why ‘The West Wing’ is the perfect antidote to the ‘The Thick of it’

When it comes to great TV shows The West Wing takes some beating. And whilst it is of course fictional, it is littered with comms and PR case studies.

By Alex Ross

The polls are still open in the US Presidential Election as I write this, but it should be all over by the time you read it. 

Before the results come in and to recreate the tension and behind-the-scenes excitement, my wife and I did what we usually do…flicked between the finale of The West Wing and live election night coverage.

And do you know what?  It’s pretty hard to separate fiction from reality.

But unlike the depressingly accurate depiction of ‘how it is’ in The Thick of It, The West Wing still shows us ‘how it should be’ in government communications – driven by ambition, innovation, a desire to change the world for the better.

Okay, so it was made before social media and smartphones, but focusing on channels misses the point.

The West Wing depicts a world where great communications make a difference and where great communicators are trusted, influential advisers to the most powerful person in the world.

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glass half-full comms

With cuts cutting deeper it's time to ask some deep questions of how to communicate them.

by Dan Slee

Are we better off saying the glass is half full? Or empty? Or pretending it's full?  

That was the iconoclastic view of London Fire Brigade's head of comms Richard Stokoe.

Back at the annual LGComms Academy earlier in the year he spoke eloquently about the challenges the public sector is facing and his take on what it should do.  We shouldn't pretend that things are fine when they're not, he says.  Neither should it try and bea cheerleader for business as usual because business as usual is over.

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10 good reasons to work in public sector comms and pr (and 10 reasons why not to... )

What better way to test the pros and cons of working in the public sector, ahead of a talk with PR students in Manchester, than Twitter crowdsourcing what a bunch of industry professionals thought.

by Darren Caveney

I always enjoy talking to PR and comms students about careers. In my own way I like to think (rightly or wrongly) that I am able to give a little bit back and still remember those who helped me when I was starting out in the industry. And it's always an opportunity to learn from the students too.

We all need a leg up and access to others from time to time. Now, probably more than ever, actually.

So when Sarah Williams, senior PR lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University asked me to talk to final year PR students about in-house careers in the public sector I was very happy to help.

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42 pearls from #ciprsm

The CIPR social media event in London was an event worth following. Tucked in amongst the tweets was a treasure trove of good learning.

by Dan Slee

Back in 2008 when we were getting to grips with the social media landscape the last place we found inspiration in some amazing places.

There was the hyperlocal bloggers experimenting with open data to tell a story. 

The former BBC journalist talking about how journalism is dead.

The local government innovator who was experimenting with freeing up content on Flickr. 

Ideas and inspiration pinged across Twitter amongst people who had met at unconferences. Free events organised by like-minded people. Not by an organisation.

Gradually we came to see innovation in some unlikely places which shaped our approach and what we did.

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ten thoughts on getting social

Digital communications can be a leap of faith to communications people. But once you make that leap it starts to make powerful sense. Here are some tips to help you no matter where you are on your journey.

by Ross Wigham

1. Try to think customer not corporate. This sounds pretty obvious doesn’t it but for too long we were focusing on what the council wanted to tell people, rather than thinking about the conversations that we should be having. Social media for councils and the whole public sector is a real game changer when it comes to engagement and that starting point should be thinking about the stuff residents want to talk to us about. It’s meant to be a conversation, so make sure you’re listening as well as talking. From a population of 300,000 we’ve now got more than 26,000 people signed up to our networks, despite being a predominantly rural area.

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why malcolm tucker must die

Armando Iannoucci's BBC series 'The Thick Of It' has ended. An epoch-defining series that told the story of how a fictional Government department ran with a spin doctor at its heart.  

By Dan Slee

As beautiful illicit guilty pleasures go watching BBC2's The Thick Of It is not exactly an out-of-control gambling habit.

A satirical fly-on-the-wall Yes Minister for the 21st Century Civil Servants and politicians scheme, plot and manipulate obsessed by the whims of public opinion.

Chief amongst them is the figure of Malcolm Tucker. Like 'Iago with a blackberry'  as The Spectator calls him in the programme itself, he is the government's director of communications whose Machiavellian command of the dark arts of spin is direct drawn from the underworld. Nothing is too low.

"Congratulations on your first confirmed kill," he chillingly writes on a card to a junior who ill in hospital goes along with his plot to unseat the Leader of the Opposition. Out of the box the card comes from drifts a helium baloon with a picture of the deposed Leader sellotaped to it. A perfect blend of malice and slapstick.

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journeyman

When does a journeyman become a master, and does it actually matter? Achieving 25-year's service is a pretty good position from which to call it.

by Phil Jewitt

Last Friday I received the above tokens in recognition of 25 years local government service. I’ll fess up; I was just a bit proud as I was called to receive them at our staff achievement awards. And yes, there was a clock, only a small one but quite heavy, which is my standard measure of quality, mostly used when assessing cakes and puddings! It’s never been about milestones or glory for me though; it’s been about the difference that can be made. So this isn’t a post about the last 25 years, more my reflection on what next; where my public role and public sector service provision is probably heading....what’s on and over that horizon.

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uk’s foreign & commonwealth office: a google plus success

Google Plus is a social media platform that surprises. It has survived predictions of demise to grow to  100m active users. But how can it be used as a comms channel? Look at the UK’s Foreign Office which has more than 130,000 users.

by Shane Dillon

When Google Plus was launched in July 2011 the FCO’s Digital Team began tracking this new social network. Some members of the team eagerly adopted Google Plus and reported back. This was a time when people, not organizations and brands, could have a presence and Google Plus pages were not an option.

Over the past year the perception of Google Plus has taken many turns, both negative and positive with some questioning whether it would survive. However one year on Google Plus has not only survived it is on the up. The latest stats show the network in just one year has 400 million users of which 100 million are ‘active’.  

When Google Plus launched organisation pages like many others the FCO set up a page and began distributing content on its new Google Plus page. This has paid off, the Google Plus page has 133,374 people from around the world have added the FCO to their Circles. 

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geography lessons: 20 things I learnt at #EuroPCom

The whole ethos behind comms2point0 is a belief in sharing, learning and helping. But why limit this to the UK? We just went European and made some new friends along the way.

by Darren Caveney

I was very fortunate to be given the opportunity to talk at the European Union Committe of the Regions EuroPComevent in Brussels, a presitgious conference for European communicators. As always, learning opportunities were aplenty.

Here is a run-down of 20 things I learnt on the flying visit to beautiful Brussels...

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local democracy week – let’s tell the story

Story telling is important in all fields. The Local Government Association are looking for some around the essential task of being an elected member.

 by David Holdstock

In case you don’t know, it’s Local Democracy Week this week and the LGA will be continuing to promote our successful ‘Be a councillor’ campaign.

In the run up to Local Democracy Week I wrote to communications colleagues asking for case studies of how councils are encouraging people to find out more about how to become a councillor. I got some fantastic examples back but also quite a few responses along the lines of, “Sounds great, do you have any support materials we could use?” (we do by the way – more on that later).

Whenever we talk about encouraging people to become a councillor we often use phrases such as “engaging in local democracy” but what does that actually mean to people who may not be involved in local politics let alone national politics? 

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remember the real networks?

Back in the olden days journalists would rub shoulders with PRs for boozy lunches. It was called networking. Today, networking - online and offline - is just as important. Only there isn't the same cocktails.

by Ross Wigham

Networking has always been a powerful buzzword. Back in 1999 when I moved South to work as a journalist in London it meant boozy lunches with PRs and long nights on the town with their clients.

I was literally partying like it was 1999, often in work time with my employers blessing.

But even back then the 'Mad Men' approach to meeting colleagues and contacts was in its dying day – ‘you just missed out on the good times’ some of the old hands would tell me with a smile.

A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then and if your job is anything like mine the opportunities to meet, talk and think with like-minded people, are a rare treat.

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why every organisation should have trojan mice

There's no shortage of advice on how to tackle digital communications. Here's one book that's worth getting and one pearl from it.

by Dan Slee

Okay, confession time: I try my absolute hardest to avoid books on social media.

Books on climbing? Yes. Books from self-styled social media ninjas? no thank you.

One of a few that stands like a shining beacon is the excellent 'Organisations Don't Tweet, People Do' by Euan Semple.

I've lost count of the number of people I've recommended this hardback work to. Even if you don't go out and buy it you can take something from the title.

One of the reasons why I'm rather keen on it is that it strikes a chord with some of the work we've done.

One example that Semple comes up with is 'Trojan mice.'

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what, public health as well? five tips to survive and thrive

If you work in local government comms you're probably beginning to worry about how you are going to deliver public health comms, what with everything else you have to do.

by Darren Caveney

Local government comms folk have just landed themselves with a shiny new portfolio of work in the shape of public health.

The words used to describe this new role, by colleagues I've spoken to, include; "fear", "confusion", "concern" and "opportunity." It really depends upon your point of view. But without a doubt it is going to place extra pressure on already toiling teams.

So the chance to attend an LGcomms briefing on the transition of public health to local authority world was both timely and helpful. The idea of Andy Allsop, the event included a fascinating insight into the transition by Coventry City Council's impressive chief executive, Martin Reeves.

Martin's steer for communicators was plain and simple - and it could just form the basis of your outline comms plan, its vision, and most importantly your mindset...

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gloves off, gloves on

PR folk and journalists often scuffle. But that's just not going to help either side.

by Kelly Parkes-Harrison

The sound of a deep sigh and my head hitting the keyboard is all that could be heard yesterday as I read yet another tweet from a journalist having a dig at PRs.

“Why do PRs put everything three times in a release, I don’t need telling three times”. Now this was quite tame, there are some journalists, I name no names, who seem to embrace PR bashing on Twitter as a way of expelling their inner angst and frustration. Those tweets can get downright unpleasant.

Normally I will seethe quietly about these kind of tweets, too cautious to say anything back in case it sparks an unpleasant Twitter scene. This time, probably because I am a coward and I know this journalist is quite nice, I decided to reply. I tweeted back suggesting that the press release was just badly written. The journalist replied saying possibly, or just a misguided formula that PRs are taught in training. She added that is was very irritating.

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getting social in the environment agency

If there's one thing that social media is really useful for as a comms channel it's getting out information in real-time. That's something that the Environment Agency have worked on. Those plans were put to the test recently when torrential rain swept the country. Here's how they fared.

by @envagency

Social media is revolutionising the way people engage with us.  We’ve grabbed the bull by the horns and it’s become an everyday part of communications activity. 

Just two years ago we had a small number of people in our media team using social media but we’re about to give all our employees access.

In April 2012 we put a dedicated social media expert in each of our regions and a small team in our National Customer Contact Centre.  Since then a further 160 people have been trained to monitor and engage across social media channels.  

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