and prioritised their key stakeholders
• 94 percent of respondents were involved in crisis PR and all respondents, to varying degrees, found new media technology effective in a crisis
• A well-rehearsed crisis management team was cited as the top priority, followed in joint second place by two-way dialogue with stakeholders and that staff should learn about the crisis from management
• 100 percent said they manually monitored the electronic environment, but the “holy grail” of an effective, thorough and cost-efficient e-monitoring system was still somewhat elusive
• Only 6 percent of respondents actively engaged and interacted with blogs on behalf of their organisation or agency clients PR practitioners increasingly use electronic newswires to filter messages via the traditional Press release or statement out to the media in times of crisis
• Practitioners recognised the importance of the corporate website as a tool to host regular factual updates in times of crisis

Get up to speed - or miss the bus...

New media – even in the form of today’s rudimentary internet – is opening up a new way of communicating that we just cannot ignore. Gitanjali Diwan reports.

Blogs: answer to voting apathy?

Do you know what your local councillor does? Well, one easy way for them to keep you informed –and help to boost electors’ interest in local politics – is to start a blog. And it’s an idea that works, reports David Ross-Tomlin

Gagging for gossip

The higher they climb – the harder they fall. And as Ros Jones reports, there are plenty of celebrity magazines around to ensure we get a chance to see our objects of desire turn into objects of ridicule

Regulation can be about being fit, fabulous and 40

The General Teaching Council for Scotland turned 40 in 2005 and needs to look long and hard at communication and the challenges it poses for a regulatory body. Glenise Borthwick reports.

Communicating risk

Making sure people really understand the risks involved in things they elect to do is not easy – but it is essential, says Alison R. Sammut

Better late than never

Starting a degree course is daunting enough for anyone. But being a mature student juggling uni life with the ironing mountain and trying to forget that your fellowstudents are the same age as your children adds another level of stress – and achievement, writes Heather Smith

Why charity should begin in PR

With competition between charities to raise funds getting fiercer by the day, public relations could offer the edge some of them need. But, asks Amy Martinez, should charities be wary of a profession that could potentially give them too much success?

How and why PR should sharpen up its focus

The business community views public relations with uncertainty and even mistrust – a situation unlikely to alter as long as too many definitions of PR allow too many types of practitioner to cluster under a single umbrella title. What is needed is to find a single coherent definition of PR, with a clear methodology that is comprehensive and understandable to both supplier and customer. Chris Taylor suggests an answer.

Media studies: a Mickey Mouse degree?

Media is vital to our lives, so it should be studied properly. And anyway, media studies graduates have a better-than-average chance of landing a job – so why are media degrees sometimes so scorned? Will Duffield reports

One-woman campaign goes up on the roof

Dorothy Skrytek was so angry at plans to re-develop an Art Deco bus station that she spent five months in a one-woman publicity campaign living on the roof. Siobhan Curtis reports.

Back off lads, he’s got a guitar

Since the first time a caveman picked up a mammoth bone and started banging it on a rock in a vaguely rhythmic manner, the political song has been part of our lives, writes Will Blake.

From the ancient Greeks singing Homer’s epics, laden with not-so-subtle racial propaganda, and bards in mediaeval Europe playing tunes which celebrated the feats of the noble Knights of the day.
And let’s not overlook “God Save the Queen” or “Rule Britannia,” songs which drill into us a sense of patriotism and subservience to crown and country.

In the second half of the 20th century, a new breed of political song against the injustices of the day emerged, striking fear in the hearts of all fascists and advocates of the Vietnam War. Many were written by Bob Dylan.

Particularly on his early records, Dylan sang about the warmongerers of the time. Never could there be an angrier and more overtly political song than Masters of War where Dylan sings: “You hide in your mansion, while the young people’s blood, flows out of their bodies and is buried in the mud”.
But who is today’s Dylan ?  The first thought would be no one, and if this is the case then why?  Some may argue that there is no great injustice, such as the Vietnam War, around which everyone can rally.