New Media challenges exposed in Saddam Execution

A day after the Iraqi government released video footage of his execution portraying a very sombre, almost dignified process, mobile phone video footage has emerged on the internet depicting the opposite.

The new grainy footage shows the former Iraqi President's guards and executioners taunting him moments before his death.

We now know that the operation was not as dignified as the official footage portrayed it. The official video had been carefully edited to prevent the public from getting the real story. One thing the Iraqi government spin machinery forgot to do was to ban mobile phones or prevent "spectators" (read citizen journalists) from filming the process on their mobile phones.

I think this is a great example of how new media and citizen journalists may prove to be a challenge to conventional PR. It is becoming difficult for PR practitioners and the media to solely control and manipulate the flow of information.

What do you think? Do PR practitioners have to work more tactfully when packaging their messages in this age of google, youtube and mobile technology?

Spinning Saddam's Execution

So the former Iraqi leader is dead. While his execution for crimes against humanity was expected, the speed at which it was carried out appears to have shocked many across the world.

What is interesting though, is the rather low key reaction from the US and UK governments - compared to the glee with which they welcomed his capture three years ago.

I was trying to steer clear from discussing the political trends that may influence PR. But today's events have prompted me to get into politics.

President Bush has hailed Saddam's execution as an "Important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain, and defend itself, and be an ally in the War on Terror."

Observers are already asking what Saddam's execution means for democracy in the wider Middle East? So in our PR world, how is this apparent growth of democracy around the world likely to impact on Public Relations? The need for more spin perhaps? How does the Iraqi government explain the filming of the execution of Saddam Hussein? What did they hope the gruesome footage of a dying dictator would achieve?

Curiously, I've also noticed that these "big" Iraqi stories appear to happen on weekends. The day he was paraded on Television soon after he his capture three years ago, I remember I was lying in my bed on a Sunday morning. Then a few weeks ago, he was sentenced to death on a Sunday morning. Now he has been executed at dawn on a Saturday.

Is this a coincidence or are these events carefully designed by the spin doctors concerned to ensure that such big stories break over the weekend, in order to cushion the effect of the news amongst the public? Afterall most people take it easy on weekends.

And of course, President Bush was asleep while his adversary was sent to the gallows. The Iraqi government was fully in control of the legal process till the execution early this morning.

The whole operation has got me asking several questions. Why the video in the first place? And why did it not have any sound? Was it really as dignified as we saw on TV? Or was the sound edited to give some false impression of Saddam's final moments?

I can sense three PR trends here; spin, spin and more spin.

PRedicting the future

Of course there are many theories predicting the future of PR. While it appears unknown, most of my research suggests it is promising.

Today I came across a summary of a survey of PR trends carried out by one Tom Murphy. This is how he predicted the last two years.

Figure 1: Major trends for PR over the last two years (Survey by Tom Murphy; PR Opinions)

Tesco hits back at critics with new public relations offensive

It's my first day at work today - after a very short but well deserved christmas break. Hope you had a nice one too!

And what a better way to resume blogging than with a news article highlighting what i discussed in my last post. This article in today's Independent newspaper clearly demonstrates how organisations are increasing embracing the internet as a PR tool.

http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article2108225.ece

Online Stunts: Cheddarvision

I hadn't thought of online PR stunts until I came across a bizzare one that appears to have drawn the media's attention.

Cheese makers in Somerset have launched a webcam which is focused on a chunk of cheddar. They'll keep it running throughout 2007 so you can watch the cheese mature, very very slowly.

If you fancy watching a piece of cheese check out: www.cheddarvision.tv

I think PR practitioners should brace themselves for more of such online campaigns - yet another example of how PR is embracing the world wide web.

How Reliable is the Internet?

While many have embraced the internet for the speed at which it dessiminates information, some argue that it can also be unreliable.

Because anybody can post any information on the internet, it may be difficult to determine the credibility of some of the information online.

Check out this website that claims to be an educational site about the late American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr:

http://www.martinlutherking.org/

Well if you've read the above home page, you may be wondering how a website, dedicated to the late civil rights leader can portray him as it does. I've discovered that the website is actually set up by some white American supremacists organisation.

Its because of misleading information like this that some scholars are calling for information on the internet, particularly blogs to be regulated.

I came across this article in the media section of the Guardian newspaper that is suggesting that bloggers subscribe to a voluntary code of conduct.

http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,1973933,00.html

And it appears some people are taking the threat posed by misleading information online seriously. Some PR firms have started offering brand protection services to organisations. Protection from potential reputation damage that can be inflicted by blogs. This article also in the Media Guardian has the story.

http://media.guardian.co.uk/marketingandpr/story/0,,1964584,00.html

Well, what does this mean for PR? Bigger budgets perhaps - more money to protect the organisation's reputation? And probably more skills again for the practioners. But it also means that it will become increasingly difficult for organisations to protect their brands/reputations because anyone can say anything about them online.

Where would we be without The Internet?

I've been working with an international broadcaster in London for nearly five years now. When I joined in 2002, the organisation was still using what is now referred to retropectively as "old fashioned" equipment like tape machines which I found really fiddly. It has since become "trendy" and gone digital.

The other day, one of my older colleagues, Amanda was reminiscing about the early 1980's. "A three day late news telex from some african country would cause excitement in the newsroom. We had an appetite for stories from different parts of the world, problem is, there were no mobile phones, stringers relied on landlines that were often out of service, making it really difficult to know what's happening out there".

Well, gone are the days. All she has to do now is just click her computer mouse and all the information that she needs to know is there. The stringers in some of the remotest parts of the world now have access to email and mobile phones.

One of the quickest ways of getting contacts for me as a journalist is by what some of us now refer to as "googling". Just using the search engine google and the organisation, if it has a website will have some contact details.

Ever wondered what the world was like without the internet? The internet is rapidly growing into a default news source for millions of people around the globe.

Besides the mainstream news outlets like www.bbcnews.com or www.cnn.com, more people are using indirect sources - search engines like yahoo news or google.

Most news papers that have an online presence also require users to register. This offers the user the opportunity to select the kind of news that they want to read. More media houses are also offering their audiences podcasts and rss feeds at no cost.

So how is the growth of the internet likely to affect PR?

Most organisations prefer PR practitioners who have a good contact book. The rise of the internet has led to an increase in demand for quality news stories. This means that PR practitioners will have to develop good relationships with editors who have special interests in their field.

Some theories are suggesting that editors will have to turn to trusted sources that first of all save them time and also consistently generate powerful information and story leads.
This means PR practitioners will have to work harder to get publicity. They will have to be able to generate exceptional quality stories.

As discussed above, the internet is now a powerful tool, so organisations will have to ensure that they have a powerful, online presence.

From my experience, most journalists use the Internet for research. Gone are the days when we had to check telephone directories or encyclopedias.

This means PR practitioners will have to adopt new skills. In the past writing was considered a major skill required for PR practitioners. But with the growth of the internet, PR practitioners will have to be conversant with tools like the internet, web design, etc.

As many news outlets go 24 hours, the demand for news will increase. This may also mean that more news items on major news networks will be generated from PR sources. Already some PR material is being published by some media houses almost unedited.

And as the economist magazine reports,

http://www.economist.com/business/PrinterFriendly.cfm?story_id=5418124

Some branches of journalism have come to rely on predominantly PR sources to fill they pages. Particularly the gossip and travel columns in tabloid newspapers. So more work perhaps for PR practitioners?

Impact of New Technology on Public Relations

In my last post, I hinted that I'd be examining the future of public relations. What are some of the trends emerging in PR? Where is PR heading to?

Well public relations has traditionally been conducted through the media. PR practitioners use the media like newspapers, television and radio to get messages to their publics. Therefore in order to determine the future of PR, it is important to analyse the forces that are shaping the media today.

It has been argued that with globalisation has come new technology. The last decade has seen a rapid advancement in technology.

When we talk of the media, we can no longer limit this description to Television, radio and newspapers. The last decade has been characterised by the growth of new media technology or new media as it is now referred to.

The Internet, mobile phones, email, podcasts, 24 hour news channels, social networking groups blogs etc. All these have transformed the media and are already affecting the practice of PR.

Over the next few days, I'll be analysing how new media is likely to impact on PR in future.

Public Relations in a Globalised World

As the festive season approaches, I've noticed that the volume of unsolicited viral emails that I usually receive has increased. Most of them range from the odd scam awarding me some millions in a lottery that I did not participate in and the usual junk emails advertising some prescription medicine that I can "just buy over the internet", to emails containing seasonal greetings from long lost acquaintances.

As I sit here at 3.41am on a rare quiet night shift (yes - am desk skiving), one email that has caught my eye is from a former colleague Mohammed, now working in the Somali capital Mogadishu. If you've been following British news recently, you'll immediately understand what he is talking about.

Here is an excerpt; “An English princess with an Egyptian boyfriend crashes in a French tunnel, driving a German car, driven by a Belgian who was said to be high, probably on Scottish whiskey. They were being trailed by paparazzi, an Italian term now used worldwide for celebrity photographers, and this email was sent to me by a Greek friend in Athens, and am sending it to you, a Kenyan friend in Somalia, using a computer made in……..”

And the email goes on and on.....

"So what?" You may ask, afterall it's just one of those viral messages, that keep popping up on our computer screens each day. But depending on which way you interpret it, I can say it is an interesting observation. To me, the email defines the term globalisation in a simple but long winded way.

Globalisation appears to have taken centre stage in contemporary world affairs. And as has been repeated by supporters and critics of the phenomenon, the future of the world cannot be discussed without exploring globalisation.

As the world debates whether globalisation is a force for good or for destruction, as a student of Public relations and Public communications, I cannot help wondering what the future may hold for the discipline. How is this phenomenon going to impact on Public relations (PR) ? Or has it already affected the discipline? What are some of the trends emerging in Public relations? Which Way PR? This blog is dedicated to discussions examining the future of Public Relations.