Norman Kember and the art of spin
25/03/06 14:29 Media
issues
Forgive me for not beginning an entry with 'So', but
this Norman Kember row - the one about whether he
should have
thanked his rescuers
- is interesting from the media's point of view. In
fact I believe it's entirely because of the media
that it's become an issue at all. Norman Kember, you
see, probably did thank his rescuers and his
organisation is protesting precisely that today. What
he didn't do was to thank them in public, and for
that he is being criticised heavily.
Let's get the obvious out of the way first. I am glad that he is free. But why, do you suppose, did he not pay tribute to the armed forces immediately?
My own view is that this is media manipulation gone wrong. Kember's group, the Christian Peacemakers. pointedly thanked everyone except the soldiers who rescued him yesterday. There's only one possible reason for this omission: the group felt that they had an opportunity to promote their anti-war stance and this was the only day on which they could do it. Kember's release put them into the headlines and the story they didn't want to read was 'Thanks, Army' - they wanted their case to be put. And they had to do it yesterday because once he's home and safe he ceases to be big news.
So, with my media training hat on I can see why they didn't dilute their message. Thank the peacemakers and peace keepers, their media guru would have instructed. Don't mention the army or the Mail or someone will have an 'I needed the army after all' style headline. This is all standard interview practice; concentrate on three key points you want to get across and don't allow anyone to move from them or else your message will become confused.
Unfortunately they forgot to factor in that war was happening and lives had been risked to save Mr. Kember. With hindsight you wonder how they managed not to anticipate the huge and inevitable backlash they're now facing. This is what happens, I believe, when media manipulation is attempted by anyone other than an expert. Common sense has to play its part and you need to anticipate the negative aspect of any spin you try to put on a story.
So it is that Norman Kember has arrived home to a welcome but also to a controversy. He and his group are now claiming they did thank the armed forces and will do so again, but it doesn't sound all that convincing and the comments and statements from yesterday are still around for anyone to inspect. The army were not, repeat not, thanked in public.
This is spin gone disastrously wrong, and if Kember had a distinct point to make other than 'I don't like this war' it's been pretty much lost by now.
Let's get the obvious out of the way first. I am glad that he is free. But why, do you suppose, did he not pay tribute to the armed forces immediately?
My own view is that this is media manipulation gone wrong. Kember's group, the Christian Peacemakers. pointedly thanked everyone except the soldiers who rescued him yesterday. There's only one possible reason for this omission: the group felt that they had an opportunity to promote their anti-war stance and this was the only day on which they could do it. Kember's release put them into the headlines and the story they didn't want to read was 'Thanks, Army' - they wanted their case to be put. And they had to do it yesterday because once he's home and safe he ceases to be big news.
So, with my media training hat on I can see why they didn't dilute their message. Thank the peacemakers and peace keepers, their media guru would have instructed. Don't mention the army or the Mail or someone will have an 'I needed the army after all' style headline. This is all standard interview practice; concentrate on three key points you want to get across and don't allow anyone to move from them or else your message will become confused.
Unfortunately they forgot to factor in that war was happening and lives had been risked to save Mr. Kember. With hindsight you wonder how they managed not to anticipate the huge and inevitable backlash they're now facing. This is what happens, I believe, when media manipulation is attempted by anyone other than an expert. Common sense has to play its part and you need to anticipate the negative aspect of any spin you try to put on a story.
So it is that Norman Kember has arrived home to a welcome but also to a controversy. He and his group are now claiming they did thank the armed forces and will do so again, but it doesn't sound all that convincing and the comments and statements from yesterday are still around for anyone to inspect. The army were not, repeat not, thanked in public.
This is spin gone disastrously wrong, and if Kember had a distinct point to make other than 'I don't like this war' it's been pretty much lost by now.
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