Just Answer the Question

Public life would be an awful lot easier if you never had to answer questions from pesky journalists.

Or would it?

This week, David Yelland and Farzana Baduel look at Andy Burnham's decision to not take questions as he launched his vision for Britain, should he become the next Prime Minister.

Pumping out your message on your own terms might sound like the PR dream - but the rapidly changing nature of comms in the age of AI means if you try and bypass traditional media, your message might sink without trace.

On the extended edition on BBC Sounds, will they or won't they? Harry is due to visit the UK with Meghan and his children next week. The King had offered them a royal estate to stay at. But suddenly there's briefing and counter briefing and the whole trip is up in the air. If they do come, there are PR pitfalls for both sides at every turn.

Unlike Taylor Swift, whose PR seems pretty bulletproof. She's expected to get married this weekend - and she (and/or her PRs) are playing a blinder. Speculation and fan theory is running wild about the details and the venue. But as David and Farzana explain, there's a special kind of skill to this sort of rumour-mongering. Let's call it 'breadcrumbing'.

Producer: Duncan Middleton Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: Eve Streeter Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(157)

How to PR the End of the World

When an interviewer's first question is whether your product could kill all humans, you know it's serious.This week, David Yelland and Lauren Beeching look at how the boss of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, ...

16 Sep 31min

The Power of Good Vibes

It's a feeling, it's something you can't quite put your finger on - but you know it when you see it.This week, David Yelland and Farzana Baduel are all about the vibes. The good ones. Whether it's at ...

9 Sep 32min

PR's Rich Tapestry

If PR is all about weaving great stories, then the Bayeux Tapestry might just be the perfect example.This week, David Yelland and Farzana Baduel celebrate the comms coup that was 1000 years in the mak...

15 Jul 26min

Me Against the World

Whether you're a multimillionaire or the son of a King, sometimes it can still feel like everyone is out to get you.And so we turn to Nigel Farage and Prince Harry. Both are dealing with huge PR fallo...

8 Jul 24min

King Charles, Tax and Transparency

Declaring your tax isn't straightforward, as anyone's who ever filled out their own return will know.King Charles probably has someone to help with the scraps of paper and receipts - but he'll still h...

24 Jun 25min

Social Media Ban: Big Tech's 'Tobacco Moment'

The public is against you, politicians are against you and the emotional argument has been well and truly lost.Which is exactly where the likes of TikTok, Instagram and X find themselves following the...

17 Jun 27min

Hunter Biden: Back from the Brink

When you're routinely described as a crackhead and convicted felon who uses sex workers, it's fair to say your reputation can't get much worse.And so we turn to Hunter Biden. Often labelled the 'black...

10 Jun 27min