Gordon Brown's interview with Piers Morgan

So what did everyone think of Gordon Brown's interview with Piers Morgan? Newspaper reviewers seemed to be divided on whether it might help or hinder the Prime Minister in the face of an election campaign - but then again, most of the papers reflected their own political bias in their analysis. One wonders how much grooming for the appearance Gordon had from his successful PR expert wife or the No 10 media gurus? In fairness, his clearly emotional responses when talking about the death of his infant daughter appeared authentic rather than manufactured. Authenticity is an issue not just for politicians but for any CEO  or spokespeople when giving media interviews, a point we make clear when we media train top executives.  You might think Michael O'Leary, Ryanair's CEO displays a degree of contempt not just for the media but for some of his less satisfied customers too. While I wouldn't hold him up as a role model, few could argue that he comes across as completely authentic in his interviews - whatever you might think of the content. Authenticity helps give the media interviewee credibility and the audience therefore connects better with their message. So if you are considering media training, don't think you have to be an actor. Whatever your personality (and as we know many column inches have been written about Gordon Brown's!), we'll work with it to help you gain the confidence you need to get your message across clearly, effectively and authentically.

Is your charity ready for the media storm?

Today brought the disturbing news that the serious effort charities are making to gather donations for Haiti are being undermined by despicable con men sending out emails soliciting donations using photos and other material from legitimate charities' websites. Hard to believe that in the face of heart rendering images from Haiti, some people could be so cruel as to try to profiteer off the back of other people's distress. But it just goes to show how easy it is for a charity, no matter how big or small, to be dragged into a media storm with little notice. What all charities should have is a crisis management protocol so that when the 24 hour rolling news operation kicks in and they have to respond very quickly not just to the media but to sorting out the crisis itself, they can react quickly and effectively.   Dreamcatcher Media have run such programmes for a variety of agencies, preparing detailed fictional scenarios that challenge all layers of management to respond to a fast-devoloping complex series of events. Our role playing actors can also be used to play the role of journalist, customer or even staff members. By the end of a crisis management training programme, managers have a much greater awareness of how they need to prepare for potentially difficult scenarios. Along the way, we often hear moans and guffaws from the training room as yet another challenging layer is laid on to the enfolding fictional crises - so as well as some great learning outcomes, we have fun along the way too!