It appears that Scottish organisations can now benefit from the services of a “unique” PR consultancy called The Editors.
It is headed by two “new kids on the block in the world of media and PR consultancy” but who boast of “lifetimes of experience at the top in national newspapers.”
Step forward Bob Bird, former editor of the Scottish Sun and the Scottish News of the World who, so the company’s website informs us, enjoyed a “rise through national newspapers... nothing short of meteoric.”
And step forward Peter Cox, former editor of the Daily Record and the Sunday Mail, where - he says - he arrested a rapidly declining circulation. I don’t want to be overly pedantic, but that’s nonsense.
When Cox took the job, in September 1999, the Mail was selling an average of 765,128 copies an issue. By the time he left in September 2000, it was down to 734,817, a fall of 4%. (And he presided over a much greater decline at the Record).
Anyway, don’t let facts get in the way of good PR spin. Here’s some more from Cox:
“I’ve helped make Rupert Murdoch and Trinity Mirror an awful lot of money. Now I feel it’s time to use my knowledge - and comprehensive contacts book - to help others steer a path through the media jungle.”
That would be the Trinity Mirror that relieved Cox of his Record editorship a couple of months after he provoked a boycott of the paper by Celtic fans.
Turning to Bird, he is quoted on the site as boasting:
“Nothing fazes me. I’ve built up two unbeatable weapons: experience and a sense of humour.”
I think it’s the Scottish people who will need a sense of humour when they see who has provided The Editors with their testimonials - none other than Kelvin MacKenzie and Piers Morgan.
For the record, it was MacKenzie who wrote in the Daily Mail in 2011 in a column headlined, Why don’t the Scots merge with Greece?:
“The fact that anybody is in work in Scotland is due almost entirely to the wealth created by clever and resourceful people in England.”
I’m not sure that a recommendation from MacKenzie will work wonders for the boys. As for Morgan, I think the site’s description of him as a “TV megastar on both sides of the Atlantic” might well show potential clients how willing The Editors may be to stretch credulity.
Incidentally, they say they are not looking for “scores of clients”. Instead, “we’re happy to start small and stay small, if a little expensive.” Don’t all rush.
