Fake experts are having a moment and that’s a problem. Everyone’s an expert now. At least according to their bio. Confidence is cheap. Credibility isn’t. Which is why this week’s move from the PR industry bodies felt overdue. Following a Press Gazette investigation, the CIPR and PRCA have launched a campaign highlighting the rise of so-called “experts” …
Fake experts are having a moment and that’s a problem. Read More »
Cue the music! Blue Monday. How does it feel? If the answer is “fine, actually,” congratulations, you’ve just survived a completely made-up concept invented by a PR agency in 2004 and politely humoured by the media ever since. Yes, really. Blue Monday wasn’t discovered by scientists. It wasn’t unearthed by psychologists. It was created, named, …
Brooklyn Beckham just did what most PR consultants spend their careers preventing. He bypassed his parents’ three-decade PR machine and told his 16 million Instagram followers that David and Victoria have “controlled narratives in the press” about their family for years. He accused them of prioritising Brand Beckham over genuine relationships – and of trying …
You Can’t Bend The Truth Like Beckham: Why Silence Is The Real Crisis Read More »
Every January, the same thing happens. The decorations come down. The wheelie bins overflow. And Christmas trees appear on pavements like a nationwide cry for help. And every year I think the same thing: Why is no one turning this into PR? Because right now, thousands of people are quietly Googling: “What do I do …
Needles To Say, These PR Opportunities Died With The Christmas Tree Read More »
I can usually spot AI-generated content within three seconds. It’s too polished. Too clean. Too safe. It sounds like something no one would ever actually say if they cared about the point they were making. As a former business journalist turned PR consultant, I’ve watched this creep in fast. By late 2024, over half of …
Stephen Crean got stabbed seven times stopping a knife attacker on a train.Saved multiple lives. Then couldn’t make his Ryanair flight to Austria because… he was in hospital recovering from being stabbed seven times. Asked for a refund.Ryanair said no.Policy. Nottingham Forest FC heard what happened.Gave him £10,000 for treatment.Free season ticket for next year.Invite …
This weekend, we said goodbye to Ray Brooks – The voice of Mr Benn. And if you’ve no idea who that is, congratulations… you’re probably younger than me (47) and your knees still work properly when you stand up. For the rest of us… ahhh. Saturday mornings, early ’70s/’80s telly, when children’s TV wasn’t a …
As If By Magic – The Three Hats You Need In Business Read More »
I write this with a tricorne perched jauntily upon my head. This stylish hat covers that of a PR consultant of some two decades, that of a published author on PR and that of a former business journalist. Hat collecting aside, I’ve learned a LOT over two decades in the PR trenches in terms of …
How To Guarantee* To Annoy A Journalist – A 2 Part Special Read More »
What is Public Relations? Okay here’s the boring bit, sorry! In the UK the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, or CIPR, says this: public relations is about reputation, the result of what you do, what you say, and what others say about you. Basically, PR looks after reputation with the aim of earning understanding …