Sound Communication

SHADOW Home Secretary Chris Grayling has been rightly castigated for his intemperate remarks which compared Liverpool and Manchester with the American city of Baltimore depicted in TV’s cult series, The Wire.

Grayling suggested that the level of lawlessness in the two Northern cities was comparable to the fictional bloody, drug-ridden slums of the US city.

Although it may suit Grayling’s political purposes – and attract easy media headlines – to launch such an outburst, it is so way off-beam as to be faintly ridiculous.

So we shall move on.

However, one aspect of The Wire, currently showing on BBC2, which does stand comparison is in its depiction of the current state of  the media.

The fictional Baltimore Sun is closing offices, losing gifted, connected staff and missing important stories as the money men in charge grapple with the onset of the internet.

Swap Baltimore for Bury, Birmingham, or Basildon and the story is the same. Same pressures, same environment, same profane language.

The Wire’s depiction of frustrated but ambitious reporters itching to get out, supine management, declining editorial standards and a supremely cynical City editor, Gus Haynes (pictured above) is strikingly authentic – even for Britain.

As one senior North West journalist commented the other day: “It’s so accurate, it’s almost uncanny. Completely spot on.”

So if you want to find out what life is really like on your local newspaper, tune into The Wire next Monday night. You won’t regret it.

Tags: Media relations by Matthew Finnegan
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THE modern media is obsessed with celebrity, sensation, cutting costs and increasing advertising revenue.
Getting your story in the papers, on radio and TV is more difficult than ever before.
But media coverage can make a huge difference to morale, teamwork, profit and loss.
It can affect how you are viewed by potential funders, customers, suppliers, partners and decision-makers.

Sound Communication can help make sure you get the right media profile.
Our team of respected journalists has decades of experience in the print and broadcast media.
We know what makes a good story. Our press releases don’t end up in the bin, as spam or in the deleted items folder.
We know how to build positive relations with the media – local, regional, national and specialist.
How to identify and develop stories, photographs, sound and film.
And how to gain coverage where it really matters.

Our expert journalists can manage negative stories, handle a media crisis and provide high-level strategic media advice and guidance.
We can also help you prepare for your next encounter with the media through ‘real-life’ training.
When it comes to the media, we know what we are talking about.
We can make sure the media know what you are talking about too.

• To find out more about the Sound Media Training sessions contact info@soundcommunications.org.uk or click on ‘Real Life Interview Training’

Tags: Media relations by Matthew Finnegan
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A LOT of nonsense is talked about ’spin’ and so-called ’spin doctors’.
But now, thanks to the beloved Guardian, you can see for yourself what all the fuss is about.
Step Inside the Spin Room at the New Hampshire primary in America, earlier this year.
It was the development of these ’spin rooms’ in US Presidential TV debates which first gave rise to the term ’spin doctor’.
Supporters would gather to give their own, usually intensely loyal, verdict on their favoured candidate’s TV performance.
The phenomenon grew out of the demands of the mass media – and has now become a household term of abuse.

Notice the number of journalists gathered in the ‘Spin Room’.
No revolt against ’spin’ here – rather the journalists appear to be hanging on every word that is uttered.
Every cough and splutter is taken down. Every soundbite recorded. Every muttered aside captured.

[Read more →]

Tags: Media relations by Matthew Finnegan
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