Archive for Media Industry
September 1, 2008 at 10:30 am · Filed under Media Industry, Australia
Today’s front cover of The Australian shows the impact of well-chosen photographs. Today is the first a of the Republican National Convention. Candidate John McCain is featured laughing and smiling with his Vice Presidential pick - Sarah Palin - and her husband Todd.
Immediately below is a photo of evacuees fleeing New Orleans. One man’s luggage is a plastic bag. Yet above are the white, well-fed images of Republicans celebrating.
It shows that public relations people have more than journalists to deal with.
August 28, 2008 at 9:18 am · Filed under Media Industry, Australia
Fairfax Limited announced headcount reductions this week - cutting some 550 roles across its stable of newspapers. Yet the way the news was announced showed contempt for the profession of journalism. ABC Radio National’s “The Media Report” provided great insights - click here to listen.
Central to the ABC report is the way staff cuts were announced - instead of dealing with reporters, CEO David Kirk of Fairfax Media issued an email to all staff. He then hosted a conference call - with financial analysts. Journalists were allowed to listen in but were not allowed to ask questions.
This approach to media relations is hypocritical - if any other company handled restructuring the same way Fairfax publications would lambast the approach. Stonewalling journalists never works, even if you’re preparing to fire them first.
Learn more about the opposition view - visit Fair Go, Fairfax.
August 6, 2008 at 3:06 pm · Filed under Media Industry, Australia
I am not one to decry our rabid interest in celebrities, the decline in newspaper readership and the responsiveness of governments to overnight polls. We live in a media saturated world and this is the price we pay.
But please allow me two whinges.
Last week while waiting in my hotel lobby in Melbourne I turned to Yahoo! News. I kid you not - the top story of the moment was:
Justin Timberlake: I Wore Trucker Caps Before Ashton
“It’s funny, I keep hearing Ashton Kutchersay how he was responsible for trucker caps,” says Timberlake, 27, in the cover story for Fashion Rocks, a magazine supplement sent to Vanity Fairsubscribers with the new issue. Timberlake maintains that he and best friend Trace Ayala – with whom he launched the William Rast denim line in 2005 – “were wearing them when we were seventeen.”
And the second whinge comes today. People Magazine completely sold out of magazines in the USA and had to re-print for the first time in history. The exclusive photographs of Brad & Angelina’s baby twins is the reason.
And here I am worried I may not get through The Economist this week and failed to understand the physics article on the new proton accelerator in Switzerland…
“I can see Ashton’s trucker cap…”
July 28, 2008 at 11:01 am · Filed under America, Media Industry
The US Presidential race looks like a one hose race if the media coverage is to believed. This weekend newspapers devoted extensive coverage to Barrack Obama addressing 200,000 people in Berlin. At the same time John McCain went grocery shopping with a mother and her children - then stopped by a wiener stand. Earlier in the week he was photographed driving in a golf cart with former president Bush (the first one).
Comparing the two images it’s not hard to see who is the media’s darling. When Obama travelled the Middle East news anchors were flown in to host live coverage from each stop. That same week McCain had an Op-Ed refused by “The New York Times.”
This won’t be an election - it’s shaping up to be a landslide.
Yet in the months that await the general election, Obama has to manage his campaign. If it’s presumed he’ll win then supporters won’t bother to vote. And McCain can use he underdog status to his advantage - so long as he’s not driven to the polls by an old man in a golf cart.
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
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It shows that public relations people have more than journalists to deal with.
