With the exception of the Countess of Wessex, it’s not every day
that members of the PR profession are glimpsed on the front page of a
national newspaper. After all, they normally try to stay behind the
headlines.
But last week that dubious honour befell Brunswick partner Andrew
Grant.
The lead story in the Mirror on Tuesday 12 October was illustrated by a
photo of Railtrack chief executive Gerald Corbett rushing out of an
interview, with Grant’s head just visible over his shoulder.
As Railtrack’s retained agency, Brunswick has been organising a
gruelling round of interviews for Corbett in the wake of the Paddington
rail crash.
On this occasion, Grant had accompanied Corbett into what turned out to
be the lion’s den - an aggressive interview with a pack of three Mirror
hacks.
Corbett eventually walked out after being asked whether Railtrack should
be accused of corporate manslaughter.
Grant compares the experience to being scalped, and is disappointed that
his first appearance on the cover of a national newspaper betrays his
follicly-challenged state.
’I wish I had more hair,’ he sighs. ’What little hair I had at the
beginning of all this has now fallen out.’
