Tech PR gossip site …the world’s leading… has posted some interesting ‘rumours’ about the demise of a weekly PR Business (see below).
All this is alleged by …TWL… and not actually verified by anyone
The main points raised by …TWL… include the departure of Lord ‘Shandwick’ Chadlington from the magazine’s board due to the mag’s direction and the fact that director general of the CIPR, Colin Farrington, was said to be ‘furious’ about last week’s editorial in which PRB (former??) editor, Eirwen Oxley-Green accused Colin of being ‘Colonel Blimp’-like in his attitudes to blogs.
…TWL… wonders if this led to the CIPR pulling their support for the mag which is currently using the CIPR members database as a distribution list. This (if close to the truth) is an amazing turn of events.
Colin referred in his Profle article to the so-called power of blogs. Well, hate to say I told you so Colin, but here’s a great example of what may have happened, but of course I can’t prove that it did:
You make some reactionary comments about blogging. PR bloggers blog about it. A PR magazine picks up the scent and next thing you know you feature in a marginally uncomplimentary editorial. Your organisaton pulls its support, a magazine goes under and an editor is looking for a new job.
I’m sure it’s not quite as straightforward as that but I hope Eirwen is kept on at PRB. At least she had it in her to stick her head above the PR parapet and say things that PR Week is unwilling or unable to say.
I will admit I emailed her with my post about Colin’s comments and her tech PR columunist, Antony Mayfield, also wrote about the ‘Farrington affair’.
I think it stinks, allegedly.
Verifed or not, it’ll become preceived wisdom unless its refuted. As you say it’s a cracking case study for grass roots communication.
Ah, I love gossip, don’t you?
Yep, Colin Farrington was apparently furious about my remarks in last week’s magazine, but I still stand by what I said. He has every right to be angry, just as I had every right to be dismayed. That’s democracy, right? End of story.
And yes, PR Business is (and will continue to be) distributed as a CIPR-member benefit, but as far as I’m concerned that doesn’t make PR Business the CIPPR’s mouthpiece; we are editorially independent, and always will be while I’m still there.
Where I might end up because of this, who knows? It’ll be interesting to see, though…
Stephen, you’re absolutely spot on. It seems that some of what …TWL… says isn’t actually accurate (SHOCK!), but unless the CIPR get in on the conversation their version of events won’t be heard.
Eirwen, I’m glad you have made it back to the blog! I had hoped we would have your side of things. Do I love gossip???? well, suffice to say I’m happy to have any titbits you can’t squeeze in anywhere!
Well, who knows about editorial independence, as I have been told today that I don’t have a job to go back to when I return to London next week (I’m on holiday in France at the moment – lovely timing, eh?).
The board has decided to recruit a completely new team for PRB, and I understand that the monthly title’s relaunch will still carry on as planned.
I have absolutely no idea whether my Colin Farrington comments had anything to do with the current state of affairs; if they did then it’s a very sad state of affairs indeed and not a publication I would want to be associated with if editorial policy is policed to such a ridiculous degree. (My suspicion is that I’m too outspoken for the board’s liking…) That’s certainly not why I became a journalist.
I’m just sad I devoted myself entirely to the project for the last six months, working every single evening, weekends, bank holidays and putting absolutely everything I had into making this magazine the best I could, with absolutely no resources, no support, no staff and no equipment, only to be turfed out once it had become established and, for the most part at least, lauded for its editorial content.
So good luck with the monthly, guys, and if anyone knows of any jobs going…
By the way, I reckon there’s a lot to be said for Antony Mayfield’s suggestion of an online PR magazine; it had occurred to me anyway. Does anyone have any thoughts?
Despite some decisions that I don’t yet understand, the board of PRB have my support in starting a new monthly magazine. I am hopeful there is still a possibility of working with them on what would be an exciting project.
However, if the board of PRB have a change of heart and decide not to proceed with a new monthly magazine, it would be a crying shame to waste the headway made thus far.
If there were other likeminded partners out there willing to collaborate, I would seriously consider taking on the challenge.
As a former journalist, I’m always sorry to hear about any publication that goes out of business. But at the end of the day wasn’t PR Business a bit crap.
The news section just didn’t hack it alongside PR Week and, although there were some good features, it just didn’t cerry any weight – editorially or in terms of the pagination.
I’m not sure what it was – a trade mag crossed with Private Eye? If that was the plan they didn’t pull it off and the design was appalling.
RIP indeed.
I disagree. PR Business was/is a breath of fresh air and a long overdue alternative to PR Week. In my opinion Eirwen was doing a fantastic job. Sounds like a few people need to look up the meaning of editorial independence and democracy…..
Thanks for your comments.
I see where you’re coming from, Ian, but I also agree with Sarah.
PR Business provided some good content. Fair enough some of the enws wasn’t as strong as PR Week, but PR Week has been around longer and has a better network of contacts. PR Business needed to be given more time to grow into its position as a rival weekly.
Most people I spoke to (in Yorkshire) agreed that PRB’s content was more relevant to them.
Sarah, you aren’t the Sarah Chapman I went to university with are you by any chance?
I read Ian Green’s comments last night about PRB being ‘a bit crap’ (and I’m grateful, of course, for his penetrating, thought-provoking and intelligent analysis), but didn’t want to respond as I thought it wouldn’t carry much weight coming from me: of course I’m going to disagree with him.
So imagine my pleasure to log on this evening to Simon and Sarah’s comments – thanks, guys; I’m feeling a bit low at the moment, so it’s cheered me no end.
I appreciate the remarks made about our news, but did anyone realise that we didn’t actually have a news editor? The editorial was put together entirely by myself and one great reporter, Ana Santi, who came from Draper’s Record.
With only two members of editorial staff we did a sterling job, in my humble opinion; I dare say we could have done a lot better had we the dozen-or-so-strong editorial team that PRW has. If you think about it, a magazine that’s been around 20-odd years, with no competition and with a full staff, should be doing a far better job of things than it currently is.
And Simon’s right: we were gradually building relationships with people, and that’s something that takes time. I appreciate that people want to test the water before they put their trust in a new title, and PRW, though unpopular with many, is still the title that the industry reads (whether they hate it or not), so I can totally understand why people wanted to go to them first with news. But that was gradually changing…
We had many stories that were given to us exclusively, and I had several really big things in the pipeline news-wise that I, for the time being at least, will not be able to publish.
There’s still lots emerging about the demise of PRB, but I for one hope it’s not the end…
Will be interesting to see the editorial style of the new monthly PR Business and how provocative it is or isn’t. I guess that will speak volumes about who’s ‘guiding’ what.
Oh and I don’t think I’m the same Sarah, Simon, as your name/photo doesn’t ring any bells. And unless you’ve had lots of facelifts, I assume I was at uni one or two years before you!
I’m another one who liked PRB. Good luck to Eirwen. It’s interesting that you say people in Yorkshire found the content more relevant than PRW, I’m in the Midlands and agree.