Blowing Donald’s Trumpet aint no easy!

When Money is Lost Something is Lost

When Reputation is Lost, Everything is Lost

By S Narendra

An international story is playing out of Washington involving the White House that we all are reading as a political story. If we analyse it under the lens of communication and PR, we notice a highly charged case study on Reputation Risk and Redemption Management. This is relevant to all communicators.

Very interestingly, this story is taking place in the janmabhoomi of PR and communication theory and practice. The theater (pun intended) of action is in Washington DC, capital of Madison Avenue, K-street, the Capitol Hill all coming under its nickname – the political beltway, it is also known as the swamp that sucks into its murkiness any and everyone (irrespective of their reputation for integrity and independence of mind), making the job of keeping one’s reputation and public esteem risky.

The news story of Russian espionage during the 2016 US presidential election was supposedly used for swinging it in favour of Republican candidate  Donald Trump. As the FBI was probing the allegation, its chief James Comey was fired by President Trump. Initially, it was explained that the President   had acted on the recommendation of the Deputy Attorney General , Rod Rosenstein who had said in a note that FBI under its  director Comey had not properly  conducted the investigation into the security implications relating to the e-mails of former  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent over a private  server. The e-mails were leaked to WiKiLEAKS allegedly by Russian intelligence,  But  President  Trump contradicted this version in a TV interview and took personal responsibility for  dismissing  FBI chief. He told the interviewer that he had decided to fire Comey even without Rosenstein’s recommendation since FBI was pursuing allegation of links between his election campaign in 2016 and Russia. In one single moment, Rosenstein’s reputation was in tatters,

Rosenstein, was appointed by President Trump as the US deputy attorney general barely a few weeks before  he penned the infamous note on FBI director. Rosenstein had come into the new office with a formidable reputation as a legal  ace as well as for person known for  impartiality and independent mind.  In a previous stint in the Justice department, Rosenstein was appointed by the Republican President G.W.Bush, as a persecutor. He was retained in the post by President Obama. This clearly showed that he was highly respected across the political spectrum for his professional eminence and for his integrity. Therefore, Rosenstein’s note recommending James Comey’s dismissal shocked his admirers in media and legal professionals saw him as buckling under political pressure. The President’s public admission that the FBI director was fired because he was pursuing investigation into alleged links between his election campaign and Russian spying exposed Rosenstein to public ridicule, as Trump’s hatchet man.

Another factor that made Rosenstein position questionable was that as the deputy attorney general he was technically placed  in charge of FBI and its investigation. His boss Jeff Sessions, the AG, had recused himself from overseeing the FBI investigations into Russian spying case, due to his previous business links with Russia. There was huge expectation that Rosenstein would resist political pressure and ensure a fair FBI probe into the case of Russian interference in American poll.  

Media stories had appeared to the effect that FBI director had declined to oblige the President when personally approached   for closing the relevant  probe. This revelation led to demands for impeachment of the President for obstructing justice.

Amidst the turmoil, there were questions about the role of Rosenstein, about the reasons for him to give up his principles that had built his reputation.

This sad saga took a new twist when Rosenstein announced the appointment of a Special Counsel for supervising the FBI probe into Russian espionage. His decision to name a former FBI director, Mueller enjoying enormous respect for his integrity and independence won large measure of support. This step paved the way for Rosenstein  to partially re-establish  his reputation. In the process, Rosenstein did something that every PR person wants to do in a crisis situation. He changed the media headlines. The word ‘impeachment’ of the President   that was gaining ground was buried. The move also restored to some extent the reputation of the American democracy as a credible political system even though presided over by  a whimsical chief executive.

According to media reports, the deputy attorney general had announced the appointment of Special Counsel, without seeking the consent of his immediate boss or the President.

The Author:
Ex adviser to PMs and former
Spokesperson, Govt of India

A commentator in the New York Times summed up the lesson coming out of this story thus: ‘I expect more members of the Trump administration will find themselves under pressure to violate their own principles. I hope they will remember both lesions of Rosenstein saga. Helping Donald Trump isn’t worth your reputation. And you can often recover, at least partially, from your own mistakes.’

Tail piece: Rod Rosenstein   may have recovered his reputation and tried to change the headlines away from impeachment. But President Trump seems hell bent on refuelling the media stories about his attempts to stall the FBI investigations by criticising the appointment of the Special Counsel as political persecution. Tweet after Tweet from the President describing the ongoing probe as ‘Witch Hunt’ keeps alive the controversy.  

Lessons from Rewari Girl Power - for Corpcom & Media

Call it the Bollywood blockbuster Dangal effect or the new awakening arising out of the Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao slogan given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Over 90 girls from Gothra Tappa Dahina village in Rewari district of Haryana had gone on a hunger strike and won their relentless battle for upgrading their school to senior secondary level.

One after the other, the media has started taking interest but it remained mostly region centric. When India Today

TV and CNN NEWS 18 took up the cause at a later stage, the nation’s conscious was shaken. Nobody had to scream ‘the nation wants to know’. Haryana education minister Ram Bilas Sharma was forced to issue a notification to facilitate the higher secondary school for Gothra Thappa Dahina, which shot into limelight thanks to the girls’ agitation.

For detailed story, click:  http://reputationtoday.in/views/lessons-from-rewari-girl-power/

Republic Vs. The Rest: The war hots up

(By arrangement with http://bestmediainfo.com/)

With Arnab Goswami launching his Republic TV channel, the war not only for TRPs but over news coverage seems to have intensified.

First, Times group protested against Arnab Goswami and Prema Sridevi walking away with tapes relating to Sunanda Pushkar murder case and launched a police case.

Bennett, Coleman and Company (BCCL) has lodged a police complaint against its former employees Arnab Goswami and Prema Sridevi for “commission of offences of theft, criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of property and infringement of IPR of BCCL” by using tapes allegedly procured when they were with Times Now, on Republic TV on May 6 and 8, 2017.

Goswami called the complainant nervous and unconfident. He said, "Interesting to see them so nervous, if the Times Network has lost viewership, they must evaluate their content and show some grace even in defeat. I am sitting and working in a newsroom and the TOI owners are sitting at the police stations. This shows nervousness and they must show greater poise and realise that new age journalists will not be cowed down by these silly stunts."

For details: 

http://bestmediainfo.com/2017/05/times-now-accuses-arnab-goswami-prema-sridevi-of-theft-and-breach-of-trust/

Then came this:

Amid allegations of using multiple frequencies, Republic TV has debuted with a record opening on the barometers. As per BARC India’s data for Week 19 (May 6 – 12), sourced from one of the subscribers, the channel has grabbed about half of the relative share in most of the target audience groups.

Among NCCS AB Male 22+, Republic TV has captured the relative share of 49.2 per cent in the all-India market. The channel’s relative share in top six mega cities stood at 52.1 per cent.

http://bestmediainfo.com/2017/05/arnab-goswami-s-republic-tv-debuts-with-record-viewership/

And this is the latest:

All the English news channels barring Republic TV have pulled out of the Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) and have also removed the watermarking from their feeds.

This is in reaction to BARC releasing the viewership data for the newly launched Republic TV despite NBA urging the council to not to go public with the numbers as the TRAI investigation on the matter was underway. NBA had earlier alleged that Republic TV was trying to garner more viewership through distribution malpractices.

http://bestmediainfo.com/2017/05/english-news-channels-pull-out-of-barc/

Of Cows On Delhi Streets and CNN arrival: an untold story

Or how PR  by paratroopers proved costly for foreign news channel!

As Republic news channel is just launched, By S Narendra, Former PIO and ex-Govt spokesperson takes a look back at the launch of satellite news channels in India, beginning with CNN in 1991

Satellite TV news, very aptly, arrived in India via CNN. Initially it was an intruder on the zealously guarded Indian airwaves in 1991.The gulf was or the one between Kuwait and Saddam Hussian’s Iraq, in which Peter Arnet of CNN telecast from a brief -case was a great technological Disruptor. The pyrotechnics unleashed against the Iraqi regime by US fleet spectacle no one wanted to miss

While publicly venting angst and fears about this assault on Indian sovereignty, every VIP in Delhi wanted to gain access to the CNN broadcast. Those who could not get permission to acquire a satellite dish on top of their roof, visited luxury hotel coffee and other bars fitted with satellite dish enabled TVs offering CNN news. While there was ‘collateral damage’, meaning civilian casualties in Iraq, for India luxury hotels  there was ;collateral gains’.

Intrepid Indian entrepreneurs, masters of JUGAD, soon came up with a business model to beat the ancient  Indian Telecommunication Act that prohibited private cables from crossing the public roads. They strung cables on roof tops and trees and offered satellite TV services broadcast from Singapore and Hong Kong. An upset government sent in vain one of its senior bureaucrat to Hong Kong in search of equipment for blocking satellite TV intrusions into Indian sovereignty.

While CNN news broadcasts had arrived, the broadcaster had not set up a news bureau in Delhi. Those were early days of India's foray into economic liberalization under Prime Minister P.V.Narasimha Rao. His government was very anxious to showcase India as a profitable destination for FDI. And, we in the government were keen to have more and more international media coverage of Indian economic news. As head of government of India's media relations outfit-PIB, and government  spokesperson, it was my job to facilitate the entry of foreign correspondents and their news outlets. From about a corps of 40 foreign correspondents, it had grown to over 70.

I extended an invitation to CNN to open a news bureau. A highly competent and soft spoken Ashis Ray was representing CNN in India and his earlier attempts to open a news bureau in Delhi had for some reason not met with the approval of the Ministry of External Affairs. In the government, there were bureaucrats who were not comfortable with the coverage of Indian news by BBC, CNN and other foreign news outlets. My own view was that positive and negative coverage evens out over a period of time. In any case, Indian news outlets generally provided a lot more negative perception of India than their foreign counterparts (there is another story to tell about the problems India media had created for foreign media representatives during the Surat Plague) After discussing the matter with PM Narasimha Rao, I had sent the invitation letter to CNN.

One of the hurdles for satellite TV outlets  was the government broadcaster Doordarshan  wanting to maintain its  monopoly over receiving and distributing satellite signals. Since the PM was already in the loop, DD could not  block CNN setting up its own satellite linking facility. Atlanta, head office of CNN,  promptly responded to my invitation and within a couple of weeks opened their bureau. In the normal course, a news channel setting up a news gathering outfit or reaching audiences is no big deal. But CNN decided to make a big splash with a big bash. Top level CNN executives accompanied by a PR team from Atlanta had arrived.  When Americans are involved, everything becomes loud and King size. For the CNN bash, invitations had gone out to cabinet ministers to almost everyone who  claimed to be a VVIP in the capitals cocktail circuit. The evening party was hosted in one of the capital’s famous five star hotels on Patel Marg. The hotel convention  canter  was fitted with  multiple TV screens  displaying CNN logo.

As the VVIPs and smaller fries like me arrived, CNN wanted to show its contribution for taking India story international. On multiple screens CNN logo splashed followed by a story on India's capital. The story was pitched to showcase a vibrant market economy spilling over to its streets. The camera had panned on one of the bustling roads, accompanied by a reporter’s commentary on the new India and facts about the blooming middle class. The camera lingered a little longer than necessary on the road crammed with a diversity of vehicles blocked by stray cattle. The VVIPs got up. There was a sudden buzz in the semi-dark party hall. Soon the TV screens went blank and the embarrassed CNN executives, with a crest-fallen Ashis Ray in tow,  were whispering  tepid apologies to the upset VVIPs. The flowing alcohol did nothing to mitigate the discomfiture among the hosts and guests.

As expected, there was no hole in the ground for me to crawl in, I slipped out of the semi darkness. But before departing I told Ashis Ray that a candid admission of the mistake by the top brass, an unconditional apology and announcement of a   mechanism for rigorously checking what goes into the future  India story on CNN could control the damage.

S Narendra
Firmer adviser to PMs

But, then neither me nor Ashis Ray were aware of the  ego of CNN bosses from Atlanta and their  sure-footed US  PR advisers. First came a tepid apology, that blamed   the camera-person who was an Indian. Then came the explanation that the commentary was positive. And, of course, it was put out as a technical mistake.

My telephone (fortunately, it was a pre-mobile era) buzzed with the message ‘we told you so’.

Is there a lesson in this? While entering a new media market, a soft launch could have been tried rather than a big bang one. Brand ego could result in costly mistakes. Local facilitators’ voice, (in this case Ashis Ray’s), should get its due respect.

Watch out against PR by paratroopers.

Police-People Bhai Bhai!

TRP War Heats Up as Arnab is Back

In Sakal Times, Today!

The Power of Creativity in PR

Friends, creativity comes into play right from the beginning when we start making our PR strategies. It all begins with media familiarisation for the spokespersons in accordance with the rapidly changing dynamics. Let us as PR practitioners, first of all understand ‘what makes the news’. It is no more the case of man biting dog; Today’s headline is: Man bites the snake and kills it! (did someone say yuck?!).

Now, let me present a case study scenario. Our spokespersons and we as PR pundits might feel very happy with a Press Release that we write using all the creativity at our command. But it may not find its way into print the next morning. Worse still, the press conference that we hold, using the ‘highly creative’ press release, turns out to be a damp squib. No one accepts any number of excuses.

At the Press Club, where I get to meet many media friends at leisure, I hear complaints after complaints about ‘you PR guys’. As an old friend from Hindu Business Line often complains: ‘Why can’t your guys write simple, straight stories and send is to us instead of using bombastic language and tables and graphs that may impress your bosses or clients?’ Another friend from ToI says: ‘I don’t even open some PR guys’ mails since I don’t want to waste my time’.

For details, please check my column in Reputation Today:

http://reputationtoday.in/views/the-power-of-creativity-in-public-relations/

You can be the change, Yess!

Akshay Patra-PRCI event to motivate youth

BENGALURU: The Akshaya Patra Foundation and Public Relation Council of India (PRCI) held  a panel discussion  on ‘You can be the Change’, to discuss how a common man  can contribute to bringing  about a  change in child welfare” on 5th of May, 2017 at Rangasthala, Rangoli - Metro Art Centre.

The panellists were  Amit Amarnath – Founder, Youth for Parivarthan, Vinay Bharadwaj – Banker & Designer,  Mayuraa Raghavendra – Radio Jockey, 92.7 BIG FM,  Mrs Geetha Shankar – Director, PRCI and Shridhar Venkat – 👩‍💼 , The Akshaya Patra Foundation. The panel was moderated by Mrs Meera Bharadwaj – Senior Journalist, The New Indian Express.

Vinay Bharadwaj who pioneered a show called 'Let's Talk with Vinay' on YouTube, is spreading awareness among youth on cancer.  He said that this Panel Discussion on Child Welfare has made him think bigger and take up much more initiatives in this area.

Amit Amarnath,  Founder, Youth for Parivarthan said the initial project was on environmental sector, but now,  he says, his organisation has entered into domains of health and  education of children and  he hopes to do a lot of work through his volunteers in Youth for parivarthan

Mayuraa Raghavendra – Radio Jockey, 92.7 BIG FM, spoke  about the awareness spread through the broadcast media for child welfare and the huge responses that he received.

Mrs Geetha Shankar spoke on the dilemmas being faced by the parent of a child with emotional or behavioural problems and the first question, may be the most troublesome of all: Whether the child’s behaviour is sufficiently different to require a comprehensive evaluation by professionals?

Mrs Meera Bharadwaj moderated the session with ease and with an innate sense of pacing and exhibited a smooth approach to weaving in questions from the audience and the panellists’ response.

A documentary from Akshaya Patra “The Passioneers” - People behind the scenes, that portrayed essence of how the people behind the scenes operate and what motivates them to take up this cause, as also screened.

‘Multi-tasking? Learn it from your mother!’

KOLKATA: Communication students from Birla Global University and Kolkata University enthusiastically participated in a seminar on Public Relations : New Trends and Challenges, hosted jointly by the PRCI, Kolkata and Bhubaneswar Chapters in association with the YCC units,  in Kolkata, recently.

A student posing questions at the seminar

The Public Relations department of Eastern Railway supported the event by organizing it at Riveira, Eastern Railway Officers Club (Howrah Division).

Dr Badri Narayan, Divisional Railway Manager, who was the chief guest, advised communicators to be innovative even while conveying simple messages such as Swachh Bharat . For instance, a series of Swachh  Bharat messages using Bollywood themes caught the attention of not the passengers visiting Howrah station,  but the entire twitterati. The campaign went viral in no time, he said.

Kolkata Press Club chairman and Doordarshan senior correspondent Snehashis Sur said young communicators should be good observers to succeed in their communication endeavours.

Dr B K Das, director of Birla Global University which co-hosted the event, said the institution always encouraged interactions among students to help broaden their knowledge horizon.

B N Kumar,  national president of PRCI, delivered the keynote address and narrated how PR has changed over the years. Social media now offers ample opportunities,  but communicators must use this double-edged weapon with a sense of responsibility.

A collage of the event: Top: B N Kumar, Ashok Panda, Ravi Mahapatra addressing the seminar. Bottom: selfie to Banta Hai!; B K Sahu felicitating Dr Badri Naraharan

He pointed out to the students community that Indian mother is a shining example of multi-tasking and communicators and managers have a lot to learn from her. “She is the first to get up in the morning and last to go to sleep, working like a perfect machine with a human touch,” he said.

B K Sahu, eastern regional chairman of PRCI, thanked the Eastern Railway for its support to promote knowledge among students. R N Mahapatra, CPRO of Eastern Railway and Kolkata chapter chairman of PRCI, and Dr Ashok Panda, Bhubaneshwar Chapter chairman, played stellar roles in organizing the event.

The students later visited the Railway Museum to get to know the history of railways.

Between the scissors and blade

Or how Spicer landed in hot waters over Spicy tweets by his boss Donald Trump

By S Narendra

(Former adviser to PMs and ex-spokesperson for Govt of India)

Did the US President Donald Trump on April 12^th tell For News  that  America ( “we are”) sending an armada’ to the waters around the Korean Peninsula  for countering  North Korea test firing missiles capable of carrying nuclear war heads  and  holding threats to test every week its nuclear weapons? In the TV interview the President made it clear that North Koreas threats would not go without a response from the US. He went on tell that the armada (did not say ships) being sent includes submarines, ’far  more powerful than the aircraft carriers’.

A few days  later , when the  looming crisis  had  not materialised,  the New York Times reported that the armada was not sailing to deter Korea as suggested by the President.  It was in fact thousands of miles away sailing in the Indian Ocean for joint exercises with Australian navy. According to the report, there was a miscommunication between the White House and the Pentagon. One does not know whether the President unknowingly had made an ill-timed suggestion or a deliberate bluff  for scaring  North Korea .But this failure of the armada to turn up in the area as suggested upset  US  allies like South Korea and Japan which rely on US defence support. In the event of a belligerent and impetuous leader Jong-Un had taken rash  action threatened by the news of US armada,  the allies would have been exposed to extreme danger. Commentators point out that due to the ill-timed statement of the US President, the credibility of US as a reliable ally has suffered.

The controversy got fresh lease of life when the President’s spokesperson ,Sean Spicer,  in his media briefing  (a week later, even  though the  naval fleet  was still  operating near the Australian coast)  attempted to explain his boss’s statement. He disingenuously asserted that the naval fleet was ‘ultimately’ headed in Korea’s direction and no timeline was specified. This was said despite the fact that the President’s TV interview was given when, according to Spicer, ‘sending the armada ‘  it did not mean immediate dispatch, hence  there was no ambiguity in the President’s claim.

Sean Spicer has adopted a very combative style matching that of his boss. The President has more than once characterised the media as ‘dishonest’ ,’evil’ ‘fake news peddlers’ and the White House  had taken the extreme step of barring media outlets perceived as not friendly  like CNN and Washington Post from the White House  briefings. Watching the recoding of the Spokesperson’s briefing sessions, one gets the impression that Spicer is both shifty and often testy. No doubt he has an unenviable job, since the President is eager to first air his weighty views on policies and global events on Twitter.  

The President does not hesitate to make controversial unfounded claims nor does he entertain any qualms about executing 360 degree U-turns on his stand on key  issues. As a result, most media have opened a special section for fact checking on President Trump. It is therefore, an under- statement to say that this Spokesperson is between the blades of a scissors.

Here is another instance where Sean Spicer got into hot waters in trying to parse another of President Trump’s highly controversial claim. The following Tweets of President Trump are on record;  they went on to embarrass the American democracy itself.

 @real Trump

“Terrible.Just found that Obama “wire tapped’  in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism” 2.35am-4^th Mar 2017.

“Is it legal for  a sitting President to be “wire tapping” a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW” 3,49 am 4 Mar 2017

“I bet a good lawyer could make a great case out of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October just prior to Election!” 3.52 am 4 Mar 2017

“How low has President Obama gone to tap my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!” 4.02 am 4 Mar 2017

The US Justice Department and FBI  responsible for carrying out wiretapping in certain cases require Court sanction. The FBI’s current chief is registered supporter of the Republican party. Both the agencies could not unearth any evidence in support of this very disturbing claim by the President.

Now, you may ask as to how the White House spokesman dealt with this controversy!

Sean Spicer’s first response was to let the President’s Tweet speak for itself. However a week later, Spicer told the media that “wiretapping” was an entirely separate accusation to Trump’s unverified “wire tapping” allegations.” If you look at the President’s tweet, he said very clearly, quote wire tapping  unquote. And Spier added, “there has been substantial discussion in several reports. There’s been reports in the New York Times, and the BBC and other outlets about other aspects of surveillance that have occurred”. (Media fact-check did not show any such reports in the outlets named). “The President was very clear in his Tweet, you   know, that ‘wire tapping’ that spans a whole lot of other options’.

The hole digging went further when the high profile White House adviser Kellyanne Convey told a channel that covert surveillance can be conducted through microwave that can turn on  camera etcetera. The key word used by her was “can”. But did it happen?. Neither she nor Spicer could offer any proof.

While explaining the President’s relevant Tweets, both Spicer and  Convey ignored a raging controversy  about Russian intelligence spying on the election campaign process and leaking information adverse to Trump’s opponent that helped the winner. The US legislature was inquiring into this Russian spying. It was apparent that the President wanted to divert attention away from this controversy and also from the charge that he and his administration were close to Moscow. As a result of the Spokesman’s   attempt to parse the Tweets of the boss, the bad story was gaining more traction and more unfavourable fact checking on this and other statements of the President.

In both the incidents cited, the credibility of the administration and that of the primary official source of news was stretched. The office of the Spokesperson is a bridge between the media and the government.  What sustains and strengthens  this bridge is the  mutual respect  the Spokesperson and the media hold for  each other’s roles and responsibilities; neither crosses the professional lines. The   Spokesperson is invariably is a media professional and the media generally regard him or her as one among them.  

In the US system, the white House has a less visible director of communication whose job it is to ensure unity of message emanating from the totality of government, Again in the US political arrangement, the White House is the focal point of both politics and the government. As such, its Spokesperson has the opportunity to lead the headlines. The ordinary people get to see their President and the government in action through the media - conventional and social. As the latter  borrows and blend stories and commentaries from each other, the Spokesperson as the primary source of news and explanations of policy and developments can influence perceptions.

Coming back to the incidents cited, the first response of Spicer- ‘the President Tweet says it all’- was a wise one. The later attempts to parse the President’s TV interview or the Tweet was a case of bad judgment, No doubt the media must have trapped Spicer for implication.  Professionalism prepares the Spokesperson not to be trapped by media. Professional training helps the Spokesperson to allow a bad story to exhaust itself look for opportunities to change the headline.

sunarendra@gmail.com 

While working as the government and PM spokesman, I adopted the policy of letting the statement of the boss remain, even when it was most untenable. Or advice the chief to issue a wholesome retraction, if the statement was indefensible or very controversial. Media expects and accepts a  politician to equivocate and tell half truths. 

But it would not trust a fellow professional who happens to be speaking up for the government, when he equivocates or offers disingenuous explanations. 

Once the spokesperson’s credibility is lost, his (her) value to both the media and the organisation he speaks up for diminishes.

Disclaimer: The views expressed by the author are purely his personal. PRapport does not take any responsibility for any of it, except respecting Narendra for his candid views as a veteran communication professional - Editor

I never sell The News - Arnab Goswami @ Republic: On air in a week

(By a special arrangement with www.mxmindia.com)

Months after Arnab Goswami proclaimed independence for news, the nation still wants to know as to when his new channel Republic will be launched. While the billboards are all across the country say 'With You Soon', let’s us hear from the man himself, Arnab, about his plans, his views. Excerpts from a chat Pradyuman Maheshwari, Editor-in-Chief and CEO of MXM India, has with Arnab:

So the question which, let me ask with a non-trademarked statement: India wants to know when is the launch?

Very soon, it’s a matter of days now. You’ve seen my newsroom, it’s buzzing with energy, I’m trying to get the product as close to being perfect as possible. There’s nothing like an absolutely perfect launch though. But having said that, we’re trying to sort of stitch things together… bring all parts of the piece together, get the team to integrate, believe in themselves, believe in the product, believe in the news they putout… get very, very familiar with the technology they are using because some of the technology you’re using here is…

Different?

Completely, completely new age. And so I want that familiarisation process to carry on so I’m not setting a hard date for launch yet, though if you ask me can I launch? I can launch right now.

So no Akshay Trittiya launch, April 28th?

No, no-no.

May 1, Maharashtra Day, Gujarat Day…

No, I don’t believe in these any commemorative events or dates. I believe every day is good for news… we should just have a good run, go with the flow.

But surely you need to inform the distribution folks?

The distribution guys are more or less informed. I think most of the people are aware of our channel being launched. In fact, we’re getting a push from the distribution guys to launch early. Some places have already started putting up promos on air in anticipation of our launch; our media campaign should be starting soon. So we are almost there.

The question is that, the last mile, 4-5 days here or there should be a discretion of the producers of the channel. So whenever the producer of the channel says we’re okay to go, I’ll go.

So, plus or minus the 4-5 days, May 10, May 1?

Yes. I would say, yes, pretty much around that.

For the full version of the free-wheeling chat, please check: http://www.mxmindia.com/2017/04/up-close-with-arnab-goswami/ 

United Airlines Incident: A PR Case Study on How Not to Handle Crisis!

By S Narendra

(Former adviser to PMs and ex Spokesperson, Govt of India)

A paid passenger of United Airlines was dragged out of his seat to make room for the airline crew. Videos showed the passenger forcibly dragged out of his seat and later running  back to his seat with blood on his face. Videos of the incident went viral.

United Airlines shares soon declined by 7%.And, UA has become the butt of jokes and UA competitors came out with their own take such as this one from South West airlines: ‘We Beat Competition, Not You’.

UA CEO’s  first reaction was to defend the staff action. He went on to describe the passenger, an American citizen and a   doctor of Vietnamese origin as ‘ disruptive’. A statement from UA tried to defend its action as routine with legal sanction. It was claimed that when an airline over-books, it can off load passengers. In US airlines routinely overbook and when required to off load passengers, they ‘incentivise volunteers' by offering sweet deals, 

In the present case, UA allowed passengers to board the aircraft and then decided to off load. Force was used to yank out passengers selected at random for off loading. Normally, off loading takes place at boarding gate before allowing passengers into the aircraft. In this case there was the possibility of inviting racial bias.

UA CEO did not factor this in while issuing his first statement.

After the video went viral, damaging the reputation of UA and inviting share holders’ ire, the airline  came with another statement regretting the incident, but not a full apology. No action was proposed against the concerned staff.

When things went out of control with criticism mounting, the CEO came out with apology (media reported that he refused to resign taking responsibility for the unseemly incident). By then a petition with 150,000 signatures demanding CEO’s resignation had become public.

In a damage control effort, UA announced full refund of  the fares to all passengers on the flight.

In the meanwhile, the passenger who was dragged out of aircraft was  in a hospital and his lawyers had approached a court with a plea  to ensure that all evidence of the incident  be preserved.

Sadly, UA did not come out with a statement how it was compensating the victim for the ill -treatment meted out to him. Nor did the the CEO or some senior UA official go to meet the victim and his family with a wholesome apology and settle the matter privately,

The author

The image and reputation of UA has suffered an irreparable damage. Clearly shows the CEO was not up to the job. His first intervention was a classic case of mismanagement as he did not show concern for cash customers, an airline’s biggest asset. The video showed a bloodied passenger that should have alerted CEO that something more than ordinary , routine off loading' had taken place.

The wholesale refund offer to all passengers showed that UA had messed up but this gesture was a classic case of too-little-too-late.

A bad situation had turned into a first class crisis and reputation mismanagement as the CEO did not steer UA out of the mess but brought upon it a crisis with his unwise first reaction.

The big question that arises now is what were the PR experts engaged by UA doing other than building up a crisis step by step?

How UP was won - a Political Communication Analysis

By Dr C.V. Narasimha Reddi

The stunning victory of Mr Narendra Modi with over 320 seats in the state Assembly of 403 seats, is indeed a Tsunami that no one predicted as the party vote share jumped from just 15% in 2012 to 39.6% in 2017. “This will usher in a big change in the Indian Politics” said Amit Shah.

Three Pronged Strategy

What could be the reason for such a massive mandate? An objective analysis of results and media reports reveal that Mr. Narendra Modi as an icon of the party with Amit Shah Party President as a strategic tactician (action man) evolved a three pronged strategy to win the war of UP elections. It includes: Modi's ideology and his development schemes; propaganda and communication strategy and the third most important one is grassroots communication through booth level samithies.

Sab Ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas - an idea that clicked

Ideology and Performance Indicators

First, the BJP has evolved a content strategy based on its ideology and high performance indicators of welfare schemes. They include:

•    Creation of a sectarian division between Hindus and Muslims by not having fielded a single Muslim on the 403 Assembly seats. A sense of loyalty developed by Hindus towards BJP

•    BJP’s viewpoint against triple talaq to woo muslim women.

•    It is not caste that matters but development said Modi Ji which has broken the caste ridden society of Uttar Pradesh, by highlighting that one needed development, innovation, a new sense of spirit to eradicate poverty and not the old lethargic caste based reservations.

•    The Prime Minister address to the nation on demonetisation watched and heard by millions of people created a war resonated so strongly with the poor for establishing an equitable society, who became his captive vote bank. As a result Mr. Modi not only became pro-poor but also anti-corruption crusader. In the process, a type of social coalition has been created comprising the poor, the new middle class, marginalised sections of other backward classes and dalits. This has been a strong point in favour of BJP.

•    The B.S.P's strategy Dalit - Muslim vote bank has been shattered by social coalition.

Along side ideological connotations, the BJP's election strategy included the achievements of NDA Government’s welfare schemes during the last two years. Among others, the credits of the Government comprise make in India, the concept of 'Roti Kapda and Makan’ (Food, Clothing and Shelter) for the poor, national policy for farmers, “Phade Bharat Badhe Bharat”, “Aam Aadmi Bhima Yojna”, Prime Minister’s foreign travels that brought 'Samman' to India, Skill India, Digital India, Swachh Bharat, Jan Dhan etc. Other welfare schemes that were included in the strategy cover: the initiation of 52 lakh gas connections to women in UP as well as disbursal of Rs. 20,000 crore loans through the Mudra Bank and opening of three crore Jan Dhan accounts.

If the recent notebandi topped the list of achievements, sending of 104 satellites to space by ISRO in one go became an added value to boost the image of Modi Government.

Amit Shah - Big  Change in
Political Communication

Multi-media Propaganda Campaign

All these ideological and performance indicators were sold to the electorate more forcefully and effectively through a strong multi-media propaganda campaign. Second part of the election strategy was, therefore, a multi-media communication and propaganda campaign to reach out to the electorate. Media included: interpersonal media, folk arts, mass media – newspapers, radio, TV and social media – facebook, twitter, youtube, etc. The Prime Minister’s speeches in the course of his Man Ki Baath, radio broadcasts, TV news and speeches delivered in India and abroad, election rallies, and his views expressed on the stump made more impact on the voters mind, particularly, those who are exposed to mass media.

Modi’s Dress

GandhiJi's dress made all the more difference for the people to identify him as a man of the people in the freedom struggle. Similarly, Modi's dress, overt change in style and his energetic personality – all created an effective veneer around his political style which has added to his vote catching power among all sections of the people including the Dalits.

Among all, Mr. Modi is an excellent orator whose oration with parables not only attracted the attention of the public but also influenced their mindset towards his ideology. One of the strategies has been his punch dialogues such as SP Leader Akhilesh Yadav and Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi were described as “old furniture”, while BSP leader Mayavathi as “Yesterday's newspaper”. Amit Shah treated all opponents as “Kasabs” who was executed in terrorists attacks case. Mr. Modi's speech modulation and body language also projected his personality and influenced the voters. Prime Minister even participated in street shows to reach out to the people at the booth level. Above all, people say that Modi had a better hearing aid to listen to what we call grassroots voice that helped him to evolve his communication strategy.

As a result of his style of speaking and achievements, people praised Mr. Modi calling him honest, clean and “Garibon Ka Messiah”, a symbol of India and immediate cause of the elections that helped his party to win the elections.

Booth Level Samithies

Third, an effective grassroots communication strategy was designed almost in 2014 to reach out to the village voters through booth level samithies. These samithies were constituted at 1.4 Lakh election booths with BJP party workers and RSS pracharaks. In fact, RSS paid a pivotal role at the grass roots. This aspect of strategy was more forceful than the other two strategies. If the second strategy of propaganda was through mass media, public meetings and rallies, the third strategy was based on two step - flow of communication – Modi's message first reached booth level samithi members through mass media in the first step and in turn these members of booth level samithies reached every household in the village, town or city to carry the messages of Mr. Modi. House hold communication was yet another feature of the election campaign in which messages of MR Modi were humanized and personalised to influence the mindset of the voters.

Whither India

Dr C V Narsimha Reddi

India was ruled by foreigners for about 1000 years of which Muslims ruled for 600 years including the Mughals. A dichotomy surfaces in the recent election campaign of BJP that if “Sabka Saath – Sabka Vikas”, was the BJP's election campaign in 2014 while the winning BJP consciously excluded Muslims in the 2017 election fray. What message does that send? People ask what will be the future of our secular country? An issue to ponder over. (The author is Editor  of Public Relations Voice; Former Director Information and Public Relations Department, Govt of Andhra Pradesh. Email ID – drcvn@hotmail.com