A row of unfamiliar faces along the other side of the conference table. Three, four, maybe five. The start of another media training session. Soon those faces will begin to swim into focus and their owners’ characters will start to emerge as the course gets under way. Yet already, even before the course has started, […]
The Long Goodbye: The death of the long-form interview
In years long ago, when television was young and black and white, a weekly interview programme called Face to Face was a must-see event. Visually, the set-up could not have been simpler. A comfortable armchair, a small table for one’s pipe, cigar or cigarette, and facing you a man called John Freeman, who had been […]
A Tale Of Three Crises
Take three airlines, three different crises, three very different responses. By comparing all three it is possible to gain a valuable insight into how to deal with a crisis. Or not. In September the low-cost airline Ryanair announced that it would have to cancel thousands of flights because of a huge rostering error. Hundreds of […]
Why the broadcast interview is in danger
Have you wondered why broadcast interviews, like a Chinese meal, often leave you unsatisfied and wanting more? One reason is that the most interesting interviewees are rarely seen these days. Leading figures in business, industry and the arts are increasingly reluctant to step forward because the format and nature of broadcast interviews is more and […]
Scotland – what comes next?
At precisely seven minutes past six this morning came the result from Fife that clinched it. Scotland had rejected independence. But within minutes the focus had switched from a clear result to a very misty future and for the leaders in the campaign the challenge was now how to deal with what comes next. Alex […]
So farewell 2013 – “Annus Sorrybilis”
It’s been the year of the apology. Or as the Romans might have called it, annus sorrybilis. A year when an apology has become the favourite escape route in a crisis. A year when it has dawned on those at the centre of a crisis or failure that undergoing the fleeting pain of saying sorry […]
Flowers and Ford – who handled the media best?
Two very different men, thousands of miles apart, but each experiencing the same cataclysmic disintegration of status and career – the Reverend Paul Flowers, former Methodist minister, former Co-op bank chairman and former Labour Party member, and Rob Ford, still just Mayor of Toronto. Both have been reduced to ordinary citizens, with the added distinction […]
How to handle four levels of crisis communications – from organisational to personal
Crises come in all shapes and sizes, from major disasters to embarrassing slip-ups. Each requires a different response, but they all share common strategies. Here we take a look at four levels of crisis communications and how to handle them. 1. When a serious disaster strikes This may be a natural disaster that specifically affects […]
The true value of media training – and why journalists should embrace it
“You’re teaching the enemy tricks”. As a definition of media training, it was pretty devastating. It was even more devastating when delivered to my face by my boss, the then Head of TV News at the BBC, Tony Hall, a man whose company I enjoyed and whose opinions I respect – and a man on […]
To speak or not to speak? That’s the dilemma
There are only two valid reasons for considering turning down a media interview. The first is that you feel you do not know enough about the subject to do it (or yourself) justice. The second reason is that you are not empowered by your organisation to speak on the subject. First of all, before you […]
