The PR pod men

The latest sign that PR is taking over the world comes via a BBC show and podcast called When It Hits The Fan.

It is presented by David Yelland and Simon Lewis, who have bestrode the upper echelons of journalism and PR for decades.

Don’t take my word for it – just ask them, they’ll tell you.

Yelland is the former Sun editor turned Brunswick man who later set up his own firm Kitchen Table Partners.

Lewis is a former Vodafone spinning top who has also worked for the Royal family and Centrica, and is in no way annoyed that his brother Will is better known.

I’m a bit late to it in fairness and there certainly should be a show on how PR works and how it came to be absolutely everywhere.

This one is not pitched at the PR professional, or it doesn’t seem to be. It’s more inside baseball for people who don’t know anything about baseball.

I’ve not dealt with either man much in the past, though I do remember Yelland berating me for my failure to describe Ocado boss Tim Steiner as a retail genius.

(That was years ago. Steiner is undoubtedly a genius at making himself rich. On other matters, the jury is still in consideration.)

The pod consists of the pair mildly disagreeing with each other about how a PR matter should be handled in between name drops you have to be awfully quick to catch before they clunk on the floor.

A quick sample: “When I worked for Gordon Brown….I remember saying to Rupert Murdoch….that’s when I knew I’d arrived….as I recall telling the CEO of British Gas…”

In the latest edtion, Yelland heralds the Co-op’s investment in the Co-op Live venue in Manchester despite teething problems, something he says the London media will never cover.

Reports on Sky, the BBC, The Independent and ITV notwithstanding, of course.

The show is at least open about what political PR involves.

You need to a) be shameless. b) be able to spin falsehoods in clear sight. c) have “client” journalists who will print what you say.

Financial PR is more honest than political PR, is one conclusion reached, and I think we can agree on that, even take some heart from it.

The show is worth a listen, even if you do already know where they are going.

In any case, as editors past and present will confirm, I’m a huge fan of money for old rope.