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BBC Radio 4


Inside the world of crisis managers and spin doctors as David Yelland and Simon Lewis watch the week's biggest PR disasters unfold. In each episode our hosts go behind the scenes of the latest news stories and find out how, where and when it all began to hit the fan. 

When It Hits The Fan is hosted by two of the most influential and experienced people in the game; David Yelland is the former editor of the Sun and alongside him is Simon Lewis, former trouble-shooter for the Queen and Gordon Brown, as well as for major corporations like the Nat West, Vodafone and British Gas. Together they bring decades of experience in both creating and managing crises. They'll share all they know about what's keeping those big stories in and out of the news.


When It Hits the Fan

What happens when you cross enemy lines and join the other side?

As King Charles hires a Sky Royal correspondent for a top comms job at the Palace, David Yelland and Farzana Baduel discuss what happens when journalists switch to PR.

Crucially, they need to learn how to go from broadcast to mute. No more fabulously indiscreet anecdotes involving the rich and powerful over dinner - they're now your clients and your job is to protect their reputation.

And that's just for starters. There are a whole load of different rules and shifts in power dynamics that can take years to fully understand.

Also, on the extended edition on BBC Sounds, why Harry and Meghan have a window of golden PR opportunity - that could slam shut if they don't get their timing spot on. As David and Farzana explain, it's all to do with something called 'brand adjacency'.

Producer: Duncan Middleton
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: Eve Streeter
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4

When Poachers Turn Gatekeepers

In the good old days, if you wanted some favourable PR for a client, you could call up a journalist and take them out for a jolly good lunch. It's not so easy when the thing you're trying to influence is a bot. So is it possible to spin the likes of ChatGPT?

This week David Yelland is joined by Lauren Beeching - a crisis management expert with clients that count their followers in millions.

They discuss how AI is changing so much of the nuts and bolts of the PR reputation game - from having to become a tech wizard to work out if 'evidence' is real, to understanding how to influence what AI chatbots say. 

And on the extended edition on BBC Sounds, the Fan Hitter that almost broke the internet is back. The woman at the centre of the Coldplay KissCam scandal, Kristin Cabot, has done a big interview with Oprah - and discusses the PR advice she was given.

She claims she was told, "Stay quiet, everything will blow over in three days."

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Producer: Duncan Middleton
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: Eve Streeter
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4

Can You Spin ChatGPT?

When your country's PR plan relies on the projection of safety and security, how do you keep that image alive when you're under attack?

This week, David Yelland is joined by global PR expert Farzana Baduel to examine how countries in the Gulf have managed their comms since the start of the war in Iran.

In Dubai especially, social media influencers have been used as foot soldiers in the reputation battle. But has the relentlessly on-brand, 'we feel safe' messaging been successful? David and Farzana explain why it depends which end of the PR telescope you're looking through.

Producer: Duncan Middleton
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: Eve Streeter
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4

A Gulf in Communications

Getting your message out is obviously a cornerstone of PR. But where you put that message is becoming even more important.

This week, David Yelland is joined by Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty from the BBC podcast Fame Under Fire. Together they look at the challenge for big institutions - especially the Royal Family - of cutting through. 

You may think you've been successful if your story gets pick up in all the traditional places - but has anyone under-35 even seen it? They discuss the need to populate the places beyond your traditional base, to get beyond your echo chamber - and the need to interact rather than just pumping out one-way comms.

As Anoushka says, 'Do the boring thing in the most interesting way possible.'

Producer: Duncan Middleton
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: Eve Streeter
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4

The Generation Game

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

Friends: The One About PR

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

Heart v Head PR

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

Is the Office of PM Beyond PR?

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

Are Andrew and Mandelson Beyond the Fan?

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

Is the Beckham Brand in Jeopardy?

Reputations supposedly take years to build and seconds to destroy. But what if that's no longer the case? 

What if the normal rules about earning - and keeping - a reputation simply don't apply any more.

This week, David Yelland is joined by Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty, from the BBC podcast Fame Under Fire. Together, they venture into some distinctly dubious corners of the internet to see how public opinion is really being shaped.

Examining the trial of rapper Diddy, they explain how he may have actually benefitted from the wild accusations being made about him on social media before the case came to court - and how his PR team realised they could capitalise on the fact he was being portrayed as the Devil. 

On the extended edition on BBC Sounds, David and Anoushka look at how the PR world might want to take some tips from Candace Owens - however unpalatable that may seem.

The right-wing influencer promotes conspiracy theories and has repeatedly made claims about Brigitte Macron being born a male. The Macrons have filed a defamation lawsuit against her.

But Candace Owens has millions of followers and arguably influences more people than many newspapers, news channels or politicians. It's why Anoushka describes her as a 'personal PR powerhouse' - and explains that whatever you think of her, the way she spreads her message should be closely examined - and followed.

Producer: Duncan Middleton
Editor: Sarah Teasdale
Executive Producer: Eve Streeter
Music by Eclectic Sounds
A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4

A Gulf in Communications

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