When It Hits the Fan

When you’re in a crisis, you discover very quickly who your friends are. Or perhaps more accurately, who your friends aren’t.
This week, David Yelland and Simon Lewis examine how different types of friends are deployed to the PR front line when it comes to reputational combat.
When you can't defend yourself in public, you need the right sort in your corner. But not all friends are equal. There's the named friend, the unnamed friend and the showbiz favourite - 'close friend of the couple'.
And David and Simon reveal there are often PR campaigns going on behind-the-scenes to ensure the best calibre of friend is speaking up - and why a 'source', a 'spokesperson' and a 'friend' might actually be the same person.
On the extended edition on BBC Sounds, a moment of indulgence as When it Hits the Fan reaches its 100th episode. David and Simon explain what's surprised them about the world of PR since the show started - and why they've had to think differently about the world they move in.
Producer: Duncan Middleton
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: Eve Streeter
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4

How do you fight a PR battle when everyone's already decided you're the bad guys?
That's the problem facing the water industry on the eve of a new Channel 4 factual drama called Dirty Business. The clue is in the title. It focuses on a 10-year investigation into sewage-polluted waters.
Sticking to the facts is a basic rule of PR - but when coming up against raw anger and emotion, do you need more than facts? How do you appeal to hearts as well as minds?
On the extended edition on BBC Sounds, PR itself is in the dock. Two firms have found themselves making rather than shaping the news in recent weeks - over the Epstein files and allegations of trying to journalists. Put mildly, the companies involved have a battle on their hands to protect their own reputations. David and Simon explain why.
And if you think Heathrow is too crowded, you're very much mistaken. According to the CEO of the airport, it's simply because people are 'walking in the wrong places'. He might have a point, but the problem is, if you say something that sounds ridiculous, it doesn't matter how right you are - you're wrong.
Producer: Duncan Middleton
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: Eve Streeter
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4

Some jobs just can't be done. Circumstances, events and a changing world simply make them undoable.
This week, David Yelland and Simon Lewis ask whether one such job is communicating on behalf of the Prime Minister. Not just this Prime Minister, but any Prime Minister.
After only five months, the PM's Director of Communications, Tim Allan has quit. He's the fourth person to hold the role under Sir Keir Starmer.
The old levers of PR clearly aren't working and there seems to be a general bafflement has to how to get the public onboard.
Put simply, is Downing Street now beyond PR?
On the extended edition on BBC Sounds, how Buckingham Palace is rapidly changing its PR game. Widely criticised for being too slow to react to the scandal around Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, the Palace is going on the front foot - with two statements that would've been inconceivable just months ago.
Plus there's nothing like a formal letter from the Government to put you in the mood for love. That's the hope anyway. In France, all 29-year-olds are being written to - to remind them of their duty to have babies. As you might expect, there's been something of a backlash.
Producer: Duncan Middleton
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: Eve Streeter
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4

How close is the Palace to being sucked into the Epstein reputational black hole - again?
In this episode David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss the latest revelations from the Epstein files about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Can a reputation ever be so utterly ‘nuked’ that there is no coming back and anyone close gets sucked in? What is the Royal Family's PR calculus to avoid the gravity pull of the Epstein PR black hole?
On the extended edition on BBC Sounds, David and Simon look at another man in a PR black hole, Lord Mandelson. Is it really the end of the road for the king of spin, or can the ultimate political survivor find a way out?
Also, the Sunday Times Tax List and why being one of the UK’s biggest tax payers is good PR.
Producer: Duncan Middleton
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: Eve Streeter
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4

It started with a bombshell but the aftershocks are only just getting started.
This week, David Yelland and Simon Lewis ask whether David and Victoria Beckham's seemingly bulletproof brand is under threat. The cause is of course the incredibly emotional social media outburst from their son, Brooklyn.
Theirs is a brand built on family - so what are the PR challenges when threads start to unravel? And crucially, what say will the money men have about how the Beckham's handle the fallout?
On the extended edition on BBC Sounds, where best to see where the worlds of PR, power and business collide than Davos? Simon spent the week there and reveals what's really going on behind-the-scenes. It's certainly not as glamorous as you might think.
Plus, how to take on Elon Musk and win. Ryanair's Michael O'Leary delivered a PR masterclass as the two men had a very public spat - using a killer blend of humour and facts. It seems to have done wonders for the airline's business - and given us a timely reminder of how to use your opponent's strength against them.
Producer: Duncan Middleton
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: Eve Streeter
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4