Tomorrow's Business Today
Why flaks can no longer lurk in the background
Does everyone have a public relations advisor these days?
The question is prompted by an interview with Joseph Stiglitz, the scourge of the respectable economics industry, since he keeps being right.
Which is not the game they are in at all.
The writer, the very skilled Henry Mance of the FT, begins: “Before I speak to Joseph Stiglitz, one of his surprisingly ample team asks if I can give him notice of my questions.”
Even leftist critics of the corporate world are PR-d up, it seems. To the extent that this is the very first thing the interviewer feels the need to point out.
For flaks, this shows how powerful the PR industry has become. Even Stiglitz thinks, or has been persuaded, that he can’t do without you.
For hacks, this is a bit depressing. Does Jeremy Corbyn run his every move past Maitland?
Does Noam Chomsky have Brunswick on speed dial?
One downside of PR being part of almost every picture is that it is much harder for flaks to remain silently in the background.
Hacks are going to have to name you as key players rather than allow you to lurk in the shadows.
A flak told me off the other day for mentioning him in a story for The Standard. He better get used to it.
I think PR advisers on deals, especially controversial deals, should increasingly be outed, same as bankers.
In a way, the industry is a victim of its own success.
Business journalism, columns especially, are now so often about public relations. By which I mean they are not solely or even mostly about the success of a business.
They are about how the business talked about itself.
If the public relations holds any relationship with reality, well, that’s a bonus.
Press release of the day
A punchy attack here on the Bank of England from Perenna, which thinks the central bank is making life more difficult than it need be for first time homebuyers.
It wants changes to regulations and more long-term fixed-rate mortgages.
Arjan Verbeek says: “By their construction, these products are far safer, removing market risk from borrowers, and like second charge mortgages, they should not be of concern for the Bank of England.”
Stories that will keep rolling
1) Telegraph up for sale again after takeover collapses. BBC
2) Noel Quinn to step down from HSBC. FT
3) Brexit border checks to “add billions” to consumer bills. Sky News
4) £1bn London Blackfriars tower blocks approved. Construction Enquirer
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