Inside the world of crisis managers and spin doctors as David Yelland and Simon Lewis watch the week's biggest PR disasters unfold. In each episode our hosts go...
Inside the woke war room, puff quote PR and WhatsApp comms
David Yelland and Simon Lewis take you inside the woke war rooms in which some of the world’s biggest companies have been sitting these last few weeks with their PR teams, working out whether to abandon their diversity, equity and inclusion programmes following Donald Trump’s ban. With net zero and US foreign aid also coming under the umbrella of what Elon Musk calls the 'woke mind virus’, is the war on woke the great PR distraction trick of our time? Also, 'Illuminating and electrifying!' Are book endorsements dead in the age of the influencer? And how can PR professionals keep a handle on the WhatsApps and private communications of their CEOs?Producer: Eve Streeter
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: William Miller
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4
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28:16
Rachel Reeves’ PR pivot, how to talk to Trump and Bill Gates’ memoir
How do you PR a pivot and change the mood music as a politician? David Yelland and Simon Lewis take a look at the language Rachel Reeves is deploying as she tries to go for growth and what might lie behind the timing of AstraZeneca scrapping its UK vaccine plant.Also, the split that divides the world's PR elite - the political and business world is having to decide whether to follow Donald Trump's language or resist it, kowtow or fight. How do we all talk to America now?And a PR take on the publicity for Bill Gates' new memoir.Producer: Eve Streeter
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: William Miller
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4
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28:09
Inside the Sun's historic apology to Prince Harry
In a rare, open and frank discussion, David Yelland and Simon Lewis go behind the scenes of The Sun newspaper's historic apology to Prince Harry, including for 'serious intrusion' by The Sun and unlawful activity by private investigators.There's no suggestion that any Sun journalist broke the law. But as a former editor of the paper during this time, what light can David shed on practices at Rupert Murdoch's company then - the use of private investigators and oversight of this, questioning sources, as well as protecting the privacy of Prince William and Prince Harry while they were at Eton? Will this settlement draw a line under the hacking scandal and Harry’s crusade against the tabloid press?Producer: Eve Streeter
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: William Miller
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4
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28:16
Power and influence in the (medieval) court of Trump
In the wake of Donald Trump’s inauguration, David Yelland and Simon Lewis decode what it means for how the 47th US president does business. For the tech billionaires in the court of King Donald, as in the days of yore, proximity to power is key. The court can be a risky place if your king is capricious, so stay close, give him what he wants and prove your loyalty – and hope you can still look yourself in the mirror.Also, what TikTok, crypto and the PR tactic of “flooding the zone” reveal about how the Trump presidency may play out.Producer: Eve Streeter
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: William Miller
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4
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28:28
California in crisis and is the UK running out of gas?
As the LA wildfires continue to burn, David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss the challenge looming for US insurers that find themselves on the frontline of climate change communications - because it looks likely it's not the world's politicians who are going to explain to people the consequences of our warming planet, it's the insurance companies. Also, a fan-hitting Hollywood feud that has PR at the centre of it. What does the lawsuit between actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni reveal about the use of publicity smear campaigns?And - just what was behind the UK's biggest energy company warning about low levels of gas storage during the coldest week of the winter?Producer: Eve Streeter
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: William Miller
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4
Inside the world of crisis managers and spin doctors as David Yelland and Simon Lewis watch the week's biggest PR disasters unfold. In each episode our hosts go behind the scenes of the latest news stories and find out how, where and when it all began to hit the fan. When It Hits The Fan is hosted by two of the most influential and experienced people in the game; David Yelland is the former editor of the Sun and alongside him is Simon Lewis, former trouble-shooter for the Queen and Gordon Brown, as well as for major corporations like the Nat West, Vodafone and British Gas. Together they bring decades of experience in both creating and managing crises. They'll share all they know about what's keeping those big stories in and out of the news.
Ireland