Back“The beginning is always today.” — Mary Shelley
September marks the return to a more familiar rhythm. Schools are back, diaries are filling up and work is quickly getting into full gear.
I am fully back at work, and so is When It Hits the Fan. David Yelland and I returned to the BBC Radio 4 studio this week after our summer break. And there has been plenty to talk about.
So let’s begin with this week’s fan hitters.
The Power of Good Vibes
It was lovely to be back behind the microphone with David Yelland this week as When It Hits the Fan returned to BBC Radio 4 after our summer break.
This week, we were all about the vibes. The good ones. Whether it’s at Downing Street or M&S, vibes have been one of the stories of the summer.
But good vibes aren’t easy to manufacture, they often need intricate planning. And they also require risk, being bold and authenticity.
Nigel Farage MP says he ‘wasn’t listening’ during a conversation with his former chief of staff and an undercover reporter discussing what appears to have been a scheme to funnel money to Reform UK .
As a defence, it may sound simple – but as David and I explain, they’re often the hardest ones to disprove. See also, ‘I didn’t read the email’, ‘my phone was hacked’ and ‘the dog ate it’. Whether you choose to believe someone’s defence will rest on their ‘residual reputation’.
And, following one of the most spectacular PR coups of the summer, who are the real winners after Meghan was rumoured to be starring in The Gentlemen? Was there a calculated plan to allow the story to snowball – and was Meghan’s team wrong to allow a vacuum to build around the actual facts?
➡️ Listen: When It Hits the Fan ⬇️
America Still Loves the Royals
At the recording with the ABC News team
You can take Harry and Meghan out of America, but it seems you can’t take away America’s interest in the Royal Family.
I was invited by ABC News this week to speak with Patrick Reevell to Impact x Nightline about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and what their return to Britain might mean for their public image and for the wider Royal Family.
We talked about it through a communications lens: how Harry and Meghan should approach this next chapter, how the monarchy might respond, and how two brands with a complicated history can manage the optics of being back on the same side of the Atlantic.
The Royal Family remains one of Britain’s most recognisable sources of soft power. Its weddings, fallouts, reconciliations and family dramas travel far beyond the UK, and Americans remain fascinated by them. Harry and Meghan leaving the US doesn’t appear to have changed that appetite.
I enjoyed spilling a little royal tea with the Nightline team. More when the programme airs. ☕️
PR’s Highest Honours
One of the highlights of serving as President of Chartered Institute of Public Relations is having the privilege of awarding two of the Institute’s highest honours.
The President’s Medal, which dates back to 1966, recognises distinguished service to public relations. This year, I am delighted to award it to Rupert Younger, Director of the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation, whose research and teaching have done so much to advance the study and practice of reputation.
The Sir Stephen Tallents’ Medal is named after the CIPR’s founding President and recognises exceptional achievement in PR practice by a CIPR member. This year’s recipient is Samantha Seewoosurrun Chart.PR FCIPR, who has made an outstanding contribution to the CIPR internationally, from founding its network in Mauritius to leading the CIPR International Group .
Both Rupert and Samantha have given a great deal to our profession and helped strengthen its standing. It is a real pleasure to recognise them.
Congratulations to you both.
➡️ Read more here ⬇️
How Will the Next Generation Learn PR?
I recently asked my LinkedIn network what young people need to know to succeed in PR today.
Christopher Penn picked up the question and devoted an edition of his Almost Timely News newsletter to answering it, using his 5P Framework: Purpose, People, Process, Platform and Performance.
What particularly interested me was his point about the early years of a PR career. AI is increasingly able to handle many of the routine tasks that have traditionally given young practitioners their first experience of the profession.
Those tasks were never just tasks. Writing media lists, monitoring coverage, drafting first versions and doing research were also how people learned the profession.
If some of that work disappears, we need to think much more carefully about what replaces it. How do young practitioners develop judgement, build relationships and learn from getting things wrong if the traditional training ground is changing beneath them?
Thank you, Christopher, for taking my question considerably further than I expected.
➡️ Read the newsletter here ⬇️
➡️ Watch the YouTube here ⬇️
Does the World Need Another Podcast
I am really looking forward to the next Baduel Brief on Monday 21 September, when I will be joined by William Miller, founder of Raconteur Studios Ltd and someone I greatly admire.
William has spent more than 40 years working across television, radio and digital media. His experience with organisations using broadcasting to communicate goes back to the 1990s, long before every company decided it needed a podcast. Today, Raconteur Studios Ltd produces When It Hits the Fan for the BBC, so I have had the pleasure of seeing some of that expertise up close.
We will be tackling a question I suspect many of us have asked: does the world really need another podcast?
We will look at what makes audio genuinely useful as a communications tool, what organisations can learn from professional broadcasters and how podcasting can work for both internal and external audiences.
Save the Date: PR Has Talent
Tuesday, 17 November
Soho Theatre
21 Dean Street
London W1D 3NE
There is clearly plenty of talent hiding in an industry full of people who spend their working lives putting everybody else in the spotlight, and we’ve received lots of interesting applications.
If you sing, perform comedy, play an instrument, write poetry, do magic or have a talent none of us would ever guess from your LinkedIn profile, we would still love to hear from you.
The show takes place at Soho Theatre on Tuesday 17 November, with proceeds supporting Soho Theatre’s new writing and artist development work.
If you would like to take part, email TheProducers@PRHasTalent.co.uk or send Graham Goodkind or me a message.
And if the stage is absolutely not for you, save the date anyway. We want the audience to be every bit as good as the acts.
Until next week,
Farzana
Originally featured in Substack
