Ministerial adviser Jo Moore has been condemned in the media for
her 'heartlessness' in sending an e-mail on 11 September suggesting
colleagues bury bad news in the coverage of the US attacks. But did her
behaviour also betray a flawed PR strategy?
JIM BOYD, Consolidated Communications
'Her greatest crime was her lack of awareness of the nature of this
tragedy and how it would affect public opinion. It's not enough to
criticise Moore for allowing herself to become the story, because
spin-doctors will always be newsworthy - even Alastair Campbell has been
caught out. Nor is the fact that Moore was trying to take advantage to
downplay bad news so crucial, since that happens all the time. The
language of her e-mail was intemperate, and could not have misjudged the
mood of the country more - that was the true error for a good PR
person.'
MARK ADAMS, Foresight Communications
'She committed the greatest sin of any spin-doctor, to become the story,
rather than just playing a role in how it is told. It is a legitimate
role of media advisers to advise on the timing of announcements, as much
as on their content. All governments, irrespective of their political
colour, have timed unpopular announcements to make the least fuss.
However, it was both wrong in itself even to be considering such a
tactic as the terrible US tragedy unfolded, and wrong because she was
almost bound to be found out. In the PR world and elsewhere, too many
people treat e-mails as though they are spoken conversations, when they
should be treated like - because they can be reproduced - written
memos.'
EDWARD WALDRON-DAVIES, Mantra
'The greatest crime was to commit some ill-judged thoughts to e-mail -
something we've probably all done in the past - although few pay the
penalty of such public vilification. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that
my first reaction, as an ex-hack, on learning of the terrorist attack
was to do a good job as a media professional and feed the media relevant
information, contacts and substance. This was a deeply unpopular
reaction in our office, but that's the way it is. Our job is to feed the
media's desire for stories, wherever they come from. I've seen loads of
proposals over the years that promise we'll stay in touch with the news
agenda and react to it on behalf of our clients. You can't do that just
when it's good news. To hear PR pundits and the media lay into Moore
smacks of hypocrisy, I'm afraid.'
BRIAN BEECH, Leedex Euro RSCG
'PROs have a responsibility to act with integrity. To seek advantage
from such a devastating assault was her worst offence. And in a world of
transparent communication, one should be conscious that every
communication is, or could be, accessible to all. If one feels that what
is being said or written would not be acceptable to all stakeholders,
then it shouldn't be considered. Moore appears to have made a decision
in isolation, thinking only of her paymaster, rather than considering
the climate in which she was operating and the other publics for which
she, and the Government, has responsibility. That said, there are any
number of companies who have used the tragedy to justify redundancies
and cost cutting. Moore isn't the only one who's been manipulating the
news.'
