Boards and management must be attuned to the very rapid shifts taking place in the media environment. There is increased competition between players and dramatic changes resulting from the growth in the usage of Facebook, Twitter and other social media tools. The Forum was told by media professionals that there had been more change in the media landscape over the past few years than had been witnessed in the previous 12 years.

The new trends will radically change the way public sector bodies reputations will be perceived and maintained.

This Forum event on 22 February involved three lead speakers and Q+A session with the Governance Forum Members and other participants.

*Mark Little *suggested that social media was becoming a key source of news and public perception. Many journalists used Twitter as a source for stories. In order to develop and maintain reputations there was a need for a process of continuous engagement with the public and social media tools could be very effective in aiding this process. He could see social media as more important than traditional avenues such as Prime Time in shaping the news agenda.

*Martin Mackin *reiterated how reputation management was a rolling and continuous process. During a time when public sector organisations must operate in difficult circumstances it was important to “be out there” communicating their message. If an organisation does not invest in communications they “will not cut through the volume”

The structure of the Media was changing dramatically and would look very different in future years. Current trends including feral practices, “competition for outrage”, and fragmentation all pointed to a very different structure evolving from one which had been dominated by relatively few providers.

There were a number of Do’s and Don’ts in handling crises. Do be prepared, hold your nerve until an informed response can be given, have proper rebuttal structures and learn the lessons in handling future situations. Don’t panic, attempt to cover up, have insufficient resources to handle communications or provide minimal information (“you should feed the beast”).

*Kieran Fitzgerald *spoke about the levels of discomfort and unease about communications in the public sector. This heightened the risk of under resourcing and neglect. There was a level of fear of the media, scepticism about colleagues who were quoted and interviewed and a view that communications is a task that anybody could do well. In his view it is important that an organisation picks someone who understands good communications and who takes responsibility. This should be someone who has relative seniority and can take a strategic perspective.

Journalists want to know who they can talk to in the organisation. It can make sense to divide the communications responsibilities between a person for operational issues and someone for (major) policy issues.

Know you audience and who you want to communicate with. There is no message without an audience

The Speakers
The speakers did not circulate scripts of their comments.

Mark Little is a well known Irish journalist, television presenter and author. He presented Prime Time for RTÉ until December 2009 and he is currently working on a significant new initiative focusing on digital media and global journalism. He became RTÉ’s first Washington Correspondent in 1995. In 2001, he returned to Dublin to become Foreign Affairs Correspondent. In his time with RTÉ, he has interviewed many national and international personalities and politicians including Barack Obama. He is a previous recipient of the TV Journalist of the Award.

Martin Mackin is Director and Partner with Q4 Public Relations. Q4 PR, formed in 2003, is a leading provider of public relations, public affairs and other communications services. The activities include the provision of specialist advice to multinationals, leading Irish companies, high potential firms, as well as representative bodies and other organisations. Martin was General Secretary of Fianna Fáil from January 1998 until 2003 and was responsible for the party’s campaigning and election strategy, including the general election of 2002.

Kieran FitzGerald is currently head of Communications and Research for the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. He has been a producer, reporter and researcher with RTÉ and he has worked on programmes that included The Late Late Show, Prime Time and Liveline. He was News and Current Affairs Journalist of the Year in 1999 and he is a former chair of the Dublin Broadcasting Branch of the National Union of Journalists.