Regardless of whether the News of the World is your sort of newspaper, until recent days it has been a highly valuable asset. Add together the paper’s 168-year history, its track record of breaking major stories (particularly through investigative journalism) and its huge success in attracting major advertisers, and you have a something that was surely worth preserving. (Perhaps the most striking fact about the News of the World is that it had a greater number of ABC1 readers than that other Murdoch title, The Sunday Times.) News International’s decision to axe the paper rather than take the steps necessary to redeem it has caught the world on the hop; this was surely part of the Murdoch family’s motivation – the masters of newsprint have indeed, if temporarily, reset the news agenda. However, as a case study in crisis management, the decision seems a disaster. (more…)

Many executives remain uncertain how to handle themselves in a media interview. Here are 80:20’s top 10 tips for successful media encounters. (more…)

As a way of explaining your business, storytelling can be a very effective approach. Properly told, a business story can create colour and interest in a way your audience will appreciate and remember. Whether winning over sceptical journalists, wooing customers or motivating employees, good storytelling can be a powerful asset. However, as every parent knows, a story can easily fall flat. Here, we set out five golden rules for telling your corporate story. (more…)

Thanks to the Bad Pitch Blog for this hilarious post about embargoes, which does for media relations what The Office did for working life. It’s funny because it’s painfully close to reality. If you want to understand how absolutely not to pitch a story, watch this. WARNING: the cartoon contains some strong language. (more…)

We’re being absolutely snowed under with media demands for IT Governance at the moment and, in particular, the views of company chief executive Alan Calder. (Earlier in the year we were just literally snowed under, which was worse, so I suppose we shouldn’t really complain!) In fact, it’s very rewarding to have the press beating a path to our door and it shows the value of long-term effort and a long-term strategy. The years of working to establish and build the right media relationships, placing Alan where he belongs as a thought leader in IT compliance and information security, are really paying off now. Long may the demands for his expertise continue to snowball.