When It Hits the Fan
The truth about ‘no comment,’ managing expectations and cost-effective PR
In this special episode David Yelland and Simon Lewis answer PR questions sent in by When It Hits the Fan listeners. First off, they are just two little words but they carry a lot of meaning... why 'no comment' can be both a good and bad thing to say - and what you might be able to say as an alternative. Also, they have some great tips for how to deal with a boss who's demanding national coverage despite having nothing newsworthy to report. There's advice for small charities on how to get your message out there in a very crowded marketplace. And David and Simon reveal the character traits they believe are vital for being a great PR pro. Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4
1 4月 2025 - 20 min 29 s
Heathrow special: inside the crisis
In this special episode, David Yelland and Simon Lewis unpick the PR levers being pulled behind the Heathrow airport shutdown caused by a fire at a local power substation – which left 300,000 passengers stranded, 1,300 flights cancelled and its CEO in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Was it wise to let it be known that CEO Thomas Woldbye was asleep when the decision was made to shut the airport? Or was it a leak? In any crisis there is always a blame game - who are the winners and losers here? Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4
25 3月 2025 - 28 min 08 s
Thames Water’s PR gamble, Tesla backlash and William’s Villa in The Sun
Letting the cameras go behind the scenes of a company is always a risky strategy - but did it pay off for Thames Water? David Yelland and Simon Lewis assess whether BBC2's Thames Water: Inside the Crisis is a PR victory or a PR disaster for the much maligned utility. The frontline staff emerge as heroes, but is the real story being told? Also, how bad PR can kill a business - will the Tesla brand survive being tainted by Elon Musk? And how Prince William is using Aston Villa and football as soft Royal power. Beware - fake it at your own peril. Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4
18 3月 2025 - 30 min 11 s
Carney’s Canada v Trump, Abrdn’s U-turn and Ambassador Suzuki
Across the world reputations are being set by how leaders react to Donald Trump, including those of Keir Starmer and the King. Now Canada’s new prime minister, Mark Carney, has seen his standing transformed by his "elbow’s up" anti-Trump stance. But in the country’s upcoming election, the Canadian question will be binary – who is the best candidate to deal with Trump’s America? Plus Abrdn’s reverse ferret and the decision by the investment company to return all its missing vowels following a widely ridiculed rebrand. Why do some ideas fail to pass the parody test? And the power of positivity - how the Japanese ambassador to the United Kingdom, Hiroshi Suzuki, has won hearts by ditching grip and grin diplomacy. Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4
11 3月 2025 - 30 min 05 s
Trump, Zelensky, the King and Mummy Pig
In the wake of Donald Trump's decision to pause all US aid to Ukraine, David Yelland and Simon Lewis reflect on the breakdown in the relations between presidents Trump and Zelensky. How far was his humiliation in the Oval Office press huddle orchestrated in the Trumpian echo chamber? Was deploying the stabilising effect of the King both before and after that car crash press conference the wisest use of royal PR in decades? Also - how toy giant Hasbro managed to interrupt the global crisis to announce that Peppa Pig is to have a new sibling. What's the secret to creating a moment of pure PR magic? Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4
4 3月 2025 - 29 min 53 s
PR in the disinformation bubble, Mandelson’s doorstep and breaking cover
David Yelland and Simon Lewis discuss how best to navigate the 'disinformation bubble' that appears to be parked over Washington DC. Could business take a lead from the media on drawing lines in the sand? Following Peter Mandelson's apparently off-the-cuff remark that Donald Trump's speech, in which he called Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator, was "interesting", what's the best way to deal with uninvited questions from a reporter? Is silence always golden? And, how long should people who've held positions of power and influence wait before they spill the beans on their old organisation? Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4
25 2月 2025 - 30 min 10 s
BP’s PR battle, Jamie Dimon’s rant, and two men and a baby
David Yelland and Simon Lewis look at the £75billion PR battle currently waging between BP - one of the UK's biggest companies - and American activist investors who say it’s too weak and too woke. Also, the world’s top banker is caught ranting about work-from-home GenZers. Is it good PR or bad PR? And will the claim from conservative influencer Ashley St Clair that Elon Musk is the father of her baby derail his White House bromance with President Donald Trump? Do such 'scandals' matter in the US any more? Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4
18 2月 2025 - 30 min 03 s
Inside the woke war room, puff quote PR and WhatsApp comms
David Yelland and Simon Lewis take you inside the woke war rooms in which some of the world’s biggest companies have been sitting these last few weeks with their PR teams, working out whether to abandon their diversity, equity and inclusion programmes following Donald Trump’s ban. With net zero and US foreign aid also coming under the umbrella of what Elon Musk calls the 'woke mind virus’, is the war on woke the great PR distraction trick of our time? Also, 'Illuminating and electrifying!' Are book endorsements dead in the age of the influencer? And how can PR professionals keep a handle on the WhatsApps and private communications of their CEOs? Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4
11 2月 2025 - 30 min 03 s
Rachel Reeves’ PR pivot, how to talk to Trump and Bill Gates’ memoir
How do you PR a pivot and change the mood music as a politician? David Yelland and Simon Lewis take a look at the language Rachel Reeves is deploying as she tries to go for growth and what might lie behind the timing of AstraZeneca scrapping its UK vaccine plant. Also, the split that divides the world's PR elite - the political and business world is having to decide whether to follow Donald Trump's language or resist it, kowtow or fight. How do we all talk to America now? And a PR take on the publicity for Bill Gates' new memoir. Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4
4 2月 2025 - 29 min 56 s
Inside the Sun's historic apology to Prince Harry
In a rare, open and frank discussion, David Yelland and Simon Lewis go behind the scenes of The Sun newspaper's historic apology to Prince Harry, including for 'serious intrusion' by The Sun and unlawful activity by private investigators. There's no suggestion that any Sun journalist broke the law. But as a former editor of the paper during this time, what light can David shed on practices at Rupert Murdoch's company then - the use of private investigators and oversight of this, questioning sources, as well as protecting the privacy of Prince William and Prince Harry while they were at Eton? Will this settlement draw a line under the hacking scandal and Harry’s crusade against the tabloid press? Producer: Eve Streeter Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: William Miller Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4
28 1月 2025 - 29 min 28 s