Cicero & Bernay sponsors 'A Day with Alastair Campbell' at PR Congress

As communications manager for former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Alistair Campbell was closely involved when Britain made the decision to join in the Iraq war. His session will provide a thought-provoking introduction to the three-day IIR Middle East PR Congress that follows at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel from October 28-November 1.

Cicero & Bernay Executive Director Leonie Trubshoe says regardless of how people view Alastair Campbell, there is no doubt that his presence at the PR Congress will stimulate intense debate over what is truth, what is propaganda and what is news.

"Sheikh Mohammed has done wonders in encouraging a free press in Dubai, but with freedom comes responsibilities and the public relations industry as a whole must be careful not to abuse these freedoms.

"As a consultancy that prides itself on its ethics, we have been concerned at the high level of press releases that are submitted to online publications, for example, that are little more than unpaid advertisements.

"Worse are the cases where clients use their advertising clout to bully publishers into demanding their editors run material that has little or no news value."

Ms Trubshoe says such practices reflect badly on the public relations industry as a whole and devalue the credibility of the publications that give into pressure.

She said a lot of the problems are caused by a general lack of understanding of what public relations is. "While press coverage is important, it should be only considered as part of an overall communications plan. And trying to get advertising messages through masquerading as news is seldom productive.

"Organisations and companies with great corporate reputations don't have to put out self-serving press releases saying how great they are - their track record speaks for them.

"Public relations in the Middle East should be more focused on helping companies develop better reputations by helping them positively engage with their communities and using techniques like community and social responsibility programmes to build trust," she said.

As well as being the headline sponsor for "A Day with Alastair Campbell", Cicero & Bernay Public Relations are a joint gold sponsor for the full PR Congress.