There are several falsehoods about public relations. Some, although infuriating, carry humorous images, such as being a wielder of the ‘dark arts’, depicting PR professionals as scurrying around in Harry Potter-style cloaks. Or the idea that being mates with a journalist instantly results in a non-story, miraculously appearing on the front of The Times. One that is not humorous is the concept of guaranteeing coverage. The complete certainty provided by nefarious PR ‘professionals’ that they can secure coverage on any given story, without question or analysis of information.
Author: Lucy Gardner
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Expert pr advice for the legal sector
Sweaty palms, racing heart, and an empty head…sound familiar? You are not alone. It is estimated that nearly half of the British population has a fear of public speaking (YouGov Poll 2023). Add a camera to the equation and the knowledge that millions of people will be watching your debut – live on the six o’clock news – it’s understandable, you may experience an overwhelming desire to run away and hide under your desk. Or in a wine cellar.
Failure’ by mental health services, ‘avoidable’ death during surgery, ‘unlawful killing’ are just three of the estimated 37,000 inquest conclusions that will be read out to grieving families in 2025. One-fifth of deaths – 125,000 – are deemed avoidable each year in England and Wales, and require a formal, public hearing to determine where, when, and how someone died. Through our legal PR work, we support families of the deceased through the deeply emotional process of inquests and the often intense media attention that accompanies them.
When you’re a journalist there are inevitably times that you must do something so embarrassing you want the world to swallow you up. Unfortunately for me a low point came early on in my career as a fresh-faced teenage work experience on a local newspaper where I interviewed shoe legend Jimmy Choo – while wearing a battered pair of £6 Primark ballet pumps. If you were wondering, he kindly didn’t mention my shoes.
‘The wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine’, according to the ancient Greek proverb, or at least they did until the internet came along. Long gone are the days when paper judgments are collected on foot and publishing the contents was of concern only to the editors of dusty law reports. Now, the rush to be the first to announce a win is big business.
The rapid mobilisation of all entities of the criminal justice system following the violence, which was incited by the racially motivated spread of misinformation online, felt like the rocket booster we have but longed for. One man was jailed within 24 hours of posting racially aggravated, offensive content online and a “violent racist” received more than a three-year sentence less than two weeks after punching and kicking a black man in the face.