As the year draws to a close, it seems an apt time for the Diary
page to grind a few axes and reveal some of the industry's least
impressive moments of 2001.
First up it's the most inappropriate media appearance by a PRO - perhaps
the most hotly contested of titles this year, given the media's
obsession with spin and the PR fraternity's proximity to hacks.
Notable entries for incurring the wrath of the papers include Murray
Harkin and Sophie Wessex for their News of the World fiasco, Jo Moore
and the already irritating catchphrase she spawned, and PRWeek
award-winner Mark Bolland's recent run-in with, among others, Daily
Telegraph editor Charles Moore.
Two other entries come in the form of The SPA Way's flirtation with
celebrity on ITV1's This Morning, and LD Publicity chief Bernard
Doherty's appearance in The Mirror's 3am page.
But the undisputed champions are husband and wife PR double-act Peter
and Suzanne Noble.
The two appeared in a feature in The Daily Mail's 'Femail' section
entitled 'The love lives of the no-sex wives'.
Under the heading 'Suzanne's story', Mrs Noble told the paper intimate
details about their private lives: 'Although I love my husband very
much, and I know he loves me, that wild spontaneity that was once our
love-life has gone,' she lamented.
The (at times disturbingly) open article remains one of the most
oft-quoted pieces of the year among the chattering classes of the PR
community.
Its prominence is not surprising given the frankness of the content -
Noble concludes by admitting: 'These days we're lucky if we manage to be
intimate twice a month.'
Too much information, as our US friends might say.
