"Check out my YouTube hits"
Not mine…Jeff Dunham’s
The picture’s a bit grainy but you can just about read it - American comedian Jeff Dunham is using his YouTube viewing figures as an endorsement in press ads for his forthcoming London show. It certainly makes a change from using review quotes to build credibility. And its clever too - I might just take a look at him online and see if he’s worth going to watch. Daniel J Edelman Ltd a company registered in England with company number 924113 and its registered office at Southside, 105 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6QT, United KingdomThe trouble with press offices
Yesterday Jenni Russell, The Guardian and Times journalist, came in to Edelman to talk about her experiences as a comment writer. She claimed never to have worked with PR people, let alone to have set foot inside a PR agency, so well done to her for making it across the threshold!
Her reluctance to work with the PR industry seems to stem from some rocky experiences trying to work with government press offices. I’ve no doubt that Number 10 and the various departments run their media operations like well-oiled machines, at least most of the time. But it struck me that they simply aren’t geared-up to deliver what comment writers need.
Whether for public or private sector organisations, press offices are generally organised and structured to serve news writers - people who need the facts of a story quickly to meet a tight deadline. It’s all about the swift, efficient flow of information. For a comment writer – whether they’re a journalist, blogger or whomever – the needs are very different. Comment writers depend on gaining insight into a story, looking behind the immediate facts to understand the issues surrounding it and the motivations of the people involved. It’s only possible to get this kind of appreciation by building a genuine relationship with the people who have a stake in the story (the government minister, the business exec. etc.), which is difficult for a traditional press office operation to facilitate.
Don’t get me wrong, press offices have a very valuable role to play in communication and I’ve played a part in some pretty good ones myself, but in a media environment where news is so immediate and accessible, and quality comment and opinion increasingly valuable commodities, I see the role, remit and reach of the press office inside organisations needing to change.
The deepest bin in the world
Another one from those cheeky chappies at www.thefuntheory.com
Courtesy of Mark Pinsent
Quote of the day
“CEOs need to engage critics - it’s even possible there is a justifiable gripe that the CEO needs to be made aware of. I can’t promise I’ll win a critic round but I’ll never stop trying and I’ll become better informed in the process.” - Don Elgie, CEO Creston (quoted in the Financial Times)
Test
grrr…trying to stop twitter and posterous both updating twitter…it’s like I’m living strange and mildly irritating online double life!
When journalists attack...
“Journalism is getting tougher because of all the flakey content out there.”
I couldn’t agree more. So let’s cut them some slack shall we?
Posted via web from cutoutandkeep | Comment »
Fun keeps you fit http://post.ly/8dh3
Fun keeps you fit
Brilliantly simple and wonderfully creative idea from Volkswagen
…and bit lighter than this send-up
Is HSBC s**t? http://post.ly/8a0v
