I wrote a piece recently about bloggers being the Guardians of Truth (14th January, Artisan Marketing Communications’ blog).

I used two examples to illustrate that a recent survey in which the public said overwhelmingly that they trusted traditional journalists (78%) more than bloggers is not always reflected in the reality of the actual story. The truth of the matter is that bloggers can be more accurate: they are often local to the story and have time to research the post as well as possibly knowing the protagonists.

One of the examples I used to show my point was that of Telegraph journalist Toby Harnden (pictured with Bill Clinton) and his commentary on the Saddam Hussein execution. I referenced a piece in the Guardian, which purported that bloggers had “found out” the Toby Harnden account was wrong and misleading: written before the execution because of the time difference and consequently it had many factual inaccuracies. The allegation pointed to a dishonest reporter.

Well, the truth of whether bloggers or traditional journalists are more trustworthy came very much to the fore. Toby Harnden, The Telegraph’s US correspondent, e-mailed simply asking me directly to look again.

It is something when a protagonist in a story in the nationals contacts you to urge you to look again at the accuracy of a story. It shows the power of blogging.

I managed through another contact that followed the story to locate the copy of the controversial entry and the web archives. And I have had to revise my opinions.

It transpires that Toby had written his account as a preview in the conditional future tense and had in no way intended to pass the entry off as a factual account. It was based on a briefing that had been given on the way the execution was supposed to happen. Of course, as we know, it turned out very differently.

After reading the entry, it strikes me that it is clear that it is a preview. It is unfortunate for Toby that the execution was a farce and did not follow the briefing or procedure. The ridiculous and disturbing nature of the execution came back to haunt Toby although it should not be a reflection of his journalism. The problem is that it seems that the post in question was full of “inaccuracies.” The execution was very different to Toby’s account, but it was not a factual description of the event after the event took place.

What is disturbing is the comments he received from a small core of bloggers who aggressively attacked his piece. I suppose Toby does not mind constructive criticism but the feedback was often personal in nature.

The comments are evenly split between “supporters” and “foes.”

An example of one of the bloggers that agreed or supported Toby:

Mannie (a blogger that left comments about the “inaccuracies”),
You really are flogging a dead horse now, aren’t you?
It is now absolutely clear that the article was written BEFORE the hanging. It was in the FUTURE tense. It included words like EXPECTED, LIKELY, ACCORDING TO IRAQI OFFICIALS, ACCORDING TO AMERICAN OFFICIALS.
Toby Harnden has said it was not his “finest hour”. He is professional enough to feel bad when things don’t turn out perfectly. But I don’t see he did ANYTHING wrong. It was a perfectly respectable bit of journalism and did not pretend to be anything other than what it was.
I don’t expect journalists to be able to predict the future. But it was useful to know what previous Iraqi hanging practice was and what was supposed to have happened. The only mistake Mr Harnden made was airing this topic without posting the initial article right at the outset.

Ken Marsh

And one of the more vitriolic comments is below:

“Harnden - you were a total c*** in the Royal Navy, and you continue to be one even today….how on earth you ever were accepted by the Telegraph as an alleged ‘journalist’, the Lord only knows.”

The Guardian picked up on the “debate” or should I say the frank exchange of views and “inaccuracies” that led to the Telegraph pulling the blog.

The upshot of all this is that Toby’s reputation has been tarnished. He has done nothing dishonest to warrant the attention or the loss of standing as a journalist.

Blogging is about two-way communication, but there are dangers. One PR agency I know does not allow comments; it could be a wise policy. It might be that Toby’s “real crime” was engaging in debate, not moderating comments and being perhaps more clear on his objective with the piece (although that is being a mite sensitive).

As for me it shows the flip side of blogging and its power.

I have not moderated any comments on my blog – a few more would be a fine thing before you point out that I do not have my work cut out looking over comments – but would anyone tolerate such a response?

I will of course get out my copy of “Eats, Shoots and Leaves” to get a better grasp of my tenses; do others need to do the same?

There are surely more controversial and dangerous bloggers than Toby Harnden who we should be guarding against. Something to think about with Holocaust Memorial Day being a current subject under discussion and holocaust denial still rife.

Will bloggers put the same effort into countering the David Irvings of this world?

I thought this might amuse:

The BBC has printed football (and sporting) quotes from the week. It seems the footballers and media professionals need some help with losing the bizarre metaphors, cliches and poor syntax - some is plain stupidity - and the supporters should be hired by Sky.

First the footballers and media “stars”:

“I’m a prince and I’m sort of slaying a dragon, which is something I’ve never done before, obviously.”
David Beckham on his role as a dragon slayer in a new Disney ad.

“Rooney’s touch is so good it’s like he’s got velvet gloves on his feet.”
Classic Iain Dowie on Match of the Day.

“If it doesn’t go right tonight, Wenger has another leg up his sleeve.”
Glenn Hoddle in the build-up to the Carling Cup clash between Tottenham and Arsenal.

“I am not sure exactly why the winter break started but I’m sure it has something to do with the weather.”
Owen Hargreaves discussing the Bundesliga winter shutdown.

“Whenever these two teams meet it’s always a great game. But it wasn’t a great game.”
Lee Dixon on the United-Arsenal match.

Lawro: “I’ll tell you something, Vidic looks good too.”
Green : “Well I didn’t fancy him at first but…”
Mark Lawrenson and Alan Green while commentating on Man Utd-Arsenal.

“The league is all about the league, the cups are the cups.”
Ray Houghton on TalkSport talking about Liverpool’s form - thank goodness he cleared that up!

“Hunt has proved on a few occasions that he’s a clever type, and his challenge on Nick Montgomery earlier in the game wasn’t clever either.”
Neil Warnock’s thoughts on intelligence.

“The only problem for Chelsea at the moment is that they are 2-0 down.”
Andy Gray on Sky Sports during the Liverpool-Chelsea game.

Newcastle fans to West Ham fans: “Going down, going down, going down.”
West Ham fans to Newcastle fans: “So are we, so are we, so are we!”

“You’re not singing anymore!”
Wolves fans to an empty visiting stand when they drew level at Molineux (Cardiff fans had been banned from the game).

“Whinge on the telly, he’s going to whinge on the telly!”
Boro fans to Sam Allardyce when El Hadji Diouf was sent off.

“Beaten by a franchise, you’re getting beaten by a franchise.” Sung by MK Dons fans to Barnet supporters.

“Shaun Wright-Phillips - £21m
Andriy Shevchenko - £30m
2 European Cups - priceless
Money can buy you duff players, for everything else there’s Cloughie!”

Marketing consultant Jim Symcox is vying to give Shilpa Shetty a bit of a run for her money when he stars in a Bollywood version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Mikado.

You can find out why Jim could be the next big thing by attending The Royal Northern College of Music on 14th - 17th February. Tickets can be bought from the RNCM and are reasonaly priced.

Remember you will not be able catch him on a reality show, even if it exclusively selects from the brightest marketers.

More details available on the Manchester University Gilbert and Sullivan Society website MUGGS.

No!

I saw an interesting article on Drew B’s take on tech PR about measuring the return on a business blog. Unfortunately, the premise of analysing a return on investment made me a bit queasy.

Yes, business investment should try to be measured, but the Forrester article that Drew quoted and linked to missed the point for me.

It’s all about communication!

It’s about establishing relationships and reputation - being recognised as a leader or a least a voice in your industry or field.

What price reputation? What price building strong relationships?

Yes a lead would be great, but it’s far from the only consideration.

Forrester kindly let us see a model of how to measure the metrics. I have my Chartered Institute of Marketing Diploma and post grad marketing qualifications. These models are only a guide and nothing more.

Sometimes the best in any profession do not practice and work hard because they want to win a championship or be rich. They work hard because they enjoy it and it gives them pleasure; the riches and rewards are a bonus.

Surely the best blogs are driven by that rather than a marketing calculation.

Anyone that ventures into a restaurant or bar in Manchester can not fail to notice the abundance of lifestyle magazines that are given away freely. I can think of nearly ten Manchester lifestyle publications with little effort although some are sold over the counter.

Nothing wrong with that, but can they all survive? The question puzzled me a little further when I came across two new magazines on Friday: Your Quarter and PaD. Is there really room for more?

The more established magazines have a presence and readership. Cheshire Life has over 17,00 audited readers and is part of a group of papers that claims a audited circulation of 62,000 and readership of over 400,000. The Magazine ensures it is well read by the marketing efforts of its staff.

And the new boys?

Well, they have the advertising spend. They are all glossies that often mix the editorial and advertising evenly; not too swamped with the “important messages.” They can be fun.

PRs with consumer accounts must love them. Mancunians must love them.

Yet, if the economy gets tougher and if the fripperies of a large disposable income are taken away, surely many will not be with us. They must be under tremendous pressure now with even more newcomers joining the fray.

We will see. Until then I will check out my dream 5 bedroom city centre loft conversion as I am sure many other readers do - perhaps that is where the answer lies.

The Liverpool Daily Post will be extending is free distribution within the business community, which proved successful when tried last year.

It is also looking to increase the coverage of niche business sectors online, which must continue to make it one of the most forward looking regional papers in the country; podcasts from journalists are now a regular feature.

The Post is very much targeting its readership, which differs from the Manchester Evening News and its aim to increase readership amongst a broader profile with its city centre giveaway.

The Post has a much smaller focused distribution than the Liverpool Echo and so targeting and marketing are key to its future well being: attracting high value advertisers and readers.

The Post’s free distribution and the online reporting will help it to connect and re-connect with its target readership.

I am sure they will do well.

China is not only growing at a phenomenal rate economically; it is also going to be a world beater in terms of Internet users according to the China Internet Information Network Center.

China’s economy posted growth of 10.7% in 2006, 0.3% higher than 2005 according to the China Daily. The expansion has been so fast that the government discovered half way through the year that the economy was $100 billion bigger than previous estimates.

The Internet is not disappointing. China has 137 million users and bullish predictions estimate in as little as 2 years it could be the Internet superpower - surpassing the number of users in the US. J P Morgan is being more cautious and has stated that it will be closer to 190 million by 2010. Nevertheless growth is tremendous and impressive for the last year at 26%.

This has been helpful to growth and the Chinese government promote its use for education and business. However, China’s 600,000 bloggers have more of a task breaking down the Great Firewall of China and promoting free speech as there are 50,000 officials monitoring traffic.

John Leech is the MP for Manchester Withington.

He was elected in controversial circumstances: the save the Christies Hospital he championed during the election was criticised as being scare mongering; the hospital being in no danger of moving services according to some sources.

Keith Bradley, the incumbent MP, who suffered the spectacular defeat to John (17% swing to Liberal Democrat) because of the anti-war backlash although he opposed the war; the decision to send his son to fee paying Manchester Grammar did not endear him to Labour supporters although ironically John is an ex-pupil.

Since John became an MP he has made a lot of PR gaffes: accepting tickets to the world cup that he had to return and the football match with journalists where he got hacked by the gleeful hacks also showed him in a less than positive light.

John gives the impression of being a hard working and conscientious MP.

John sat next to me in history A level. He struck me as having a sense of humour, decency and being intelligent. He won a place to Brunel to study law although he switched to politics and history.

When I told a journalist that he is a decent person he was surprised.

I think part of the backlash is the Withington electorate wanted to warn the Labour party of their frustration. They did not want to vote out Bradley. When it happened there was surprise and it was easy to say John tricked them into voting for him. Just my theory.

But he never seems to come across well. He will lose the next election if he does not address his image.

John please give me a call.

By the way my ex-cricket captain is Ivan Lewis MP, he is a junior minsiter so I do not expect he needs my help - I am well connected though.

I was hoping not to comment on reality TV shows again for a while, but the PR battle could still go either way.

Jade Goody has, as predicted, started the interviews of contrition. This Morning being one example. Is was not easy viewing although I did learn a few new words, I think one is “unvunerable.” Being able to watch such things is a privilege of working for yourself!

I thought Jade would be able to limit the damage, she still might. However I had not banked on the reaction of the tabloid press. The Mirror is just one example of the unbending and forthright reaction: A bigot and a fake (ran the headline for Saturday). Sunday: My Jade is racist and a bully by her granny. Et tu Brute?

Even Jade admitted her career was over on This Morning although if she protested that it wasn’t it would have fuelled the tabloids even more.

The issue is whether Jade was warned by Big Brother. She is being coached of course. This has made the tabloids cry that the whole exercise is cynical. Such messages would mean that her PR would have to be magnificent and very lucky to rescue her career. Hard to be seen as natural when everyone knows you have a PR team behind you.

The PR battle will be over time. It will be one of attrition. It is one where she has to break into a tabloid and win them over and try to win over the others one by one. It looks like the bitter residue from this will not go away entirely, whatever PR is carried out, but she can still fight her corner as blanking the media would ensure their continued barrage.

The other protagonist facing the payback for Shilpagate is Channel 4. The Guardian on Saturday conducted a survey, which found that most people asked think that Channel 4 should have intervened and a quarter believed Channel 4 had manipulated the situation. Not only has Channel 4 lost sponsorship – principally Carphone Warehouse – but they have damaged their brand. Where has the intelligent, adventurous and respected programming strategy gone?

It should be noted that some of the outrage and reaction has been the inadvertent fault of Channel 4. Carole Malone, as reported by the Press Gazette, says that the editing of Big Brother is misleading. The bullying incidents were not 24 hours a day but the editing made it look that way.

If that was not enough reality TV show Shipwrecked - Channel 4 again - is in trouble after a contestant commented that slavery should be brought back. Only 60 complaints to Ofcom so far. She has also made comments about black, fat and gay people that she will regret. Click here for more.

I think they need to handle it like Simon Cowell. The US Pop Idol is continuing to draw audiences as Simon’s cutting comments provoke “outrage” from the others judges and the US press. Simon is man who knows the line and plays the game instinctively well.

And lastly, The Father Ted inaugural festival created a feud between two rival islands for the privilege of holding it. Perhaps Father Ted has been the most realistic thing to feature on this site today.

No reading of the Mirror was made in the making of this post.

The Guardian ran an interesting piece in the Work section of the Saturday edition.

It focuses on the need to speak languages to get on in a career is becoming increasingly important. No surprise to read that the UK is not producing enough graduates with language skills. And with increasing globalisation and the emergence of China and India as economic powers the need will get more acute. Nothing really new there; I just suppose it’s a subject I am interested in.

But how important is it for PRs and marketing staff to speak foreign languages?

I do not believe we are immune to being monoglots. Indeed, in my experience PRs and marketers are mostly confined to English.

But for PRs a new danger or opportunity seems more pressing. Of course many opportunities come with the ability to speak languages and that is a business reason enough to be able to offer a language.

But agencies that offer multi-lingual services will have a huge competitive advantage. They might not take business away from other agencies in their own back yard, but they will be able to give themselves another window of opportunity, perhaps a vital one when times are tougher.

After all, agencies might be able to service the needs of local or national clients; multi-lingual agencies can service the needs of clients from many countries and almost whole continents.

So it is back to the Spanish lessons.

(I did not resort to the Sean Connery line about cunning linguists in the writing of this entry. Please note that piece I promised you is hopefully forthcoming depending on whether a noteworthy journalist gives me the go ahead; more explained later).