Our new Government is still learning the ropes…and the first few weeks in power have shown just how tangled those ropes are when it comes to handling the media.
Today another cabinet minister, this time Health Minister Andrew Lansley managed to direct a comprehensive shot to his own foot when he informed the BMA conference in Brighton that Jamie Oliver had got it wrong about school meals. We can imagine his press team’s delight that the Minister was giving a bold and controversial policy statement “yes Minister…a very, er brave decision”.
The England team have weathered the storm and are into the last 16 of the World Cup. As usual, certain characters have emerged from the team such as goal scorer Jermaine Defoe or manager Fabio Capello to take the spotlight and portray the ‘personality’ of the England team as a whole – a personality that may well be based on fact, or the manipulation of public feeling at the time. Read the rest of this entry »
England’s World Cup campaign has been turbulent to say the least. Think back to John Terry being stripped of his captaincy after revelations of adultery came to light several months ago. The team have suffered not only on the pitch but in the players’ handling of the media during the tournament.
So now we know. But for days before the budget speech, we were well softened up. Reminded frequently that every single man woman and child in Britain will share the pain. The lights will go out all over Britain, and we will not see them lit again until…the next boom.
This year’s General Election has seen many a political blunder, which put politicians’ media handling skills to the test. Managed differently, the image of the person in question could be cast in an entirely different light.
Take Alex Salmond, for example. Accidentally caught posing in front of an advertisement for the new horror film, ‘The Crazies’. The message he sent to the world was a picture of himself standing under the words ‘The Crazies’ – in his party’s trademark colours, no less. Read the rest of this entry »
A debate is currently raging in The Times about the Government’s handling of the release of the Libyan Bomber. Today, the Education Secretary told reporters: “I have to say that none of us wanted to see the release of al-Megrahi,”. But rewind to Saturday, when the Prime Minister told reporters he “respected” the decision of the Scottish Executive to free the man convicted of killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew members on Pan Am Flight 103, and 11 in the Scottish town of Lockerbie.
