The Anna Hazare fast, now that’s its over, was a nifty PR campaign and a great political one at that. While the 74-year-old Anna with his 12-day fast resembling the many fasts that Gandhi made for the country before and after independence has become an icon; ‘Team Anna’ walked away with PR success.  Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi and other popular people like actors Anupam Kher, Om Puri and Aamir Khan all made up the PR machine behind the scenes for Team Anna. 

Carefully planned use of the Mahatma image, which has irked a lot of people,has proved to be the main reason for the stupendous success the campaign received from the masses. Now, here when one uses the  term ‘masses’ loosely, one refers to the great Indian middle class who are tech-savvy and who are the most unhappy with the scams in the country.

Popular culture called the movement – ‘The second freedom struggle’ and so on; from cheesy prayer-like songs to humour on placards, every angle was dealt with beautifully. Team Anna even resorted to street play like characterization of the two-faced politicians with even an on-the-spot skit by the hero-worshipped former Police Chief, Kiran Bedi. If there were points of conflict in team Anna it was not visible to the people.  What was visible was this…

Anti-Graft movement

Peaceful protests

Festival-like  protest ground (Ramlila Maidan)

Frequent Media appearances

Negotiations

Bollywood/celebrity backing

Youtube videos

Tweets and Facebook posts

SMSes

Candle light marches

Rhetoric

Medical Bulletins

Drama on live TV

India Against corruption campaign had it all and in the centre of it all a patriotic 74-year-old activist who never married and was without any political aspirations. Team Anna says the battle is only half won while in the Parliament a couple of parties did remind the Congress and the main opposition that the Anna Campaign was ‘elitist’ and did not have anything in it for the real masses out there – the poor!

Nevertheless, this campaign was a lesson in running PR campaigns for a large country like India which stands apart in its national reputation from its neighbours in the region. Democracy won finally - both with the people and in the Parliament.

Often the centre of controversy, Celtic manager Neil Lennon has had an absolutely torrid season up in the SPL by way of publicity. And unfortunately, very little of it recently has had anything to do with football. When it comes to the two football giants in Glasgow – (the Old Firm), little of the rivalry between them is sporting and the at-times mutual sectarian exchanges from the fans has landed them both in hot water publicly. However, whereas Rangers have been handed appropriate discipline, Neil Lennon has had a reputation mostly imposed upon him that’s led to consequences far worse, and infinitely more inexcusable.

“Football is a sport and should therefore be enjoyed accordingly”. It’s a simple sentiment, but one a lot of people don’t seem to appreciate as much as they really should. Anyone taking up the reigns on either side of the Old Firm mantle is putting their personal reputation on the line due to the insane idiocracy that makes up the moronic fans that vehemently hate what the Old Firm (or ‘the other side of the Old Firm’) represents. And, with Neil Lennon as the perceived figurehead of Celtic Football Club, he’s been exposed this season to some horrendous acts that you would see literally nowhere else in the ‘beautiful’ game.

Due to the nature of his job, Neil Lennon finds himself frequently talking to the Scottish press before, during and after games, and any other time there’s something topically prevalent to discuss. While it’s traditional to try and manage a club’s image via the newspapers, the Scottish press seem to have abandoned any and all sense of journalistic integrity in favour of creating their own stories. Case and point being this week as Lennon was intentionally misquoted during a press conference with Heart of Midlothian manager Jim Jefferies. Upon hearing the slanted version of what Neil had said, Jefferies responded negatively and that mentality filtered down into the players and fans. One of the Hearts fans felt so strongly about what the press had (mis)reported Neil as saying, that during the teams encounter last night at Tynecastle he broke out of the stands, made a 30-yard run up the touchline and physically attacked the Celtic manager.

There are no circumstances under which this kind of conduct would be deemed acceptable, and the Scottish national newspapers have been quick to condemn what happened. Neil doesn’t seem to be able to catch a break and it takes the strongest kind of character to prevail against the torrents of abuse he’s getting. He needs to be seen to be acting as responsibly as possible and despite his best efforts to do this in the press, they’re not cutting him any slack. He’s had to resort to the use of social networking site Twitter to get his message out to fans, which he did so this morning with the following ‘tweet’:

Don’t let what happened to me tonight take the shine off a wonderful team performance… I don’t walk alone.

Making reference to the popular Celtic club anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, which the fans sang at the tops of their voices over the final whistle last night, Neil shows that he appreciates all the support he’s getting from fans whilst maintaining that his focus is still on the football. Which, to be honest, is where everyones focus should be.

There’s no ‘quick fix’ to Neil’s situation and I hope he sticks at it so that the scum who partake in this hatred-fueled crusade against the man from North Ireland wont have ‘won’. Until then, we’ll continue to see a decline in the effectiveness and integrity of the written press as they struggle to keep up with popularity of readily-available and unregulated, bordering-on-prose journalism online.

The Mediagate as its being called in India, the tapes, has brought out a serious deficit in ethics in the country.

On the one side you have a corporate lobbyist Niira Radia dictating what is to be conveyed to politicians as the government was being formed to journalists via phone conversations; and on the other hand serious  journalists blurring ethical lines and milking corporate sources by playing along, seeming to be a go-between the politicians and the money bags.

The questions that come up here…

1. Do Corporate firms have to resort to lobbyists to talk to the elected corrupt politicians?
2. Do companies decide the ruling government’s cabinet?
3. Do journalists who hobnob with industry captains with political slants really have power?
4. Should journalists have celeb status ?

Journalistic reputations trashed and all thanks to the role of Twitter which questioned the blanket silence that initially the different sections of media maintained.

New India takes national reputation seriously: Like they say now in the country the fact that this came out shows a positive sign and this is proof that India is not China. The country faces up to the issues and as more and more scams come out in these times of Wikileaks, the time has come to raise the bar and be ruthless in our judgement against questions of ethics.

The lynch mobs are out and Vir Sanghvi has lost his column in the Hindustan Times, his apologies not accepted even as the cry for firing Barkha Dutt is turning into a shout, India seems to be awakening to a non-tolerance of corruption, scams and ethical issues of people expected to be the voice of the nation.

The country is debating everything these days and amidst all this India woke up to news of the biggest act of philanthropy ever with Wipro Chief Azim Premji donating $2 billion to education in India. A young country of old values is undertaking a new shake-up of the systems as the collective mind-set adjusts to new-found wealth and progress.

The credibility of Indian media is at an all time low with the recently released audio tapes involving a major corporate house lobbyist Niira Radia and reputed journalists Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi. This episode shows how corruption in the Indian media undermines democracy.

Barkha Dutt is heard saying, “So now what, what should I tell them. Tell me what should I tell them?” and on the other tape Vir Sanghvi, the columnist asks, “What kind of story you want?”

Terms like ‘unethical” and “biased journalism” will be understatements, but this incident goes on to show the incestuous liaison journalists have with the rich and powerful.  A shocking shift in the way Indian media works. How hard it is for media personnel to remain jingoistic and keep their own idea of patriotism?

NDTV, the News channel that Ms. Dutt represents came out with a defensive statement

‘At every stage effective journalism involves engagement with a multitude of characters in the process of gathering news and information.’

It’s alarming and this time it got spiked because those sinister journalists were caught with their pants down.

When Indian media were lynching every one involved with 2G Spectrum, CWG Scam, its surprising to see the coordinated silence of the media (both electronic & print) on this exposé.  This underlines the kind of collusion how media is hand in glove with the powerful and the rich, putting a huge question mark on the uprightness and reliability of  its content.

This whole episode brings forth the harsh reality that goes beyond the corruption of individual journalists and media companies. Indian Media is becoming pervasive and highly organized and often overlooks democratic values. A large section of the society have shown their discontent and apprehension about the nasty influence of such malpractices.

Corruption in the media circuit is as old as India itself. If we are to cleanse corruption in society, it would be improbable to expect the media to do that if things go this way. The world’s largest democracy –India, needs a vibrant and diverse media with a clean Reputation to remain an important pillar of democracy in the civilized world today

Wouldn’t it be great if the judge were to commence proceedings with “You’re under my perjurisdiction now, Tommy”? Ok, so it’s unlikely to have happened, but Tommy Sheridan is in for his toughest test yet as he’s hauled back in to court… for lying in court.

He’s clearly not the first person to have faced a bit of bad press, and he’ll certainly not be the last, but in 2006 when Mr Sheridan was reported in the News of the World to be having extramarital flings – he decided that the best way of handling the situation was to cause a big scene and take the media giants to court. Of course, whether he did or didn’t lie is now down to a jury to decide over the next 10 weeks the case is expected to last.

In his defamation case in 2006, Tommy Sheridan won £200,000 in damages after claiming that The News of the World had fabricated stories that detailed an alleged visit to a swingers club in Manchester and engaged in extramarital affairs with two women. Other accusations levied against the former MSP included excessive alcohol and substance abuse; both claims denied on the basis he was a “teetotaller”. In a case he decided to represent himself (after sacking his legal team in June of that year), the jury returned a majority vote of 7-4 in Sheridan’s favour. It didn’t take long for News International (the other side of Sheridan vs.) to launch an appeal on claims that false testimonies had been given and the sheer volume of witnesses attesting to Sheridan’s admission of guilt.

The whole saga has been going on for four years now, and Sheridan has been making no effort to shy away from the limelight and has declared his innocence in interviews, taken on his own radio talk show and even made an appearance in Celebrity Big Brother. The latter of which was because apparently he “needed the money”. Yeah those lawyers don’t tend to pay for themselves, Tommy! But to be honest, most of this could have been avoided.

When you fall victim to negative press – whether it’s deserved or not – there are ways to go about handling the situation. And whether you’re guilty or not, drawing attention to negative press is not the way to go about it. Your reputation is always going to have aspersions cast against it when accusations are made, whether they’re false or not. There will always be doubt thereafter, irrespective of an innocent or guilty verdict. Tommy and wife Gail could have managed their reputation a lot better by keeping press interest to a minimum. Newspaper stories go away if left alone, and there are ways of dealing with stories online via online reputation management, but at this stage it’s a little late for Mr & Mrs Sheridan.

89 year old Helen Thomas “was” the doyen of White House correspondents after reporting on every president since Eisenhower. No longer after she allowed her Lebanese ancestry to get the better of her and she criticised Jews in Israel. Now critics from every political persuasion are lining up to call for her resignation; cast her out.

Helen Thomas’ mistake, if that is the right way to term it, was to conflate judaism with Israel and thereby seemingly criticise jewishness when she may have intended Israel. Indeed criticism of Israel is so frequently viewed as anti-semiticism that few in the USA have the nerve to try it. Those that do, such as Noam Chomsky are fearless in their logic and rarely attack Israel from an emotional perspective as Helen Thomas did.

Helen Thomas has Lebanese ancestors and few in Europe would be surprised that she felt such strong feelings about Israel. Many palestinians and Lebanese feel that they are victims of a pogrom all of their own and feel a burning resentment at their treatment at the hands of the Israeli State.

What should Helen Thomas do now? Step back or restate? I sense that if she steps back she will lose her reputation forever so she might be wiser to take the courageous line and restate and clarify her position concerning Israel and judaism. In managing reputation you always have two choices: the quick and easy or the long and hard. Which she will choose remains to be seen.

Tiger Woods apology and press conference yesterday went off without a glitch except for a couple of nervous stops in the beginning. He tried to talk about everything a reporter would have wanted to question him. His mom was present and his wife’s family, he even thanked Accenture, and the golfing community for understanding the timing of his apology.

The read out speech asking for atonement, telling the Paparazzi to stay away from his family and saying he was sorry thrice was all very well.

In celebrity reputation management terms, Tiger did all that he needed to do, touching upon spirituality and Buddhism and his therapy and the millions of kids who idolized him – he said it all!

But I wasn’t moved, there were tears and he touched on all aspects, yet watching it one was left with questions of how it seemed only rehearsed.

• This is a man who was an expert in leading a double life and perpetuating a holier-than-thou persona off the golf course.
• The Tiger brand thrived on his presumed golden image – the star with no faults –  a star like no other.

The extent of the damage on the Tiger Woods brand to me seemed more evident yesterday in the public apology. Again we are not talking about the golfer Tiger Woods but the brand which projected him as the ideal on and off the field.

Tiger is definitely not out of the woods yet, with his problems or image, the public still feel cheated and only time and a phenomenal comeback in the game can really solve this.

Conclusion: For now this ‘mea culpa’ can be only termed as the tiniest step in rebuilding his brand. The golfing circuits need the Tiger brand back and up; after all he is the one who brings in the crowds!

The White House seems defensive and even apologetic to a growing number of people in the US and they are growing in numbers. The Tea Party Convention is the most striking example of the culmination of anti Obama views. This is a very large group of people against the healthcare plan and the large amount of taxes they are being charged by the Obama government.

Quick to ride the Tea-Party wave is Sarah Palin, who with her appearance as a speaker at the convention, made it clear she has her sights set on the presidency. Palin has been clawing her way out of bad press,  planning out her candidacy  after resigning as governor. She has penned a book and is now a political commentator on FoxNews and the stage was set at the Tea Party Convention when she said…

“This is about the people, and it’s bigger than any king or queen of a Tea Party. And it’s a lot bigger than any charismatic guy with a teleprompter”

Palin took a dig at Obama at the tea party convention and has even gone on to say if its right for America she is ready to run for President in 2012.

“Now a year later, I got to ask the supporters of all that, how is that hope-y, change-y stuff working out for you”

Statements from Palin, quite like the ones used during election campaigns.

Bad press continues: The speaker’s fee of $100,000 paid to Sarah Palin has been in the news and Palin has claimed it does not go to her but to her party’s campaigning fund but this had been dogging her. Other news reports talk of how involved her husband Todd Palin has been in the Alaska governance.

Sarah Palin is simply great bad press material, sometimes ridicule and most importantly great NEWS! One thing’s for sure Palin is everywhere and there she will remain for a long time to come.

As for the Democrats, it will be unwise on their part to take her lightly, the US has elected movie stars like Regan to the White House and even the first mixed race President in Obama, so could a woman be far behind? ?

If Obama bungles up on the healthcare program and the national security issues and continue to remain on the defensive chances are Sarah Palin is right there to take his place.

For now even the Tea Party Convention don’t want her as their leader but in the times we are in, the Democrats better be wary even though Sarah Palin may seem like no Margaret Thatcher or Indira Gandhi!

The Sarah Palin brand chugs on and she as a politician is building up both her celebrity and her reputation.

Shashi Tharoor tweeted again and explained why he was quiet while the visa controversy was going on everywhere on TV and the WWW. His boss Minister of External Affairs, S M Krishna went on to say that such matters should not be discussed on a public forum like Twitter. Tharoor however tweeted so this morning…

Was travelling outof range& missed brouhaha.Now that EAM Krishnaji,whom I respect,has spoken,I hv nothing 2add.Will discuss visa issue w him.

But thanks for all the kind words over the last 24hrs. Appreciate the support!

Support he had from everywhere but the politicians of both the ruling Congress party and the opposition. Debates went on on all major news channels on Tharoor’s tweets. People were amused and felt he has every right to tweet what he feels like while his party were left explaining. The difference of opinion between the MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) and the Home Ministry was discussed at length.

For the rest of the country it was a great day – a minister telling them things like it is. There’s hope for politicians in India after all, we may yet have a new breed of leaders who dare to be different.

Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for External Affairs is no stranger to social networking and is the highest followed person in India on Twitter. Tharoor in fact popularised Twitter in India to a great extent with his now controversial Tweets and was even named “Twitteroor” for his political gaffes as far as his political party’s stances were concerned.

The minister is intellectual, tech-savvy and popular with the masses and has 537,478 followers on Twitter when this post was written. The problem with Tharoor is that his Tweets are a source of both admiration and political uproar at the same time. Even as he endears himself to the youngsters, the geriatric members of his often sycophantic Congress party look at him as an up-start of sorts.

That Tharoor was in the initial stages a close rival to the UN Secretary-General post of Ban Ki Moon and that he has numerous books to his name all accord him a celebrity status. What I like about him the most is his constant attempts at making his countrymen laugh at themselves. Here he is back in the news for tweeting against his own government’s tightening of tourist visas to India. This is what he tweeted -

Dilemma of our age: tough visa restrictions in hope of btr (better) security or openness & (and) liberality to encourage tourism & goodwill? I prefer latter.

When asked about the economy class of Air India he famously tweeted -

“absolutely, in cattle class out of solidarity with all our holy cows!”

The slang was lost on most people in India and when he added the holy cows all hell broke loose.

That he has huge plans for his country and is not afraid to speak his mind and even against his own government makes him stand apart. But then these days how the mighty fall ( Tiger Woods) and before you know it, courting controversy can finally catch up. The minister sure needs some expert reputation management for continuing his work well and to be in the good books of the old war horses in the Congress party.

Being a busy man he needs the services of an army of experts to help him with online reputation management and being a celebrity and a politician the need only magnifies manifold.