A little colour Labour didn’t need
January 15th, 2009 by Jon ClementsThere is a long list of people in the media spotlight whose misjudged comment has landed them in trouble.
The reporting of Gerald Ratner’s infamous throw-away line about his high street jewellery shops’ product range as “crap” did nothing for business, just as Network Rail justifying late-running trains because of the “wrong type of leaves” on the line invited nationwide ridicule.
Thinking before speaking to the media or - yet more preferable - anticipating questions and preparing honest and considered responses is essential to minimise the risk of trashing your reputation in public - or at least avoiding a distracting media feeding frenzy.
I can only assume this wasn’t what business minister, Baroness Vadera, did when speaking to ITV news yesterday about the state of the economy, in which she claimed to have seen “a few green shoots of recovery”. The Baroness is, reputedly, no intellectual slouch and maybe her comments were taken out of context but this metaphor couldn’t have been more ill-judged on a bad day for job losses.
Her gaffe was a gift to the media - the BBC’s 10 o’clock news had it as lead story - not least because abuse of the “green shoots” analogy had previous form with Tory chancellor, Norman Lamont, in the early 90s. And it gave the opposition a golden opportunity to say the Baroness was inhabiting “a parallel universe” at a critical time for the Government.
As the news showed last night, there are some signs of positive economic activity despite the overall outlook appearing bleak. Maybe if Vadera had alluded to those while leavening her comments with some realism about the economy - and leaving the botanical imagery in the garden shed - it could have been just another balanced ministerial comment buried in copy, not front page news.
As a journalist, the desk would sometimes ask me to do “a colour piece”. That colour can be elusive, unless politicians make it easy for you.
Tags: , Baroness Vadera, Gerald Ratner, ITV news, Labour, Norman Lamont, the economy, The Government
January 16th, 2009 at 10:04 am
Whether you think Baroness Vadera is the hapless victim of a mischievous journalist, or whether you think she’s the author of her own embarrassment, her unfortunate “green shoots” remark matters, because – differing sharply from colleagues’ statements - it casts doubt on the coherence of the government’s economic policy, at a critical time.
Confidence is the foundation stone of business as well as politics…a careless remark from a ompany spokesperson in public can undermine confidence, out of all proportion to the actual words.
Having a simple, effective, joined-up media response strategy in place – one which reflects and supports the objectives and values of a company or organisation is a cost-effective insurance policy against them suffering a Vadera Moment.
Whether you like it or not, we live in a world driven by communications. This creates threats and opportunities in equal measure. They may be tempted to think that making an ad hoc response to ad hoc events represents a cost saving…but it really isn’t, as evidenced by the incredibly bright Ms Vadera!
January 16th, 2009 at 10:53 am
Sarah
I think the lack of what you call “joined-up media strategy” was demonstrated by a rather embarassed-looking Peter Mandelson who, while defending his ministerial colleague, had to admit he didn’t know what was going through her mind at the time.