13 March 2012

What the papers don’t say

Back to front thinking is behind our B list media profile says WM editor, Max Gosney

RBS mega bonuses, the death of a foreign correspondent and a Labour MP enlightening a Tory colleague on the true meaning of a Glasgow kiss. These events had top billing on the national news on 23 February – it was as if that day's government-led national manufacturing summit had never happened.

The omission was symptomatic not only of our sector's B-list media profile, but also some wretched PR. For the government ran this summit with all the openness of MI6. While the media was invited to a press conference at the event, we were banned from attending breakout discussions on finance, apprenticeships and even, ironically, a session on promoting manufacturing.

It's akin to David Cameron kicking out the Fleet Street hacks just when the Tory party conference enters full swing. Publicity is the oxygen of manufacturing's renaissance and one of the fundamental areas we need to sort out. Ring-fencing parts of the summit asphyxiates the event's appeal.

The government claims the decision was made in line with the wishes of companies attending, mostly large corporates, who were concerned about commercial sensitivities. However, this event was about embracing broad industry challenges like skills shortages and access to finance, rather than examining individual business sales figures.

Transforming manufacturing's public image means treating the media as friend, not foe – particularly a magazine like WM that strives to promote best practice across UK manufacturing.

Perhaps not surprisingly, therefore, PR problems were among the chief concerns readers put to manufacturing minister Mark Prisk at the WM Leaders Forum last month (see page 14). Prisk gave an eloquent performance, emphasising the importance of manufacturing within Westminster – but his champagne words must not be diluted by lemonade actions. A Make it in Great Britain campaign to tie in with the Olympics is a cracking idea, yet unless we promote it at the showpiece events, it's likely to achieve the same mainstream coverage as the summit last month.

Author
Max Gosney

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Do you have any comments about this article?

I think you are right to an extent Max; in that it doesn't sound like a good idea to ban the media from the areas of a conference that they are most interested in!

However, when it comes to Works Management the conference is preaching entirely to the converted. You, and other similar trade titles, are always likely to give a balanced and relatively positive view of the industry overall.

The media that really misses out the important stuff when it comes to manufacturing is the business focussed national media. Of all of the nationals, only the Financial Times has a dedicated manufacturing editor and the national television and radio media rarely digs deep enough to report this kind of thing. Energy correspondents are too obsessed with stories about turning the lights off to even think about a variable speed drive for example.

From the lack of media coverage you wouldn't think that nearly 15% of our GDP is made up of manufacturing. And that doesn't include folks like you and me who make a living as observers of the engineering industry.

Living in the West Midlands, I get a slightly better view because our local and regional TV and print media is full of manufacturing comment and news.

So, while the Government is failing to make news available on occasion the media is also failing to give them a national outlet for that news. Why? Because as readers we are failing to ask for it.

It's our pound that determines the ultimate editorial strategy of the national business broadcast and print media. We should spend it more wisely and offer feedback after we do.

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Richard Stone - Technical PR consultant at Stone Junction, 14/03/2012

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