Archive for Media Industry
July 23, 2008 at 9:30 am · Filed under Media Industry
“Who” magazine has the formula. “Vanity Fair” was dragged back from extinction by Tina Brown by mimicking the same approach. Celebrities sell magazines. Increasingly, they sell newspapers and boost television ratings.
Earlier this month Pamela Lee Anderson was in Australia for a guest appearance on Channel Ten’s “Big Brother” show. While filming on the Gold Coast she took a petition to the local branch of Kentucky Fried Chicken to protest the treatment of pre-meal chickens. Her entrance to the fast food outlet received a 1/4 page in “The Australian.” Of course the photo of her in a low-cut top featured prominently.
Last weekend the latest installment of Batman broke box office records. Last night star Christian Bale was questioned for hours in a local police station as his mother and sister accused him of assault. He was released without charge.
Channel Nine evening news has morphed into a celebrity roll-call each night. August publications like “The Australian” dedicate large swathes of space to starlets delivering animal rights messages. Radio National on ABC brings assault accusations to the top of the hour news broadcast.
It’s not fair to fault the media. They are delivering what consumers want. In a constant race for better ratings, news outlets fill up with the material consumers want. And if we’d prefer stars to hard news then that’s what we’ll get.
June 16, 2008 at 3:14 am · Filed under Media Industry, Australia
In Australia to chuck a fit is to spit the dummy. Babies do it when they throw tantrums - so do adults.
In July I need to media train executives at a client company. I took today to refresh the media training materials I use for executives. There is so much to teach and adults are hopeless learners. So material needs to be compelling and provided in mind-sized chunks.
The best way is to show by example. I cruised YouTube to add new media interviews that showcase good and bad media behaviours. In my search I found a personal favourite. It’s less contrived than Tom Cruise jumping around on Oprah’s sofa. And it’s not as painful as Miss Teen South Carolina. If you haven’t seen those, then get to my Playlist at YouTube.
My favourite bad media interview is a simple sportscaster trying to file a simple story from South Australia (aren’t you glad I didn’t say simple a third time?). He’s just having a real bad day…
May 20, 2008 at 9:08 pm · Filed under China, Media Industry, Globalisation
National Public Radio in the USA had planned for some time to broadcast live from South Wet China. It just so happens that they were in place in Chengdu at the moment last week’s earthquake hit. There is a fascinating series of broadcasts available (see www.NPR.org).
Two disasters in two countries in two weeks. Yet the difference between Burma and China couldn’t be greater. Media access is bringing the China disaster closer to home. It’s galvanising public sympathy - and will influence donor contributions.
Yet the scale of the disaster in Burma dwarfs the toll for the China quake. And as long as the military leadership block access for media, we will never appreciate the scale of the disaster and the impact on local Burmese.
Compare and contrast - and while you naturally focus on China given its open access and daily fodder of news stories and photos, don’t forget the Burmese.
April 29, 2008 at 7:15 pm · Filed under Media Industry
One of my clients is looking to better its profile in the business media. We’ve built a strong communications plan and have trained their leadership team. Now I need a business media specialist to join the team here in Sydney. The focus is on B2B corporate profile raising. Anyone interested or know someone who is?
April 20, 2008 at 8:15 pm · Filed under America, Issues Management, Media Industry
Television and radio require “good talent” to offer commentary and insights into the day’s issues. When there’s a lack of third party experts journalists resort to interviewing each other - Christina Amanpour on CNN is a favourite for commentary when an unaligned expert isn’t available.
In the Iraq propaganda war, the Bush Administration has used the same approach, according to today’s The New York Times (”Behind Analysts, the Pentagon’s Hidden Hand”). Military analysts were flown to Iraq and given behind the scenes tours to help them understand military strategy. Later these same people were recommended to television and radio stations as qualified, independent experts able to comment on the progress of the war.
It’s a great public relations practice but it was poorly executed.
Seems the insights provided were biased. One side was shown. Today those same unaligned experts are up in arms over their treatment. Kenneth Allard, who participated in the program, said:
“Night and day I felt we’d been hosed.”
If you want to get your point across then develop strong messages and get your spokespeople trained. They can site the company line on all media channels. Yet if you choose to engage third parties to support your case make sure they have access to all the information.
The White House’s strategy has backfired. By providing some of the people with some of the information, they ensured that sooner or later all of the people would see through the ruse - and demand more and more and more of the information originally blocked.
Do not engage third parties if you don’t want them to speak freely.
April 1, 2008 at 10:53 pm · Filed under Media Industry, Australia
Poor Mr. D’Arcy. The father of swimmer Nick D’Arcy is in Perth with his son to see his daughter compete in a surfing competition. Problem is his son broke the jaw and skull of a fellow swimmer six hours after qualifying for the Australian Olympic team. His six hours may prove to be the shortest Olympic career in history. There is a 99.9% chance he will be barred from the team. (see today’s “The Australian.”
So there’s Dad. Off to Perth with his son. And there’s the media scrum. Poor Mr D’Arcy.
Sports stars falling from grace is a fairly common event in Australia. Andrew Denton didn’t let Wayne Carey walk in the park on ”Enough Rope” on Monday night. Our super-paid-aggressive-competitive-superstars are adored when they channel their testosterone on the field. But when they punch up a girlfriend (Wayne) or a team mate (Nick) and we abhor them. But back to Mr. D’Arcy.
We’ve all had our embarrassing or painful family moments. And you can easily recall the anger or shame or hurt of that time. Now imagine that same upset but with a media scrum outside your door at all time. Checking into the Sydney airport. Arriving at the Perth airport. Going to the hotel. Eating dinner. Watching your daughter surf. And all that time cameras are focused on you and your son hoping you’ll bear some emotion. Melting down in the limelight has to be one of the modern world’s most bizarre phenomenon (The Britney Effect is modern parlance). We eat up the photos of starlets with bad bikini bodies - but dive underwater if friends try to photograph us at the beach. We read the details of an Olympic hopeful’s shattered future - but can’t imagine having a camera in our face in similar circumstances. It’s not easy being in the spotlight - especially in times of strife. But we fuel the cameramen and journalists with our insatiable interest in the subjects.
Poor Mr D’Arcy - now, can we get an update on his son?
Nick - six hours earlier
January 29, 2008 at 11:36 pm · Filed under America, Media Industry
I love tabloids. These short-style newspapers are made for the masses and can condense a story into poignant headlines. A decade ago honeymooners north of Sydney were attacked by a Great White. He didn’t survive. “The Daily Telegraph” got an exclusive interview. “Shark Bride Tells” was the tear sheet for that edition. (Tear sheets are the small posters outside the news agent.)
What more do you need to know? Oh - “Photos Inside” was below. That helped.
Thanks to “The Economist” for pointing out another great tabloid headline. In their article bemoaning the high profile role Bill Clinton is taking in his wife’s campaign, they note Bill fell asleep in a Harlem church service commemorating the late, great Martin Luther King Jr. “Bill Has a Dream” was the headline - next to a photo of the sleeping ex-president.
Ain’t sparsity grand?
Clients complain about headlines. The messages were well considered - and the media training set the client up for a great interview. Yet while the article is good the headline is contentious. Why didn’t that get fixed?
Journalists generally don’t write their own headlines. They offer their stories with suggested titles but headline writing is the purview of the sub-editor. And for the cover of a tabloid it’s the editor’s job.
Wanna see what it’s like? Take this fictional scenario:
Campaigning in Orlando, Florida presidential hopeful John McCain slips and falls while visiting Disney World - breaking his nose.
Quick! The presses are waiting! What’s the headline for the cover of a salacious, muck-raking tabloid?
Please send along your favourites.
January 29, 2008 at 6:57 pm · Filed under Media Industry, Australia
Australia is a sports-loving nation. It’s a part of everyday life. Channel Nine News (the former market leader now writhing near the bottom - a blog entry unto itself) has about 12 minutes on national and world events before it crosses to sports. Cricket gets more coverage than Kenya. Go figure.
So it’s no surprise that sports stars have numerous, high profile opportunities after hanging up their cleats or Speedos. Next you know they’re endorsing batteries or commenting on national television or swimming in endless spas to show us flabbies how to stay fit.
We love them all - up to a point.
Wayne Carey was a football star who went onto media semi-stardom. He commented on Melbourne radio and had a spot on national television.
But then he got a little too wild.
I’m not talking about “all night in a bar verbally abusive to the 7-11 cashier” kind of wild. I’m talking “abusing women attacking police capsicum spray and handcuffs” kind of wild. And of course those ever-present security cameras caught it all. Thankfully an enterprising guard on duty had the foresight to auction the tape to news crews. Channel Seven won’t say how much they paid (or IF they paid) but they did say they’re glad they got it.
So there’s our former role model -in handcuffs, getting bullfrog marched to the back of a police cruiser. Seems a spot he’s been in before, as media reveal today he’d been arrested in Miami last month for breaking a wine glass into his girlfriend’s face. And he headbutted the partition in that police cruiser after attacking officers. (See this clip.)
Today radio station 3AW and Channel Nine are distancing themselves from Carey - quickly. Carey will have to find another income stream to fund his legal defence. Too bad he’s not back in Newark. Tony Soprano’s always looking for a few good men.
Would “How Ya’ Doin’?” sound funny in an Aussie accent?
January 25, 2008 at 12:01 am · Filed under Media Industry
The death of Heath Ledger is a boon to newspaper circulation. People who normally don’t buy a daily paper are picking up dailies to catch up on the latest details. August publications like The Melbourne Age dedicated three full pages yesterday. Today The Sydney Morning Herald still has a page. The weekend tomes will be filled to capacity.
It’s all our fault. We’re ghoulish. Bad news intrigues us. But add an Australian celebrity, drugs, nudity and an Olsen twin and you’ve got a newspaper editor’s nirvana.
Please don’t presume I am mocking the untimely death of Heath Ledger. It is a shock and disappointment. He was a talented actor and his death is unfortunate.
It’s just this stuff sells papers.
January 12, 2008 at 8:00 pm · Filed under Media Industry, Public Relations
My friend Paul Griffin in Brisbane and I are re-working media training to make it more effective. Yes - it is a commodity product. And yes - every PR person and their dog offers a similar course. But we’re trying to make ours super effective for harried professionals. How quickly can we take media fledgelings and have them bravely flying from the nest?
As part of this we’ve been collecting good and bad examples of media interviews. I’d love your contributions if you have any. Paul just sent this one. It must be the worst avoidance technique. But then again, insanity has been a defence plea for decades…
Click here!
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