Capello to see red from the tabloids December 19, 2007
Posted by paulprdixon in : Media Focus, PR in the UK, PRandom , add a commentOn the pitch, the imperious Fabio Capello will have to get England dribbling its way back to the dizzying heights last seen in ‘66. Off the pitch, the 61 year old Roman general will have to contend with a British tabloid press that has its own way of unleashing hell.
The British broadsheets are somewhat more forgiving and tend not to plaster their front pages with turnip heads (The Sun, Graham Taylor), or with “Wally in the brolly” headlines like the one found more recently in the dying moments of the last England manager’s tumultuous reign (Daily Mail, Steve McClaren). Instead, the broadsheets all decided this week to discuss the wounds Capello is likely to suffer in the merciless hands of the red-tops – and his best line of defense against them (nothing to do with four at the back of course).
Capello’s key message to the tabloids in 2010? 
First blood has been drawn. The Sun is already lambasting the latest
England manager’s command of the English language – mocking him for saying “honou-ra-ra-ble” - in what was his first English sentence during this week’s press conference at the Royal Lancaster Hotel. (more…)
Cyber-squatter December 2, 2007
Posted by paulprdixon in : PRandom , 1 comment so farAs some of you will have noticed, I have moved my blog to blogvis.com – a foreign blog server that currently works in China. Wordpress.com blogs are now blocked here making posting impossible even when using the latest software that hides my IP address. So, this is my third on-line home in a year, almost identical to my last and the one before that. I do sometimes feel like a cyber-squatter waiting to be moved on by the Chinese Internet police.
BT Customer’s YouTube Rant December 2, 2007
Posted by paulprdixon in : PR in the UK, Social Media , add a commentBT came under scrutiny earlier this week when one of its frustrated customers posted a video complaint on YouTube.
And obviously it worked. Within days he had received a response from the office of BT chairman Sir Christopher Bland and a full refund which he rightfully deserved.
BT obviously did the right thing by sorting the mess out as soon as possible. But its reputation took a hit in the British news - especially the tabloids.
BT - Riding the storm
The Sun Newspaper - Britain’s leading tabloid - made it one of their top stories for the day (at least on-line) informing readers that after scores of letters and hours spent on hold or speaking to staff at the BT call centre in India, Mr Askins decided to grab the attention of the company - and its customers - by venting his rage on the video website. Consequentially, Mr Askins received preferential treatment from BT’s top brass.
YouTube stories are increasingly popular for newspapers as they add a further dimension: anyone reading online can just click straight through to the video post, if it isn’t already embedded like it was for this story. Also, even if you reading your morning papers the old-fashioned way the chances are your computer is not too far away. With YouTube stories, newspapers can offer more than words and pictures.