When It Hits the Fan

In the good old days, if you wanted some favourable PR for a client, you could call up a journalist and take them out for a jolly good lunch. It's not so easy when the thing you're trying to influence is a bot. So is it possible to spin the likes of ChatGPT?
This week David Yelland is joined by Lauren Beeching - a crisis management expert with clients that count their followers in millions.
They discuss how AI is changing so much of the nuts and bolts of the PR reputation game - from having to become a tech wizard to work out if 'evidence' is real, to understanding how to influence what AI chatbots say.
And on the extended edition on BBC Sounds, the Fan Hitter that almost broke the internet is back. The woman at the centre of the Coldplay KissCam scandal, Kristin Cabot, has done a big interview with Oprah - and discusses the PR advice she was given.
She claims she was told, "Stay quiet, everything will blow over in three days."
Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Producer: Duncan Middleton
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: Eve Streeter
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4

When your country's PR plan relies on the projection of safety and security, how do you keep that image alive when you're under attack?
This week, David Yelland is joined by global PR expert Farzana Baduel to examine how countries in the Gulf have managed their comms since the start of the war in Iran.
In Dubai especially, social media influencers have been used as foot soldiers in the reputation battle. But has the relentlessly on-brand, 'we feel safe' messaging been successful? David and Farzana explain why it depends which end of the PR telescope you're looking through.
Producer: Duncan Middleton
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: Eve Streeter
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4

Getting your message out is obviously a cornerstone of PR. But where you put that message is becoming even more important.
This week, David Yelland is joined by Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty from the BBC podcast Fame Under Fire. Together they look at the challenge for big institutions - especially the Royal Family - of cutting through.
You may think you've been successful if your story gets pick up in all the traditional places - but has anyone under-35 even seen it? They discuss the need to populate the places beyond your traditional base, to get beyond your echo chamber - and the need to interact rather than just pumping out one-way comms.
As Anoushka says, 'Do the boring thing in the most interesting way possible.'
Producer: Duncan Middleton
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: Eve Streeter
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4

When you’re in a crisis, you discover very quickly who your friends are. Or perhaps more accurately, who your friends aren’t.
This week, David Yelland and Simon Lewis examine how different types of friends are deployed to the PR front line when it comes to reputational combat.
When you can't defend yourself in public, you need the right sort in your corner. But not all friends are equal. There's the named friend, the unnamed friend and the showbiz favourite - 'close friend of the couple'.
And David and Simon reveal there are often PR campaigns going on behind-the-scenes to ensure the best calibre of friend is speaking up - and why a 'source', a 'spokesperson' and a 'friend' might actually be the same person.
On the extended edition on BBC Sounds, a moment of indulgence as When it Hits the Fan reaches its 100th episode. David and Simon explain what's surprised them about the world of PR since the show started - and why they've had to think differently about the world they move in.
Producer: Duncan Middleton
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: Eve Streeter
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4

How do you fight a PR battle when everyone's already decided you're the bad guys?
That's the problem facing the water industry on the eve of a new Channel 4 factual drama called Dirty Business. The clue is in the title. It focuses on a 10-year investigation into sewage-polluted waters.
Sticking to the facts is a basic rule of PR - but when coming up against raw anger and emotion, do you need more than facts? How do you appeal to hearts as well as minds?
On the extended edition on BBC Sounds, PR itself is in the dock. Two firms have found themselves making rather than shaping the news in recent weeks - over the Epstein files and allegations of trying to journalists. Put mildly, the companies involved have a battle on their hands to protect their own reputations. David and Simon explain why.
And if you think Heathrow is too crowded, you're very much mistaken. According to the CEO of the airport, it's simply because people are 'walking in the wrong places'. He might have a point, but the problem is, if you say something that sounds ridiculous, it doesn't matter how right you are - you're wrong.
Producer: Duncan Middleton
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: Eve Streeter
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4