2008-08-26T19:50:00Z Kevin Coughlan http://www.montagecomms.com/blogger/kevin_coughlan tag:montagecomms.com,2008-08-26:/blog/20080826195000 2008-08-26T19:50:00Z

In this tightly argued analysis of the state of the newspaper industry in the USA, the conclusion that the effect of the internet is to reduce newspapers to their core competency – purveyors of ‘local’ news – is compelling.

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-08-21:/blog/20080821011300 2008-08-21T01:13:00Z

The capacity of the Olympics to excite and enthuse is undeniable, even in these cynical times. Obviously the inspiring performance of Team GB has transformed the public mood but the role of the BBC in providing the means cannot be underestimated.

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-08-20:/blog/20080820004000 2008-08-20T00:40:00Z

Yet another pointless ‘apology’, this time by a public body over a human body. The poor man had expired and was left in the bed behind a screen, to await the arrival of a grieving relative. Shock, horror ... his corpse could be glimpsed through the curtains.

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-08-12:/blog/20080812215600 2008-08-12T21:56:00Z

Kevin comments on an observation made by Jane Smith and taken up by another PR industry ‘thinker’, Stuart Bruce.

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-08-04:/blog/20080804221900 2008-08-04T22:19:00Z

It’s an ill wind ... tourists have been flocking to Weston-super-Mare since fire destroyed the pavilion on the Grand Pier.

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-07-23:/blog/20080723002700 2008-07-23T00:27:00Z

The Government wants councils in the West of England sub-region to oversee the provision of more than 117,000 new homes by 2025. That is an increase of 11,000 units on the figure first mooted.

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-07-16:/blog/20080716000600 2008-07-16T00:06:00Z

I entered the world of work as an indentured junior reporter on 1 October 1973. It wasn’t long before the economy of the Western World was on its knees.

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-07-09:/blog/20080709221900 2008-07-09T22:19:00Z

Kevin looks at urban art

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-06-30:/blog/20080630184300 2008-06-30T18:43:00Z

The House of Lords does not see any need to relax media ownership laws in response to the boom in online news sites – quite the reverse, in fact.

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-06-23:/blog/20080623212200 2008-06-23T21:22:00Z

An Ipsos MORI poll finds that a majority of the British public is not convinced that climate change is caused by humans. Interestingly, The Observer report uses the phrase “still not convinced”, which suggests that eventually they will be. Wishful thinking?

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-06-11:/blog/20080611181800 2008-06-11T18:18:00Z

Are people’s lives becoming too cluttered with information, messages and ‘calls to action’ that are inconsequential, irrelevant or just plain daft.

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-06-09:/blog/20080609173200 2008-06-09T17:32:00Z

Orange used to the one of the symbols of Bristol’s high-tech culture – innovative, far-sighted and a bit wacky. What's happened?

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-06-02:/blog/20080602225000 2008-06-02T22:50:00Z

There is always the danger that in trying to ‘sell’ a message you fall into the trap of overstating your case.

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-05-22:/blog/20080522185300 2008-05-22T18:53:00Z

Beleaguered BA chief executive Willie Walsh was described as “a man of honour” when he passed up a £700,000 bonus after delivering the airline’s best figures for a decade.

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-05-07:/blog/20080507231100 2008-05-07T23:11:00Z

The World Editors Forum reveals the earth-shattering news that more than eight out of ten editors believe that there will be fully integrated news rooms in the near future, contributing content for all media.

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-04-29:/blog/20080429223100 2008-04-29T22:31:00Z

Kevin looks at the disturbing fracture in relations between ‘bosses’, as the media likes to call them, and their workers.

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-04-18:/blog/20080418004400 2008-04-18T00:44:00Z

Not a million miles from where I sit, a tasty little circulation war has broken out in Stroud

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-04-11:/blog/20080411001700 2008-04-11T00:17:00Z

Statistics stories

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-04-11:/blog/20080411001400 2008-04-11T00:14:00Z

The Independent has a new Editor, Roger Alton

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-04-07:/blog/20080407195300 2008-04-07T19:53:00Z

First of all, T5 Heathrow is a debacle, not a disaster. In industry terms, a disaster is a smoking hole in ground with scores of dead ‘customers’ ... as opposed to a chaotic booking hall with thousands of very angry ones.

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-03-31:/blog/20080331102400 2008-03-31T10:24:00Z

The Newspaper Association of America has been measuring the advertising revenue of its members for more than half a century. The latest figures show the worst ever fall – 9.4 per cent.

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-03-28:/blog/20080328220000 2008-03-28T22:00:00Z

Civilserf

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-03-26:/blog/20080326000800 2008-03-26T00:08:00Z

Is there a more cut-throat commercial environment than the aerospace industry – or any sector where they play for higher stakes?

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-03-20:/blog/20080320002100 2008-03-20T00:21:00Z

I have waged a vigorous campaign for the last couple of years to have the word “passionate” banned from all PR and marketing material.

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-03-19:/blog/20080319234700 2008-03-19T23:47:00Z

The Daily Mail must be relieved that the eyewatering cost (£4 million) of finally admitting defeat in their libel battle with billionaire Sheldon Adelson emerged on the same day that the Daily Express and Daily Star grovelled in apology to the parents of Madeleine McCann.

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-03-10:/blog/20080310170400 2008-03-10T17:04:00Z

The power of YouTube was demonstrated again in recent days after a rugby fan’s footage of an incident during the Bristol-Bath derby match at Ashton Gate prompted the authorities to open disciplinary proceedings against the former Welsh international, Gareth Llewellyn.

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-03-05:/blog/20080305233900 2008-03-05T23:39:00Z

I see that today’s Daily Telegraph proclaims “The cardigan is back”, revealing that this most unlikely of style statements is “flying off the shelves.

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-03-03:/blog/20080303225000 2008-03-03T22:50:00Z

I have a theory that increasing irritability among those of us who admit to being middle-aged is very much to do with the perception that time passes more quickly as you get older.

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-02-26:/blog/20080226193300 2008-02-26T19:33:00Z

The British fondness for animals will have engendered widespread sympathy for the couple whose dog was electrocuted when it urinated on a faulty lamppost.

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-02-13:/blog/20080213183800 2008-02-13T18:38:00Z

Everyone must have their own ‘Desert Island’ book. Mine is a well-thumbed paperback, a 1995 republication of a little book first published in 1940, called Where Are The Customers’ Yachts?

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-02-11:/blog/20080211234700 2008-02-11T23:47:00Z

Some children think receiving an Asbo is ‘cool’, according to The Daily Telegraph, reporting on the latest study from the Institute for Public Policy Research.

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-02-04:/blog/20080204224900 2008-02-04T22:49:00Z

Could Egg be setting a trend for other service providers?

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-01-28:/blog/20080128193600 2008-01-28T19:36:00Z

Kevin comments on two significant snippets of media news in the last week. The Sun's newspaper is down to a 34 year low and Guido Fawkes (blogger) claims his first minister's scalp!

tag:montagecomms.com,2008-01-18:/blog/20080118223300 2008-01-18T22:33:00Z

Have we handed over our lives to obsessive workaholics?