We receive a lot of press releases. Most are useless, but one popped up overnight from Lauren Jones, an Aussie girl who works for gossip site Perez Hilton, which we thought deserved wider attention. But not exactly for the right reasons…
Public Relations
PR nightmare for new cafe as blogger bites back
A yet-to-be-opened Melbourne cafe has found itself in the middle of a PR nightmare after a stoush with a local blogger turned horribly wrong.
Come in Spinner: Adshel reaction to safe sex ads a case of what not to do
Adshel failed the first issues management test because it panicked after some 30 calls complaining about gay safe s-x ads in bus shelters and rushed into taking action.
Come in Spinner: royal wedding a traditional PR framing device
The recent royal wedding is instructive for many reasons, but probably mainly for illustrating the effectiveness of using tradition as a framing device.
Come in Spinner: Floods of giving and promotion
The problem that PR people face in these situations is how to do what is the obvious human thing — help how you can — while ensuring that what you do doesn’t spill over into counter-productive self-promotion.
Come in Spinner: The conventional wisdom is always wrong
The late J.K. Galbraith had a remarkable capacity to coin memorable epigrams and quotable quotes. The idea that the conventional wisdom is always wrong was one of them.
Come in Spinner: Silences and complexity
Two of the ways PR people seek to make issues disappear are: to create strange silences in which they are lost, or to bury them in so much complexity and confusion that people just stop listening.
Murray-Darling authority losing the spin war with councils’ PR flacks
As the beleaguered Murray Darling Basin Authority sinks further into the public relations mire following its disastrous run of community consultations last month, the other side of the debate had a powerful ally in prominent spin doctors Socom.
How to talk to journalists
Dealing with journalists can be a tricky business, particularly if you’re trying to crisis-manage a problem in your workplace. Remember, they are going to write a story anyway, so you might as well get your views heard, says PR man Jonathan Bernstein.
Come in Spinner: The classic art of opposition
While it’s all well and good for an opposition to constantly oppose the government, every now and then they should agree with something the government does. More of the old paradigm in the new paradigm, says Noel Turnbull.
Steve Jobs sucks at PR
Apple founder Steve Jobs is notoriously elusive, but also quite rude, as a young student journalist learnt when trying to contact Apple for media comment. Jobs replied “our goals do not include helping you get a good grade.”
Getting your PR stories in the Herald Sun, a How To
It’s well known that over half the news consumed in Australia is PR, as Crikey revealed in March, but sometimes there’s a success story that deserves its own special golf clap.
How Hoges used PR to beat the taxman
He may not have made an international box office hit since the Crocodile Dundee series, but Paul Hogan certainly proved one thing over the last couple of weeks — he still knows how to win over a crowd.
Come in Spinner: Come in Spinner: the next big thing
Every PR person in the world is at some stage or other trying to promote some product, service, concept — or even themselves — as the next big thing, writes Noel Turnbull.
Come in Spinner: Sixth time lucky for aged-care communications
The Productivity Commission is starting what will be the sixth major inquiry into aged-care funding — a policy area that has become a no-go area because of poor initial communications, writes Noel Turnbull.
Who benefits from the millions spent on health department PR?
The federal Department of Health and Ageing has paid more than $2.8 million for a private communications company to run its crisis media management for the past five years.
Come in Spinner: Managing a rogue like Abbott
Tony Abbott’s real sin isn’t lying: it’s forgetting that politicians must have an opinion on everything — and that those opinions must not break any of the fundamental rules of political reporting, writes Noel Turnbull.
Tabloid media reaches a new (even lower) low
Clearly many stories on A Current Affair et al are driven by PR, but one PR professional has bluntly described just how easily she got her company on air. So why aren’t we shocked by this anymore? asks Christopher Scanlon.
Come in Spinner: PR goes social media
Despite technological innovations, PR hasn’t actually changed much over the past few hundred years, writes Noel Turnbull: it’s all still about changing the way people think and behave.
Come in Spinner: How PR leans with the wind
Successful PR doesn’t seek to manipulate the media — it tailors its media contributions to the lifestyle and socio-economic segment a media outlet targets to win advertising, writes Noel Turnbull.
Sue Cato spins for Gunns, not that Q&A let on
Q&A defends itself against allegations of impropriety in the wake of an appearance from Gunns spin doctor Sue Cato on Monday night’s program.
