The fear of flu

The growing debate surrounding Swine Flu, or should I say Influenza A, or even H1N1, has turned to the media handling of this event, causing many to argue that it has been overhyped. So as consumers of media become more analytical and savvy, how do we know which media to trust and will this become a case of crying wolf? Many argue that other viruses such as SARS were hyped so the news is now falling on deaf ears. We’ve had the credit crunch spreading through the papers for months now; this is something new.

Maureen Taylor, previously the national medical reporter for CBC Television News, gave some timely advice to journalists in a recent article in which she advises against predicting outcomes. Radio 2 recently discussed the ‘worst case scenario’ and the Guardian ran the headline ‘Up to 1.2 million could be hospitalized in Britain in event of pandemic’. Hardly reassuring news and it is speculation not fact, as we continuously hear of the ‘possible’ pandemic. Thomas Abraham, spokesman for the WHO added: ‘We have consistently said a pandemic is imminent’ but the outcome is about as uncertain as the name we are meant to use for the virus, so why does the British media assume the worst? The fact is it makes a more dramatic story than the news that 27 people in Britain have the virus and seem to be okay.

The US government are now saying that it will be ‘less severe than feared’ yet despite having fewer cases and no deaths, we in Britain remain more cautious with Sir Liam Donaldson calling this ‘premature’. Perhaps it’s a cultural difference that we prefer to focus on the negative. Maureen writes that she doesn’t feel the Canadian media hyped SARS and it would be interesting to compare this with the reporting in the UK.

Our media industry analysis at Mediatrack for clients around the globe often calls for a comparison of markets and how the media report international events. What is clear about Swine Flu is that readers are losing a degree of faith and trust in the media they read, posing a bigger threat to the future of public relations, which is not to be sneezed at.

The value of evaluation

In the words of Francis Ingham, PRCA director general: “the best way to fight budget cuts is to demonstrate the value you are adding.” It is certainly encouraging to see that as the PR industry matures, more MDs are recognising the need for evaluation; a survey complied by the PRCA revealed that 84 per cent consider it “very important to the credibility of PR”. We couldn’t agree more.

You would be forgiven for thinking, we would say that. Yet we are finding that as the recession overshadows business it is ever more crucial to be aware of factors affecting reputation. Many organizations are fighting a crisis in confidence so it is key to send out the right signals to your audience.

Media industry analysis will soon tell you which areas of your strategy are working, as well as identifying those that aren’t. It might be that you choose to condense your source list to the titles that really matter to your audiences because targeted, quality measurement is more relevant. It’s also crucial to hone your messages and channel resources effectively to weather the storm.

Social Media: A Healthy Balance

The news that social media can damage your health has sparked much debate yet it is ironically the very forums such as Twitter that have propagated discussion on the matter. These sites do enable connections to be made across society and create active publics who can engage in debates more freely. They also make the world a smaller place; it is now possible to chat to people anywhere on the planet with ease, and to find out what’s happening in the world.

Interestingly the responses to the BBC article included many people who are already isolated in society and find solace in social media which enables those with disabilities for example to connect with others; Second Life has proved popular with the disabled community.

However for others it has become a replacement for being sociable, adding another time-consuming layer to our lives. The word ‘social’ is really a paradox - defined as being part of a community rather than being alone, but spending hours on the internet can be a lonely process. I can see how that could be deemed unhealthy.

Nonetheless social media is an inherent part of the future of public relations, particularly as the next generation are early adopters of new technology. Some of the recent public relations successes have used these platforms to reach their key audiences in a medium they understand. Cadbury’s Wispa campaign is a point in case and as PR professionals embrace social media in their campaigns, so too will they need to apply media content analysis to the medium.

So it can be good for business but on a personal level I follow that old mantra – everything in moderation.

Winter worries

As we observe the distinct lack of emails on a day when parts of the country are seeing the first real snow for 18 years, I noticed some interesting comments on the BBC website. Robert Penn, co-author of The Wrong Kind of Snow: The Complete Daily Companion to the British Weather notes that there is not much “Dunkirk spirit” and Steve Hopwood adds “We seem to be getting worse at coping”. This news has overshadowed a report out today about the children of Britain, which emphasises the changing nature of the media agenda. So why do we crumble amidst extreme conditions? Perhaps we are used to having it easy – and that could easily apply to another type of crunch we’re feeling at the moment.

Reinventing a reputation

As a professional in media industry analysis I found the series ‘Big Chef Little Chef’ intriguing. It made compulsive viewing for anyone involved in public relations and marketing as the organization sought to reinvent their brand. Heston Blumenthal was enlisted for his “blue sky thinking” and he went to work at recreating good quality traditional dishes for the British institution.

What made it interesting was the battle for reputation between Heston and Little Chef; ironically Heston feared that the project may have been a publicity stunt for the ailing brand, whilst his own restaurant featured very heavily in the show. It was frustrating to see that they didn't seek feedback from their existing customers, which set things back as the first attempts failed to impress. Fortunately they got it right in the end and the opening night was a huge success; the team were transformed in terms of motivation. What remains to be seen is how much profit they will make in light of the credit crunch, particularly as the focus has shifted from value, to quality.

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Crunch time for the media

In one BBC article a member of the public asked “How much do you think the BBC has created the ‘downturn’ and should they be allowed to make forecasts or just report the news?” This is a question many are asking as the crisis moves into the stage of apportioning blame. In America, a poll revealed that 77% blame the media for making the economic crisis worse by instilling fear into the public psyche. So is it partly a self-fulfilling prophecy as the media seeks to add drama to the headlines? Toni Muzi Falconi points out in his blog that we were warned and the BBC did report on 10th August 2007 that “problems in the mortgage market may prompt a global credit crunch”. He comments that the public didn’t want to believe that it would happen as we were enjoying the ‘boom’ too much, suggesting that the media were acting responsibly in forewarning us.

However the ensuing reporting has included much hyperbole and speculation, which does breed fear. You only have to witness the panic buying which goes on (‘Warning over petrol panic buying’) to know how panic spreads uncontrollably when fuelled by the media. One headline in the Daily Mail quoted Alan Greenspan that is was a ‘once-in-a-century credit tsunami’ for example. Aside from tone, perhaps it is simply the sheer volume of articles which have been linked to the crisis which adds up to an obsession with doom. Reports penetrate every aspect of life, from the potential effect on the divorce rates to scientific research to name two examples. PR firms are likely to come under fire for supplying journalists with such stories so it is more critical than ever for a responsible approach to be taken, avoiding public relations spin.

Yet figures showed in December that the recession is likely to be worse than expected, suggesting that the fear is justified and the predictions were not exaggerated. So the response from the BBC was ‘please don’t shoot the messenger’.

For some light relief in these gloomy days take a look at the Credit Crunch Times which puts a different spin on things.

And the winner is....

Following considerable effort to demonstrate the work we do for our clients on just two pages, we submitted our entry for this year’s AMEC industry awards earlier this year. The six months passed very quickly and as winter appeared to arrive, so did the awards evening. It was certainly very enjoyable and made all the more special by our silver award for our work with Bupa, to add to the collection. Beating off stiff competition in this B2B category, the judges commented that we had positioned ourselves as “true advisers, offering honest help for the client.” This is exactly what we aim to do so it was nice to have that recognized. Now we just have to find some more wall space!