Well, we have made it. The final couple of days of the year to run out and then we are launching into 2007. I am guessing that, as is usually the case for comms people, most of you have staggered through the last quarter of the year, trying to stave off burnout and cynicism (or is that just me?). Consequently, I thought it would be appropriate to post on something that captured the mood in communications offices around the public sector this close to Christmas. The options I tossed around were:
- A ‘best of’ 2006 type thing, incorporating the highlights of the year from a comms perspective
- Predictions for 2007 and what new technologies and approaches will bring
- An ‘awards’ type post, where I handed out spuriously named gongs for various acts of infamy
- None of the above
You will be pleased to note that I have (I think) avoided the clichéd options and gone for the merely hackneyed. But more of that later. First, an announcement.
Strategic Crisis Communications
Once we had waded through the feedback for comms@06, it became apparent that you wanted more professional development opportunities that offered intensive, interactive learning. So, we have organised the first of the Network workshops for 2007, a one-day session on Crisis Comms.
In order that you get the most out of the day, we are limiting numbers to 20. This will mean that you get to engage with the presenters and discuss issues relevant to your agency or experience. Registrations open in the middle of January, so I would urge you to register early to avoid missing out. More details available on the Network site.
Christmas & PR
As promised, option 4 for your amusement. A joke I was told at the first PR Christmas party I attended as a young tacker, pretty much straight out of Uni.
Many years ago, the BBC called up the then Prime Minister a couple of days before Christmas and asked him what it was that he would like to receive for Christmas.
Being reasonably media-savvy and a long term denizen of Whitehall, the PM recognized immediately the pitfalls around the question. After some deliberation, he gave what he thought to be a modest and suitably unassuming and very British answer. Pleased with his guile, he hung up.
On Christmas day, after enjoying lunch with his extended family, he gathered them around the wireless to listen to the broadcast.
“Finally, we asked a number of prominent people,” the announcer began after the news, “what they wanted for Christmas. The American ambassador said that he wanted to see an end to famine in Africa, the Russian ambassador said that he hoped for world peace, and the British Prime Minister wanted a nice pipe and his slippers by the fire.”
Back in January
Regular transmission will begin again in the middle of January. Have a safe break.
