BackAfter years as a loyal listener of When It Hits the Fan, I’ve stepped behind the mic as co-host alongside David Yelland, and I have to say, it feels quite daunting.
The chair I’m stepping into belonged to the brilliant Simon Lewis OBE, he was the first Communications Secretary to the late Queen Elizabeth II, Director of Communications for Gordon Brown at Number 10 and served as the past President of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations. Simon brought PR to the highest levels of public life and made the case for the profession, both within the industry and to the world beyond it.
This Week’s Episode: Trouble at the FBI
Our first episode together covers three stories:
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Kash Patel and the FBI – the Director reportedly missing in action amid serious allegations. What does a crisis at the very top of American law enforcement look like from a communications standpoint, and who is managing the narrative?
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The new Michael Jackson film – a masterclass in what David is calling the PR of omission. What you choose not to say is always a strategy. We examine how it works, and when it fails.
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Tim Cook’s departure from Apple – one of the most scrutinised exits in corporate history. Why do so few leaders manage a graceful PR departure, and what does Cook’s approach tell us about power, legacy and the art of letting go?
Listen on BBC Radio 4 every Wednesday at 4 pm and Thursday at 8 pm, or catch the full-length version on BBC Sounds or Spotify and also available on Apple podcasts.
The Voice Note Takeover
Is this the end of the written word?
A highly recommended read by Ashitha Nagesh landed in my WhatsApp chat by someone who shall remain nameless. I happen to send him long voice notes and he always replies in text. I think he may be trying to tell me something!
I love sending voice notes, they capture tone and emotion and energy in a way text simply cannot. I listen to them on my walks with my woof, Dante. Where do you stand – love them or loathe them?
Creativity is contagious, pass it on
Albert Einstein
I joined Folgate Advisors co-founder David Gallagher, PRWeek UK Editor John Harrington and We. Communications (UK) Ben Fisher at Soho Theatre to catch I Saw Satan at 7-11. As a Soho Theatre trustee, I may be slightly biased, but the Guardian agreed with me, it was a brilliant, jolt-of-energy start to the week. We discussed the growth trajectory of podcasts, the power of comedy as genuine cut-through in communications and the unstoppable rise of short-form video. Yes, you have to climb Cringe Mountain to get there.
Speaking of comedy, has anyone been watching Saturday Night Live UK? The responses have been a bit polarised. I hope it continues, any platform that nurtures comedy talent and gives it national reach is worth celebrating, even when the results are mixed.
Hope you are having a lovely bank holiday weekend. Now I am off to catch The Devil Wears Prada 2 at my local cinema. Apparently, it has a crisis communications subplot, so I am telling myself it counts as work research! What a fun world we work in? Any excuse for a front row seat!
Originally featured in Substack
