Talking Point

Wise words from PR veteran

"'One of the scarcest commodities in public relations today is the scarcity of competent writers."

I couldn't agree more with this observation by PR veteran Harold Burson. Not knowing how to tell a story and commit it to paper (or cyberspace) through words is akin to a plumber not being able to fix a leaky tap. Clients looking for a strong public relations agency would be well advised to put writing skills at the top of the prerequisite list.

Older voters shift Europe to the right

Following the lead of Germany and potentially the UK, if recent opinion polls are to be believed, France has moved to the right. In what some are calling its ‘second revolution’, Nicolas Sarkozy, a slick media operator promising a shake-up of the economy and a tough stance on crime and immigration has taken the presidency.

Demographics have had a large part to play in his victory. Sarkozy won by an ‘elderly landslide’ – 61 per cent of voters in their 60s and 68 per cent of the over-70s chose the conservative candidate over Ségolène Royal. In contrast 58 per cent of voters aged 18-24 preferred his socialist rival.

In the UK David Cameron’s conservative party is scoring highly with older voters, which bodes well for its future – a poll by Age Concern and ICM estimates that the under 25s will only account for between six and eight per cent of voters in the next few UK general elections, whereas the over 55s could account for over half of all votes cast by 2025.

Does an ageing and more politically astute population mean further focus on older voters at election time? And what does this mean for the political priorities of the future? The Guardian’s Stuart Jeffrey’s sees the result of France’s election as “a marvellous example of Gallic hypocrisy” on behalf of the comfortable older generation.

As younger generations gear up to bear an aging population and the impact of climate change, the Australian Government is preparing for an election by offering a raft of vote-winning measures, among them significant tax cuts to higher earners and bonuses for older voters.

Is this a symptom of what UK economics journalist Faisal Islam sees as the “great generational robbery”? Echoing former Australian Reserve Bank Governor Ian MacFarlane, who warned of inter-generational conflict back in 2003, Islam argues that the 50+ generation, who have benefited most from the upturn of the past economic cycle are looking forward to early retirement on pension and property windfalls, while leaving younger generations exposed to high house prices, education debts and job insecurity as well as the pressure of climate change and a global ageing population. True, some boomers are supporting the younger generation, but not everyone will be able to turn to the bank of Mum and Dad.

These global uncertainties may be why we should forget Gen X and Y – current under 35s may be remembered as the IPOD generation – “insecure, pressured, overtaxed and debt-ridden”.

Murdoch promises independence at WSJ

Rupert Murdoch has upped the stakes in his bid to acquire Dow Jones and Company, promising an independent editorial board for the Wall Street Journal if his proposal succeeds.

Murdoch sent a conciliatory letter to the company’s controlling Bancroft family over the weekend in an effort to convince them to accept his $5 billion offer. The Bancroft family appears divided over the Murdoch tilt so his offer to give them a single board seat in the new entity should make for interesting dinner conversation.

Far from diverting his attentions towards old media assets, Murdoch’s MySpace has also come to a preliminary agreement to acquire photo sharing site Photobucket for US$250 million.

Boring Boys

Forget about whether the events portrayed in Bastard Boys – the much vaunted ABC television drama about the 1998 waterside dispute – actually happened the central point is it was ordinary drama.

Putting aside the complaints made by key players – former Patrick Stevedores boss Chris Corrigan, former ACTU secretary Bill Kelty and the Maritime Union’s John Coombs - in this morning’s newspapers, the two night series failed to even entertain let alone inform people about one of the darkest periods in Australia’s industrial relations history. The only reason people should be upset is that they could have been doing something better than watching this silly program.

Old media assets spark further interest

From The Australian.com.au

REUTERS Group, the world's largest publicly traded provider of financial data, says it has received a takeover approach from an unidentified suitor.

The potential deal follows Rupert Murdoch's $6 billion tilt at Dow Jones and Sam Zell's $315 million injection into the Chicago Tribune in the US recently. With keen interest being shown in financial media properties overseas, it will be fascinating to see what the future holds for the Australian Financial Review - Fairfax Media's jewel in the crown.

Murdoch bid shows there's life in old media

Rupert Murdoch’s $5 billion tilt for Dow Jones – publishers of the Wall Street Journal – may have been rejected by Dow’s major shareholders, the Bancroft Family, but it does not diminish the significance of the offer.

Old media is clearly still good business or Murdoch would never have put a 67% premium on Dow's recent market value in a whopper of an offer.

Murdoch clearly sees the future media ecosystem where old and new media assets exist in splendid harmony. After all, whether it’s the WSJ, My Space, Fox News or The Australian, they’re all in the communications business, just targeting different audiences.

Despite the positives associated with the rise of citizen generated media and the proliferation of other Internet news sources, it’s good to see that the traditions of quality journalism remain a sought after quality in the media business.

The Conversation Age

I have contributed to the development of an e-book titled the Conversation Age with an article about how the relationship between consumers and the mainstream media has radically changed. The project was the brainchild of Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton and will feature the opinions of more than 100 bloggers across the globe. While I have promised to keep the article under wraps until its published I’m sure it will be OK to give you a taste of the central theme.

So where does all this leave the future of journalism? Reports of the death of journalism may be premature but we are witnessing the emergence of an environment where the traditions of mainstream media are preserved but complemented by more input from the public and a greater diversity of viewpoints.

Check out my fellow contributors by clicking here and thanks to Gavin and Drew for pulling all of this together, particularly given the proceeds will b donated to charity.