Category Archives: Public Relations

Just Say No- When the best communications strategy is to shut up

Posted in: Crisis Communications, England, Media Training, Prince Andrew, Public Relations, Royal Family | December 6, 2019 at 5:02 pm , by Sean

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When Prince Andrew sat down for an extended interview with the BBC’s Emily Maitlis, it was one of the “gets” of the year. Great for Maitlis and her program. Not so great for the House of Windsor. Not since King Charles I rose in his own defence at his trial...

Answer the Question

Posted in: Crisis Communications, Media Training, News Media, Politics, Presentation Training, Public Relations | November 29, 2019 at 5:26 pm , by Sean

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“Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” – Mark Twain The wry wisdom of Samuel Clemens resonates in the modern world of communications. I often tell clients, particularly those facing crisis, that the best strategy is always to do the right thing. In the...

Training Spokespeople for a Great Cause

Posted in: Crisis Communications, Media Training, Presentation Training, Public Relations, Urban Planning | November 1, 2019 at 6:41 pm , by Sean

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One of our favourite Saturday morning excursions is to the wonderful farmer’s market at Evergreen Brick Works. But Evergreen is about far more than just this one institution. They do important, visionary work to nurture conversations about how to improve life in our cities. That’s why it was such a...

Media Training-Beyond the Basics

Posted in: Crisis Communications, Media Training, News Media, Presentation Training, Public Relations | November 1, 2019 at 6:30 pm , by Sean

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Just as you don’t take just one piano lesson, media training is not done when you’ve been introduced to the basics. Recently, I led a session for one of my best clients, a prominent industry organization that is often in the news. Its leaders have already gone through my proprietary...

When Key Messages Aren’t Enough

Posted in: Crisis Communications, Media Training, News Media, Politics, Public Relations | November 1, 2019 at 6:22 pm , by Sean

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(Originally posted on LinkedIn March 25, 2019) Advisors to Ontario Education Minister Lisa Thompson must have thought long and hard before agreeing to book her for an interview with CBC Radio’s Matt Galloway. It meant subjecting a minister with a sketchy performance as a communicator to one of the most...

A Boy and Man and His World-Expo ’67 & Maybe Expo 2025

Posted in: Economy, Politics, Public Relations, Travel | April 11, 2016 at 3:09 pm , by Sean

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I’m exciting about assisting the communications team working on a possible Toronto bid for Expo 2025. Here’s a piece I wrote for the Huffington Post, mixing boyhood memories with middle aged dreams. Huffington Post Blog...

Rachel Notley’s Big, Dry Tent

Posted in: Climate Change, Crisis Communications, Energy, News Media, Politics, Public Relations | November 25, 2015 at 7:49 pm , by Sean

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Rachel Notley has almost nothing in common with Lyndon Johnson. But in developing her climate change strategy the Alberta Premier followed the practical political advice of the Texan who was US President in the 1960s. Talking about the fearsome J. Edgar Hoover, Johnson pithily observed: “Better to have him inside...

Spin Doctor Heal Thyself

Posted in: Media Training, News Media, Politics, Public Relations | November 7, 2015 at 11:49 pm , by Sean

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Like long time convicts suddenly released into the light of day, Parliament Hill journalists were perplexed at the burst of information sunshine on the first day of the Justin Trudeau government. There was the new prime minister striding out from Rideau Hall to take questions, several questions, with no preordained...

Open Door Perils: The Risks and Rewards of Letting in the Camera

Posted in: Crisis Communications, Media Training, News Media, Politics, Public Relations | October 14, 2015 at 3:32 pm , by Sean

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For a few months it was the most discussed documentary that nobody had ever seen. When it finally made it onto TV screens, you had to wonder why all the fuss over Premier, The Unscripted Kathleen Wynne. It was a well-crafted and fascinating look behind the scenes look at the...

Media Training Means Facing the Music

Posted in: Crisis Communications, Media Training, News Media, Public Relations | July 7, 2015 at 3:05 pm , by Sean

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Poor Melanie Streeper. Until last week her modest notoriety went not much further than the walls of St. Louis City Hall. But now the aide to the city’s comptroller has earned days of online ridicule for a truly memorable display of media relations bungling. If you have not seen the...

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