Wirral councillors learn how to be media savvy

1:41pm Monday 4th March 2013 in News By Geoff Barnes

The media pack knows no mercy The media pack knows no mercy

A special training session to teach councillors how to become media-savvy has been slammed as a waste of time and money.

All 66 members of the council were invited to a five-hour media training class at The Lauries Centre in Birkenhead today to hear a presentation by a specially-invited consultant.

Topics covered included ‘How to avoid the perils of the social media and maximise opportunities with TV, radio and newspapers;’ ‘what not to tweet’ and ‘what you need to know before saying yes to a media interview.’

Tory councillor Leah Fraser made it clear she would not be attending.

She said: “I think it’s a waste of time and money considering the current dire straits of the council’s budget.

"Apart from the consultant’s fee for the sessions there will be the cost of providing refreshments for all the councillors as the programme will last from 3pm to 8pm.

“If councillors don’t like seeing their comments in print they should keep quiet.

“Rather than having media training councillors should be trained in financial matters. If this had been introduced earlier Wirral Council would not be in the mess it finds itself today.”

Council leader Phil Davies insisted that the training sessions had all-party support on Wirral Council.

He commented: “This is one of a series of courses to enable elected members to deal with the media.

“Increasingly we live in an age where Press and TV are looking for comments and reactions from local politicians about events and news stories. We want elected members to respond effectively to the demands of the media.”

Councillor Davies said he was not aware of the cost of the event but it “would not be a huge amount.”

He added: “It is important that elected members are properly trained in these matters. These sessions will provide them with the skills they need.”

Comments(17)

MDRyUK says...
2:33pm Mon 4 Mar 13

Unbelievable ....... holding such a "training session" the day before Council Members are about to pass a budget which will devastate council services re. Budget Meeting - 6:15pm tomorrow night 5th March, Town Hall, Wallasey - one has to ask what motivates the Leader of the Council at a time when surely the authority should be trying to save every last penny.

In terms of "dealing with the media" we're talking about elected local politicians, so one would have thought they were the very people who would know already how to deal with press, television and media coverage.

I'd like to know positively how much this is costing the ratepayer? Put it another way, you'd think the focus of Council Members attention - today Monday 4th March, right now - should be about what happens at tomorrow night's full council meeting when they are supposed to be debating a "balanced budget" for 2013-14.

And yes, every penny does count!

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gsowglo says...
2:58pm Mon 4 Mar 13

Grossly untimely.

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gsowglo says...
3:03pm Mon 4 Mar 13

Do they know no shame.

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PaulCa says...
3:26pm Mon 4 Mar 13

MDRyUK wrote:
Unbelievable ....... holding such a "training session" the day before Council Members are about to pass a budget which will devastate council services re. Budget Meeting - 6:15pm tomorrow night 5th March, Town Hall, Wallasey - one has to ask what motivates the Leader of the Council at a time when surely the authority should be trying to save every last penny.

In terms of "dealing with the media" we're talking about elected local politicians, so one would have thought they were the very people who would know already how to deal with press, television and media coverage.

I'd like to know positively how much this is costing the ratepayer? Put it another way, you'd think the focus of Council Members attention - today Monday 4th March, right now - should be about what happens at tomorrow night's full council meeting when they are supposed to be debating a "balanced budget" for 2013-14.

And yes, every penny does count!
FoI request lodged this morning:

http://www.whatdothe
yknow.com/request/co
sts_of_making_66_wir
ral_counci

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Hugo1008 says...
3:52pm Mon 4 Mar 13

Why would an honest, decent, peoples representative, IE an Elected Councillor require special training to speak to the media, or a resident, or even answer a question from a concerned member of the public.

Simple we don't have any elected representative who puts the interest of the electorate first and foremost, only the ones who blindly follow the dictats of the Party Political Whips.

We don't have a body of Councillors who can be Honest, Open, Fair, and completely transparent about their dealings in the open or behind closed doors, they are just incapable of proper governance on our behalf.

Yet we the ratepayers pay the bills.

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Positive thinker says...
4:22pm Mon 4 Mar 13

You couldn't invent this garbage,not even if you were on class A

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Realistically speaking says...
4:29pm Mon 4 Mar 13

Have you actually seen some of the tweets these Councillors send out. They need all the training they can get! Wirral Council will become more of a laughing stock than ever...

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bigfoot says...
6:21pm Mon 4 Mar 13

Does the training include 'making up stories about staff and slanderous statements to the media? Or is it just saying 'No comment' or denying any responsibility with conviction?

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frank h says...
6:58pm Mon 4 Mar 13

this must be on top of the training they receive for community consultation, where they ignore the needs of the community as they know best (remember library closures they knew best). how to look after the vulnerable members of our society (close day centers). were all in this together (Hannah Windsor let down by a number of agencies but no one will be disciplined and sacked).
media savvy quite agree they all should be on the muppet show (no i like the muppet show).

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FarooqB says...
12:05am Tue 5 Mar 13

Special Training, for what? How about having some decency to be a bit more honest and transparent. How much this consultant is going to cost to the ratepayers? Any idea !

Isn't it so obvious why there is a need for any such training - to avoid yet another scandal coming out via Wirral Globe, FOI request or another whistle-blowing saga. No doubt, FOI requests will be controlled more from now on. This credit should go to Martin Morton as to why this line is being pursued.

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ArdalMcFardle says...
6:28am Tue 5 Mar 13

PaulCa wrote:
Presumably, media consultant Emma Degg's brainwave.

Purpose: to keep elected members on their guard and prevent them 'giving the game away' or becoming too close to troublemakers, you know the sort: reporters, bloggers, whistleblowing members of staff, or even........ fellow councillors.

The noose tightens on any chance of openness, transparency or truth and honesty breaking out any time soon.
She's doing an amazing job of managing their reputation so far. How much does the spin department get paid ?

Doubtless an FOI request would just give a substantive post salary grade, not the Honorarium/ Ex Gratia , car milage etc etc etc payments and other such subtle manipulations to give em director style salaries.

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Growl Tiger says...
9:56am Tue 5 Mar 13

Why didn’t they buy one copy of The Snowball Effect - Communications, pass it round and read it in their own time.

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bickyboy says...
9:58am Tue 5 Mar 13

New Labour began the culture of "repeat a lie often enough, bully any opposition into silence and eventually that lie becomes the truth", and now that poisonous message is being administered to all parties on the Wirral, at OUR expense.

Incidentally, where's the picture that should be accompanying this story? The one of the gorgeously-coiffeure
d Leah standing outside the Laurie's Centre, pointing at the building and looking concerned? She's missed a photo op 'ere, has our Princess.

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Positive thinker says...
7:31pm Wed 6 Mar 13

Be media savvy,

Ke your mouth shut,as less is more

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antisthenes says...
12:56am Fri 8 Mar 13

Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.

George Orwell

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JADEE1 says...
9:36pm Sun 10 Mar 13

councillors trying to control the media with packs of lies,while keeping a straight face,& hoping they lose interest ,& go away..& why have we now got 2 community centres oppisite each other,1,still being built,on exmouth street,at a cost of £ 6.4 million,& yes part of it is a very small fire station,to replace the old one ,that was only 30 years old ,& in excellent condition ???,whats that all about in the days of austerity,???? nudge nudge wink wink ????

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Positive thinker says...
11:57am Mon 11 Mar 13

Only 30 years old and in perfect condition,are you a surveyor

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