Behind The Spin

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. 

I pod, you pod, now everyone’s a blogger

If you’d have asked me this time last year what a blog or podcast was I’d have looked at you with a blank stare and wondered what an earth you were talking about, writes Jasmine Headley

Following the recent CIPR conference ‘Making the News – Blogging, RSS and the New PR’ at Sunderland University I now feel enlightened.

Pretty much everything ‘new media’ was covered and the world of blogs, podcasts and RSS was opened up to an enthusiastic audience of public relations professionals from around the UK – all eager to learn about new ways to communicate online.

The consensus of the conference was that channels of communication are changing and that new online communication tools, such as blogs and podcasts, provide PROs with exciting opportunities. They offer new ways to converse with the public and reach new audiences, and as such, will fundamentally change PR.

Cliff Richard, Bingo, Joan Collins, Scratch Cards, Spray-Painted Sofas...

……… it must be a government health campaign !

In recent years the Government has increasingly used public relations consultancies to help run health education programmes. Laura Darke visited the Forster Company and found that they require some very different PR techniques.

Formed in 1996, The Forster Company is not a stereotypical ‘on-the-phone to journalists’ PR agency. It deals instead with social change, especially in the field of health and the environment.

The Company is currently dealing with a number of high profile public health campaigns, including the Department of Health flu immunisation programme targeted at the over-65s and those in ‘at risk’ groups. It is the third consecutive year that the company have worked on the campaign. 

The agency is always looking for new ways to reach an audience that don’t just rely on the media.  It tries to find “touch points” to reach the person who needs to receive the key message, in this case “get a flu jab.”  A lot of time is invested in building partnership relationships and utilising the networks that are already in practice.

Don’t let the Terminator lead you astray

When it comes to losing weight or keeping fit, Chris Duffield believes celebrities and the mass media are guilty of exploitation, not inspiration

Research suggests that one way to accomplish a goal is to “model” someone who has achieved what you desire. Whether consciously or not, we all at times compare ourselves to role models, icons or even a friend whom we admire.
Health and fitness magazines promote fashionable diets that seem to be given coverage only if they have been used and approved by a famous celebrity. One of the most popular is the Atkins diet, used and endorsed by celebrities such as Geri Halliwell and Jennifer Aniston. There is much controversy surrounding the Atkins diet, which is high in protein and fat, and classed as ketogenic (very low in carbohydrates).  In Britain, three million people are believed to be following the Atkins diet.

Cosmetic wonder creams - science fiction or science fact?

I'm a 23-year old female, writes Ify Anyaegbunam.  A recent test using a machine called a Multi Dermascope tells me that I have the skin elasticity of a 20-year-old.  So why is it that I am currently searching for an affordable anti-wrinkle cream?  Do I really believe I can find the secret to eternal youth for under £7?

According to psychologists it is because looking old can cause serious mental distress. Where a wrinkle or two on a man adds character, on a woman they represent a slippery slope to old age.  It seems many women in the UK agree.  According to a Boots survey, 1 in 3 women over the age of 30 now uses an anti-ageing product.  A fact that the likes of L'Oreal, Boots and other cosmetics giants have used to create a multi-billion pound industry.

McDonalds, healthy eating, and the Happy Meal of the future

Clare Goldie, from the University of Teesside, investigates fast food giant McDonald's new healthier approach, and asks what the future may hold for the  'Big Mac'...

It’s May 10, 1997, the final school bell rings and I start to get excited. I change into my new outfit, pink pedal pushers and a matching top (this was fashionable back then), my school mates start to arrive. McDonald's are the hosts of my 13th birthday party and its chicken nuggets, hamburgers and fries all round.

Now, 7 years on and thankfully my fashion sense has improved. However, some things have remained the same. McDonald's are still the multi-million pound corporation they always were and they are still holding parties for what seems to be their number 1 target public: children.

Cooling the flame: Why teenage girls still smoke

For years governments have been producing campaign after campaign to dissuade us from smoking. They have shown us the victims of lung cancer on their death beds; our own insides as a result of smoking; bombarded the public through every part of the media and have brought the debate to almost every home in the UK, writes Alex Pullin (left).

Naomi King, director of anti-smoking group ASH in Wales told the Western Mail: “The effects of passive smoking could be lessened by having a ban on smoking in public places and would also make smoking less acceptable which would have an impact on the smoking rate among children.” The campaigners for a public smoking ban seem to be getting heard in Westminster. Tony Blair appears to be considering a ban in public places once the prohibition of smoking in pubs has been finalised.