The only way for Willy Moon and Natalie Kills to salvage what’s left of their reputations is to apologise to Joe Irvine unreservedly and immediately. They should do it in private and publicly. If there’s one thing people dislike more than major blunders, it’s the refusal of those at fault to front up and take responsibility. There may be aspects of this behind the scenes that we don’t know about. Maybe Moon and Kills were encouraged to be brutal. But they...

Anyone in business should learn from the decision by Government, Police and the Dairy Industry to announce the threat that has been posed to baby formula in NZ if the use of 1080 is not stopped. Clearly it was necessary to alert consumers before the end of March, because that was the time the eco-terrorist gave authorities to end the use of 1080 in New Zealand. Any parent using baby formula would be angry (to say the least) if they were...

How well has John Key dealt with the media over Nicky Hager’s announcement about the GCSB spying on our Pacific neighbours? In my opinion, about as well as possible. Firstly, the decision to publicly deny any wrong-doing before Hager released his story was a good PR move. Why? Because this allowed him to get on the front foot and get his side of the story out before Hager hogged the headlines. This is something we discuss with our media training clients....

Media statements that show empathy to victims are extremely sensitive, and are usually heavily vetted by lawyers before they are released. The statement issued by Media Works over the last 24 hours appears to be no different. It was released after a mother’s distress at seeing the man convicted of her son’s manslaughter (Shae Brider) tell his ‘selective version’ of the tragic incident. This was when he appeared on X Factor earlier this week. Firstly, good on Media Works for responding....

There’s an old saying that says: “Never do battle with anyone who buys ink by the barrel.” In other words, don’t pick fights with journalists because they have the ability to spin stories in their favour. This doesn’t mean they will always write negative stories about someone they don’t like, but good relationships with journalists are important for political leaders and can affect the nature of some coverage. This is something Andrew Little needs to think about. Firstly, his failure to...

John Key fell into a classic media trap yesterday with his comment that the new International Convention Centre could look like an Eyesore if more money is not found. It showed how important it is to stay on message and make sure that all spokespeople are singing from the same song sheet. The first mistake was not coordinating a consistent message with others who would be asked to comment on the issue. Bill English and Steven Joyce were saying that contributing...

The honeymoon continues for Labour Leader Andrew Little as a major competitor for media attention has now moved aside. During the last two electoral terms, Russel Norman often took the media limelight at the expense of Labour when it came to attacking National Party policy. This is a role usually filled by the leader of the strongest opposition party. Norman pulled this off for two reasons. Firstly, he was better than consecutive Labour Leaders at giving the media the sound bites...

Most leaders make one fatal mistake when they present to groups of stakeholders, whether they be a public audience in a large hall, media interview or a small group in a boardroom. They try to cover far too many points. This is something John Key, Andrew Little and their advisors understand well. This was evident in both State Of The Nation speeches yesterday. Key focused solely on housing, while Little concentrated on the need to create jobs and the importance of...

The recent Massey University ‘Quote of 2014 Competition’ showed some interesting results. Obviously voters chose the ones they liked the most, with almost all having an element of humour in them. But does this make them good quotes? That depends. The whole reason for spokespeople using interesting quotes should be to make a point in a way that journalists will use and audiences will remember. If this criteria is used to determine the best quotes of 2014, some of those chosen...

It’s a simple tip but one not many people employ when preparing for media interviews. You must practice your interview on video until you are satisfied. That doesn’t mean a quick run-through with someone firing a few questions at you. It means you should repeat the mock interview until you have passed two tests. The first is that you look confident and relaxed. That’s obviously more for television. But the next test is critical for all media formats, particularly if it’s...