Well earned gongs for North West’s best

I was entertained by former colleague John Quinton-Barber’s tweets from the CIPR’s North West PRide awards last night, with IPB looking like they were having another good night. Cracking gold win for @ipbcomms at #pridenw http://t.co/idd2EpI2— John Quinton-Barber (@johnqbarber) November 23, 2011

How journos like to receive news (and it’s not through social media)

I went to a CIPR event in Bristol tonight which covered topics including issues management, PR in the third sector and (yes) the fragmentation of media and the audiences who consume it. That’s a lot of ground to cover in less than two hours (although, in fairness, the event was badged as ‘a taste of [...]

Asking ‘so what?’ may get you somewhere

I have just read a CIPR Skills Guide piece from Kai Boschmann, Circle Anglia’s former communications director, about the importance of proving value in PR. In the piece, she compares the tendency of communicators in the sector to be measured by what we do (press releases, newsletters) rather than what we achieve (good relationships and a solid [...]

Big Society needs local clarity to counter confusion

Debates about the meaning of the Government’s Big Society plan highlight some fundamental communication challenges for its supporters. The most pressing obstacle can be seen in recent survey results, which suggest that most people do not understand the what the Big Society stands for. This has led some critics to suggest that it is being used to shield big cuts, rather than represent [...]

Time for a Big Society debate

The CIPR has had some valid things to say this week about the ‘Big Society’ and the role communications could play in enhancing the public’s understanding of this idea. The institute’s CEO Jane Wilson has blogged about the subject, arguing that local communicators and leaders are better placed to build support for the Big Society than Government. This debate continued on CIPRTV, which looked at (amongst other [...]