In my view, the seven-bin policy – which we should all theoretically support – was never going to hit the mainstream. [If you are not familiar with this news story, check out BBC coverage here.] And that is because of a simple but remarkably resilient rule: all lists should be three, at least in the […]
I know which I prefer. SEXI is apparently a mnemonic device used by university debating societies. I only know this because someone pointed out to me that this had featured in a recent Guardian article by Simon Usborne entitled: Don’t steamroll, and go easy on the stats: how to win an argument – without making […]
A moving account of the death of a 13-year-old in an NHS hospital aired for 22 minutes on Radio 4’s Today Programme on Monday morning. The teenager who died was Martha Mills and her mother Merope Mills is spearheading a campaign to change NHS rules so that calling for an urgent second opinion is the […]
‘The Kiss’ has dominated news headlines around the world, sadly overshadowing the remarkable and laudable victory of the Spanish Women’s football team in the Women’s World Cup. As ever, we comment on the media lessons rather than the rights and wrongs of an argument. And the media lesson from this debacle is as old as […]
Playing with one of the generative AI apps last week I put in: how to run a good press conference. In a few seconds it generated a creditable if bland 500 words which basically covered be prepared, maintain your composure and be respectful to the journalists. Three protocols that were exactly the opposite of what […]
‘I have been media trained but it was a long time ago. The trouble is I only talk to the media once or twice a year. I have forgotten most of the do’s and don’ts.’ We hear this all the time and while, of course, you would be better off having a quick media training […]
The fallout from the mishandling of the closure of Nigel Farage’s Coutts bank account is multifaceted and likely to continue for months. But the media training lesson is as simple as it comes and is included in even the most basic of media training courses. Don’t gossip with journalists. Don’t assume comments are off the […]
Simon Kuznets invented modern GDP, or the way to measure the health of an economy using Gross Domestic Product. To explain further, as an economist he found a way to measure the production or output of a nation and track it as it went up or down. He came up with this idea during the […]
One of my clients alerted me to this Podcast from Politico: The Art of the Political Interview. It is a great listen and speaks to both sides: the journalists and the politicians…some who have experienced unhelpful coverage. And it unpacks the stereotypes. Explaining the difference between interviewers who start by thinking ‘Why is the b****** […]
This weekend I greatly enjoyed listening to Jonathan Powell on this New Statesman Vodcast. It is easy to assume that measured, moderate voices are inevitably boring. And with our Media Coach lens we would particularly expect ‘boring’ in the use of language. Clients constantly reach for bland almost meaningless phrases because they want to avoid […]
