The media today are full of the outcome of the Max Mosley court case and the judgment that a well known Sunday newspaper was unjustified in splashing details of his private life across its front page earlier this year.
In PR, stories like this (and they come around as regular as clockwork every couple of years) are the profession's equivalent of car crash TV.
As someone who cares about reputation and its management, you really have to watch - but you feel guilty about doing so because you can see the inevitable outcome. Once a story gets to court everyone's dirty washing has to come out and no-one's reputation comes out untainted - winner or loser.
Whilst the case has been a success for Mr Mosley in legal and financial terms, you have to wonder what further impact the evidence revealed in open court about his private life will have on his reputation.
For the News of the World, the case has revealed details of their dealings in the somewhat murky world of investigative journalism and "sting" operations. Even if they had won, the evidence raises questions over the tactics used by some journalists investigating people's private lives which they now have to answer.
So, we sit back and wait for the next "kiss and tell" car crash case. As a PR professional all I can hope is it isn't me or one of my clients and that I have a good vantage point to watch it unfold - with my hands over my eyes of course!
Thursday, 24 July 2008
Wednesday, 2 July 2008
Tesco are pulling out of Zimbabwe
Interesting to hear in the news that Tesco are pulling out of Zimbabwe just weeks after committing to remain in the troubled African nation.
This is a significant change of direction and shows that even a multinational has to be in tune with public opinion and prepared to alter course to ensure its reputation remains on course. They clearly feel the media coverage of the recent elections and Mr Mugabe's hold on power isn't something they wish to be associated with in the eyes of their customers.
How different to London based mining giant Anglo American, a company with no real public customer base in the UK, though it may have many UK investors.
Just days before the Tesco announcement they committed 200 million pounds to a project in Zimbabwe, an announcement which led to difficult questions for its Chairman on Radio 4's PM programme and subsequent ministerial involvement in a wider debate about investments from the UK propping up the regime.
This was clearly a risky decision in terms of reputation which, one assumes, they have thought through carefully based on a real understanding of their investors and the potential for the Zimbabwe situation to get worse before it gets better.
It's a gamble with their company's reputation which they might be regretting as they see how positively Tesco's move has been reported.
This is a significant change of direction and shows that even a multinational has to be in tune with public opinion and prepared to alter course to ensure its reputation remains on course. They clearly feel the media coverage of the recent elections and Mr Mugabe's hold on power isn't something they wish to be associated with in the eyes of their customers.
How different to London based mining giant Anglo American, a company with no real public customer base in the UK, though it may have many UK investors.
Just days before the Tesco announcement they committed 200 million pounds to a project in Zimbabwe, an announcement which led to difficult questions for its Chairman on Radio 4's PM programme and subsequent ministerial involvement in a wider debate about investments from the UK propping up the regime.
This was clearly a risky decision in terms of reputation which, one assumes, they have thought through carefully based on a real understanding of their investors and the potential for the Zimbabwe situation to get worse before it gets better.
It's a gamble with their company's reputation which they might be regretting as they see how positively Tesco's move has been reported.
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