Frances writes......At the beginning of August we always tell our team to beware the media’s agenda. The media need to fill the gap left by a lack of Parliamentary, Council and Court reporting as these bodies often take a break. News programmes aren’t shortened but instead the cameras and microphones turn to issues that would otherwise not have been of interest. Sources of information such as league tables from regulators, inspection reports about nursery schools, nursing homes and hospitals suddenly become the subject of detailed scrutiny. Reader, viewer and listener complaints about companies and public bodies receive greater attention.

As a result, in August Recognition is always busy. Normally around 30% of our work is devoted to answering hostile media stories, this week it has been nearer 50%. Furthermore, very often the decision makers from our clients are away and getting the information we need to fight back can be difficult. Thankfully we have managed to mitigate much of what has happened this August. But all organisations need to beware of August. Plan to issue some news and fill the vacuum, don’t let the media do it for you!