The rise of the “spin doctor” – PR professionals who twist facts to support their case – has made the public more suspicious of official spokespeople, a new book claims.
As a result, spokespeople who don’t win trust could fail to get the media or the public to take them seriously, says Colin Coulson-Thomas, Professor of Direction and Leadership at the University of Lincoln, and co-author of How to Make Your Case in the Media.
Professor Coulson-Thomas says: “People are more cynical. They’re less easily convinced than they would have been in a more deferential age. Today, an organisation and its spokespeople have to earn trust – and the way to do it is to use the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”
Referring to the recent collapse in confidence in British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Coulson-Thomas believes: “An obsession with spin has caused people to loose faith in New Labour and its leaders. Tony Blair’s case for an invasion of Iraq was based upon the need to remove weapons of mass destruction that were subsequently found to be non-existent or already destroyed.”
The Professor observes: “There is widespread distrust of Government statistics and the claims and forecasts of politicians. Faith in Government will not be restored until public spokesmen insist upon checking the veracity and integrity of what they are being asked to communicate.”
How to Make Your Case in the Media shows people who find themselves having to put their organisation’
The practical book contains 67 checklists designed to help spokespeople deal with some of the most difficult problems they face such as how to handle nervousness before an interview and how to deal with ploys journalists might use to trap them into giving away confidential information.
The book contains advice on handling interviews in a wide range of different situations including face-to-face, over the telephone, in a conference call, through e-mail and at a press conference. The book even advises unlucky spokespeople what to do if they’re “door-stepped”
How to Make Your Case in the Media: the Complete Guide to Getting Your Message Across in the Press and on Radio and TV by Peter Bartram and Colin Coulson-Thomas is published as a Helping Hand Book by New Venture Publishing at £14.95. ISBN: 978-0-9552336-
Editors can obtain further information and a free article, based on themes in the book, tailored to the needs of their publication by contacting Peter Bartram on +44 (0)1273 565505 Go to the weblink above to see a detailed list of contents.
Pictures of Colin Coulson-Thomas and Peter Bartram and the cover of How to Make Your Case in the Media are available from the Press Centre on the New Venture Publishing website: www.newventurepublishing.co.uk/
