mediations

Colin Farrington and "bad blogging"

There is an interesting discussion developing on CIPR president Tony Bradley's PR Voice about why some people are reluctant to comment on blogs, sparked by what Tony calls the 'firestorm' which followed CIPR director general Colin Farrington's rather sceptical observations about blogging on Profile Extra.

Here's a taste of Colin's piece:

It’s really the sense of most blogs being first jottings and half thought through that bothers me. I value the language of Shakespeare, Samuel Beckett and Hemingway too much to see its daily massacre.

‘Blogs’ seem in many cases to spring straight from a semi-engaged brain on to the page. I cringe at the inability of people to stand back and critically assess their thoughts before committing them, arrogantly, world-wide (or so they think – most get read by a few saddies and surfers).

Now, I have met Colin on a few occasions and, although he does not speak like Shakespeare or Hemingway, his is a voice worth listening to; indeed, anyone trying to understand PR needs consider carefully the public words of one of its most prominent people.

Unfortunately, Colin seems less inclined to read anyone who doesn't write sparkling and lucid English - ie most bloggers. As his comments on PR Voice suggest, he is probably even less likely to value comments made though a 'vanity publishing' platform such as Mediations.

Let's think about this. Suppose the CIPR launches a new product or service. Suppose the DG asks how it is going. Suppose the person in charge of evaluating performance says 'we don't know'?

The DG would probably be rather concerned. As he left the room he might notice a box that seems to be full of letters. Intrigued, he asks what they are. "Oh," says the evaluator, "those are just from people who don't write very well, can't spell, use green ink, like the sound of their own voice."

The point is that it isn't even that the letters aren't very well written that matters - it is the conversations that are going on around the new service that we can't ignore. It is not what people say to your face that matters, it was what they say to each other when you leave the room that matters. That is reputation.

Social softwares are creating new types of conversations and is vital that PR understands how these conversations are happening.

One of the most alarming findings of EuroBlog2006 was that although a significant number of practitioners suggested they were or would soon be running blogs, few saw the ability to monitor conversations as a positive advantage of engaging with digital dialogues.

However well intentioned, you simply can't say, as Colin does, "Down with bad blogging." It is indefensible on several counts.

Firstly, it is a horribly elitist position: sorry, your opinon doesn't count because you aren't as well educated as I am, nor are you as interesting.

So much for inclusivity and diversity.

And to labour the point, how do those who dismiss blogging think young people especially, communicate nowadays. Through carefully crafted letters, either to each other or to the Daily Telegraph?

Not in my experience. They chat on their mobile phones, they chat on MSN, they share pictures on Flickr and upload videos to YouTube.

Weblogs are just one small part of a world that is being transformed by social software; PR has to understand that change.      

Damages for spam

From BBC News: "A businessman has won what is believed to be the first victory of its kind by claiming damages from a company which sent him e-mail spam.

"Nigel Roberts, who lives in Alderney in the Channel Islands, took action against Media Logistics UK over junk e-mails in his personal account."

Rebuilding hope

Just back from the CIPR post-7/7 Rebuilding Hope conference in Leeds. It was an unusual, moving event which clearly touched everyone who attended; it also highlighted frailties in many conceptions of PR in a way that merits careful thought.

For me, two speakers stood out for their quiet dignity and sheer emotional power of what they said.

Six months ago, neither Robert Webb or Tuhel Miah could have imagined they would be addressing such a conference; both, I am sure, sincerely wish they had never had the occasion to do so. Robert, a PRO at Cardiff City Council, lost his sister Laura on July 7. Tuhel is a Muslim living in Beeston, the area of Leeds where three of the bombers lived.

The grit in the oyster was provided by Darcus Howe, whose spiky and provocative contribution brought vivid contrast into a challenging day. My own contribution tried to offer a framework for thinking about some very difficult ethical issues - which is exactly what I intend to do right now.

More tomorrow. 

£23K Spin-Bill in Death Probe

North East morning paper The Journal splashes on '£23K SPIN-BILL IN DEATH PROBE", with the strap "PR move disgusting - MP'. Unfortunately the Journal story is only available online to paying subscribers but here's a flavour...

"Council bosses paid more than £20,000 for a "reputation consultant" as they prepared a report on the killing of a pensioner in a North East care home.

"Newcastle Council spent £22,929 of taxpayers' money to employ Sue Stapely to advise them on public relations over the investigation into the death of 93-year-old Olive Garvie.

"Mrs Garvie was battered to death by 83-year-old May Thrower at Coniscliffe Residential Home in Jemond, Newcastle, in February last year.

"It was later discovered that Thrower had previously spent 17 years in a secure hospital and had past convictions for violent assaults - yet crucial reports on her past had been lost or destroyed."

Newcastle Central MP Jim Cousins is quoted as saying: "It (the payment to Stapely) brings shame to everyone involved, and everyone who set this up should get out of public life. It is absolutely disgusting."

Council leader Peter Arnold counters: "In a difficult situation like the one we were faced with, you've got to get the right kind of advice and that often can be quite expensive. Sometimes there is an undue sensitivity about whether public funds should be spent for this kind of purpose."

Spending so much money on advice was a gift to political opponents; what it bought was, among other things, a pretty damning verdict in the Journal's leader column.

The paper condemns the council for bringing in an image consultant when what was needed was an explanation of what exactly went on, of how the tragedy could happen.

It Journal's key question is simple: "What, exactly, was wrong with the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

The clear implication is that whatever else it might have been, Stapely's prime role was not to add clarity to the investigation.

Maybe the Journal is wrong - but it is hard to make a countercase when what exactly she did to earn the money remains a mystery; it is 'commercially sensitive.'   

Yet again, proof that public relations is not very good at public relations...

Making the news conference

The University of Sunderland is hosting a conference for PR practitioners, Making the news – Blogging, RSS and the New PR, on November 18.

Leading PR blogger Tom Murphy, of PR Opinions, will be the key note speaker, with other sessions giving practical insights into ways practitioners can respond to the opportunities and challenges of blogging and RSS.

Delegate tickets are £75 + VAT for CIPR members, £95 + VAT for non-members. We expect strong interest in this event and places are strictly limited so delegates are advised to book as soon as possible. For further details or to book your place please call Nicky Wake at Don’t Panic Projects Ltd on 01706 828855 or e-mail [email protected].

Your right to know

Six months in, the Freedom of Information Act is still a novelty for UK journalists - and for those who teach journalism. Open government campaigner Heather Brooke (left) was the keynote speaker at the Association for Journalism Education meeting at the University of Sunderland on Friday, giving a thought-provoking account of her various campaigns and techniques for squirreling out information she believe the public has a right to know.  Her book, Your Right to Know,  complemented by a blog - promises to be a useful tool for investigative journalists. To illustrate her themes, she used Steve Wood's UK Freedom of Information Act Blog; fascinating stuff, but it highlighted that some writers are so caught up by the process of investigation that they can forget the real trick lies in turning the information they unearth into stories people want to read. That it is still early days is illustrated by Wood's regular Media Roundup postings which routinely include phrases along the lines of 'revealed by the Daily Beast under the Freedom of Information Act' - the method of inquiry is still seen as adding to the news value of the story. 

Law says blogs not journalism

Three blogs which published sensitive information about upcoming Apple products could be made to disclose where the leaks came from.

A California judge said in a preliminary ruling that bloggers should not have the same protection afforded to journalists under US law, reports the BBC .

Not so chipper about CIPR

For an alternative take on the newly Chartered Institute of Public Relations, go to the Borkowski PR Mark My Words blog. Here's a taster:

"What on earth were the Privy Council thinking of, awarding this shower a Royal Charter?

IPR wins Chartered status

The UK's Institute of Public Relations is no more... long live the Chartered Institute of Public Relations! 

Here's the announcement on the efficiently rebranded CIPR website ...

Newspaper index

Want to know what's making the quality press in the Faroe Islands, Tahiti or Mali? Danish journalist Hans Henrik H. de Lichtenberg has put together what he calls 'a database of evaluated quality newspapers at www.newspaperindex.com. Couldn't be simpler - or more fascinating...

One(!)  title that was new to me is Transitions Online which offers 'unique coverage of 28 post-Communist countries.