MUSINGS
The naked truth about Radebe’s crisis
The opening line of my Crisis Communication workshops is: “Bad news happens to anyone. It is a matter of when, not if.” Even if you are honest and always operate with the best of intentions, at some time you may unexpectedly find yourself in the limelight of negative...
For Karabo and Courtney: #MenAreTrash
[With apologies to President Thabo Mbeki, this is my bastardisation of his seminal speech: I Am An African] On an occasion such as this, we should, perhaps, start from the beginning. So, let us begin. Men Are Trash. We owe our being to the hills and the valleys,...
Which lie or truth should the public believe about Brian Molefe?
The problem with spin is that you cannot change facts retrospectively. Worse still, spin fails when you change your messaging midstream. Eskom and their spin machinery are going to learn this rather painfully throughout this weekend – and presumably after a litany of...
Zuma should have deflected Kathrada’s snub
In the film, Wag The Dog, less than two weeks before a president’s re-election bid, TV broadcast his involvement in a sex scandal in the White House. This is seen as potentially crippling to the president’s re-election bid. Spin doctor (played by Robert De Niro)...
Collins Letsoalo, denials and the ill-fated media briefing
A few years ago I was consulting for a prominent South African who at some period was at the receiving end of bad press. For weeks on end the media had a major assault on this client of mine and some details of their private life were made public. Some of the...
A warped logic in the #StateCapture debacle
This picture is trending. It is the most potent weapon of those who deride the public protector’s investigation of and findings on state capture. They use the picture to “prove” that (black) South Africans are misplaced in their concern about and interest in this...
How the Pravin matter spun a propagandist into a Comical Ali
“There are no American infidels in Baghdad. Never!” And with these words, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahar, Iraqi Information Minister during the 2003 Iraq invasion by the American and British troops earned himself the nickname Comical Ali. I was reminded of Comical...
Thuli Madonsela must not allow one matter “capture” her reputation
In his must-read book, Crisis, Issues and Reputation Management: A Handbook for PR and Communications Professionals, British author and reputation specialist Andrew Griffin says: “Reputation is an outcome; but it is also a valuable, strategic asset.” As she...
Free Lesson for VBS: Publicity comes with Scrutiny
If you Google the letters VBS, the first thing that comes up is the Venda Building Society Mutual Bank. Up until about two weeks ago, not many knew this bank, and certainly, it would not be on top of the search list. And last week President Jacob Zuma handed the bank...
Now, more than ever, the DA is forced to love black people
For a long time now the Democratic Alliance has been battling with the accusation that it is a white party with a black face, its leader Mmusi Maimane. The narrative goes on to say that the party is still white led and uses black people as voting fodder. Leading up to...