PR vs. Journalism

Working in PR, I suppose I'm not best placed to have an 'objective' view on the subject of PRs vs. Journos, but I read an article last week that really addressed the differences and more to the point, tensions, between the two gatekeepers of the news.

Weber Shandwick's head of media north, Sarah Park wrote an article on leading media site, How Do last week titled - ‘Strained relations - can PRs and journalists get along?' Not surprisingly, the article has sparked a lot of interest from people in the industry, chipping in with a gripe to justify their side of the debate. But unlike the endless list of bitter commentators, Park had a very subjective and eye opening account of why she believes communication between the two has hit an all time low.

Hollywood comes to Manchester!



The 'Captain America' set in The Northern Quarter


If you live in the great city of Manchester you're sure to have heard about the Hollywood blockbuster that is currently being filmed in our town centre.

The aptly chosen location is the retro epicentre of Manc land, 'The Northern Quarter'. Brimming with mounds of personality, the production team obviously thought it was a perfect location to film two weeks of their action/adventure classic, Captain America!

'It's good to talk!' - A brief look at the Social Media trend

Social media is fast becoming the number one communication tool. Gone are the days of, 'can I get your number?’ now it's 'can I add you on Facebook?' or 'Tweet me!'. Social networking sites have changed the way in which people in today's society interact with one another and as a result, it's changing the very fabric of communication.

Back in the day, if you wanted to leave someone a message, all you had at your disposal was a landline answering machine! Nowadays you have at least five media channels to check before you can be sure no one's trying to get in touch with you! 'Has anyone msn'd me? I wonder if I have a Facebook notification? Maybe I should just check Twitter too'. But is that the appeal? The success of Facebook, for instance, relies on the simple notion that people are actually interested in what other people are doing; and with 500 million registered users worldwide they must be onto something?!

The Vamp Obsession...have you been bitten???

Something that really interests me is the current trend surrounding all things 'fang' related. You only have to look at the phenomenal successful of the 'Twilight Saga', True Blood & The Vampire Diaries, to see that the world really has gone crazy for all things vamp! The interesting thing is all these films/programmes have been a hit. Not one flop between them!

So why then, are we all so obsessed with the un-dead??!!