Kicking the habit – New York Times says it’s a community thing

The smoking ban is now well established across these islands yet there seems to be little drop in the numbers who remain addicted to the infamous weed.

 Josh Gilbert,a New York colleague and source of many a good blog picked up on an interesting New York Times story on this issue last week. 

The NYT covers a study to be published in the New England Journal of Medicine that finds there is a significant social factor at work in kicking the habit. It follows an earlier paper by the same authors that determined there was also a big social factor in weight loss.

According to Josh the research points to the enormous opportunity in healthcare communications to more and more create programs that defeat isolation, encourage participation, build community, and don’t just educate patients about treatment therapies but help improve health outcomes through facilitating advocacy.

The application of complex adaptive networks is becoming more popular amongst communications specialists and is driving our business proposition here at Weber Shandwick.

€8billon hole to plug

There is a big hole in the Republic’s public finances this morning. It’s €8billion big and that is just in the tax shortfall.

Meanwhile Dublin based Davy Stockbrokers are cutting their forecast for the Irish economy because conditions continue to get worse for consumers, as the labour market weakens it is harder to get credit, and because of a ‘negative wealth effect’.

Davy now expects GNP growth of 1% this year, and for 2009 of 2%, down from a previous forecast of 3.4%. On housing, Davy does not think 2008 will see building bottom out, but it has hugely reduced the number of house completions it expects to see next year – from 40,000 to 25,000.  It says house prices will fall by 10.7% over the next year, and by 7.2% in 2009.  It also forecasts that non-residential building will fall by 10% next year. The Dublin stockbroker says unemployment will have reached 7% by the end of next year from a current level of 5.5%.

One good piece of news came out of this island last night though. A treaty banning cluster bombs was also signed in the fair city after the British government backed down to internal and external pressure and agreed to a total ban. It’s not often you get to demonstrate the value of local representation at Westminster yet for the past month a forceful campaign led by Mark Durkan MP of the SDLP has ensured this island’s opposition to these hideous weapons was heard loud and clear in every forum available to our public representatives. Advocacy in action me thinks.

Regulation matters

Every once in a while we are reminded of the importance of independent regulation in  certain areas. This morning the Consumer Council reminded us of the importance of strong independent regulation in the electricity market. In the midst of a global energy crisis it is critically important that energy companies are scrutinised independently and consumers and operators are treated fairly. In the long run this is the only way to guarantee sustained public confidence in the system and protect it from the possibility of commercial or political interference.

Personally I was disappointed when the Minister for the Environment, Arlene Foster, opted against the establishment of an independent environmental regulator yesterday.  Some are suggesting she is putting short term politics ahead of long term environmental protection. This move will not cost her a single vote nor will it create a public outcry. The issues are technical and the man and woman on the street will not know the difference between a rebranded EHS and a fully independent regulator. That is until there is a crisis and questions are being asked about whether the environmental watchdog is able to behave independently of political or commercial pressure.

It was Churchill who said the price of democracy was eternal vigilance. The point of independent regulation, be-it in energy or the environment, it to be the independent arbiter. This is easier said then done.

Even ministers can be bad communicators

It’s Irish News article day again. See below this month’s piece. 

I was in Venice last week a made a little bit of history. Weber Shandwick became the first Public Relations agency from the North of Ireland to win a SABRE, the European Public Relations Award. We were also the only Irish winners on the night. Anyway, back to the city with no cars, where life and art intermingle and where every street has a story to tell.

There is an amazing painting in the Doge’s Palace, San Marco, depicting the battle of Lepanto – an epic encounter between the Christian and Ottoman (Turkish) forces and an important milestone of that period in history. On the day the Christians won out and by the time Andrea Vincentino came to depict the battle from the Venetian perspective he was very careful not to create a scene which was demeaning to the Turks. Instead this great master of the sixteenth century painted two brave fleets in man to man combat. The Venetians were a trading people and there was business to be done. They may have defeated the Turks at sea but did not want to humiliate them in the Piazza di San Marco when they came to engage in commerce. Being magnanimous in victory and defeat was one of the great strengths of the Venetian republic.

What’s this got to do with communications? Well there is a minister in our Executive who could take a lesson or two from the Venetians. As our kids get ready for the summer, education in Northern Ireland is in crisis and many are arguing that crisis has been fuelled by how the minister has chosen to communicate or not communicate her plans for the future of selection.

Caitriona Ruane made a fundamental mistake of communications ten days ago when, out of the blue, she published proposals to break the deadlock on the issue without in anyway preparing the ground for what she was about to say. This was not a problem that crept up behind her by surprise, for over a year now the minister has failed to engage in a meaningful debate about her vision for the future and bring with her those on the other side of the argument.

In communications victories are not solutions. The art of good consensus politics is the art of good communications. You identify the key stakeholder groups, analyse and understand who will support you and why and then set about trying to persuade those against you of the benefits of your argument. You also keep as much of your communications as possible in private. Public debate too early is certain to result in failure. At the end of the day the media want a story, not necessarily a solution. Don’t get me wrong. I am not suggesting you can bring all the people with you all the time but on an issue as important and central to life as this one the minister should have been aiming to bring the majority of parents at least as well as a majority in the assembly with her.

The reality has been that over the past year her inability to engage and communicate effectively with the many stakeholders in this debate has resulted in common ground being lost. Angela Smyth, the New Labour direst rule minister, had got all the key stakeholder groups and the point where they agreed on a series of broad principles. That there would be some form of selection at 14, that there were demographic realities which everyone needed to accept and that the identities, particularly, religious the ethos of schools would be protected in the future. From what I understand this consensus remained in broad terms following the St Andrews negotiations in the preparation for government committee at the Assembly.

In simple communications terms the obvious thing for the new minister to have done would be to widen this consensus across the broad population thus copper fastening it, enabling her to tackle the difficult issues of detail from a position of strength. Instead she appeared to go to ground for twelve months.

As it is we are not just at a cross roads but in the middle of a stand off. It will be difficult for her to negotiate her way out of this one but negotiate she must and in negotiations, all things being equal, it is generally the party that can invoke popular support that carries the day. If I were the minister I would be thinking about how I can make my opponents feel like they came up with the solution for when the battle comes to be recorded all sides need to be able to walk away with their heads held high.

RTE needs to remember the North

Seamus McKinney had a good piece in the Irish News last week which is worth noting below about the potential impact on Northern viewers of RTE’s digital switch over.

Mr McKinney explains that RTE viewers in the north fear being cut off when TV transmission goes digital on both sides of the border.

More than 70 per cent of the north’s population can get RTE, with the numbers even higher in border areas.

In those areas as many as half say it would be a major concern if they could not receive RTE, according to a report by the UK communications regulator Ofcom.

The RTE issue figures highly in Ofcom’s latest ‘Nations and Regions’ report, released yesterday.

A survey carried out for the report shows that RTE is now a major broadcaster in the north, available to more than 70 per cent of viewers. More than one in three watch RTE 1 and 2 on a daily basis.

Ofcom carried out the research because changes in the way television will be broadcast on both sides of the border means the continued availability of those channels in the north is far from certain.

Authorities in the north are planning to upgrade all TV transmission to digital technology in 2012.

When that happens the existing analogue signal will be switched off.

In the Republic, plans are less well advanced but just as important for viewers in the north who watch RTE and TV3 through their ordinary TV aerials. Cable and satellite viewers will be unaffected.

The Republic has not yet decided on which technology it will use.

If it opts for a different and more advanced digital system than Britain and Ireland, then viewers in the north would not be able to get these channels any more.

The British and Irish governments are working behind the scenes to try and resolve issues over different digital technologies and the timing of the switchover from analogue to digital.

Viewers would benefit from both countries adopting the same technology and both making the switch-over at the same time. However, no agreement has been reached.

Ofcom reckons that whichever technology the Republic chooses, the number of people who can get RTE through their aerial will fall by around 10 per cent anyway.

It says RTE especially has become an important element of public service broadcasting in the north and wants access to these channels protected.

An area that is being discussed is whether RTE could be broadcast on northern transmitters. That would give viewers in the north 100 per cent access to RTE. There would be complex rights and licensing issues to overcome but these would not be insurmountable.

Weber Shandwick wins in Europe

I am just back at my hotel from the European PR Awards in Venice and I could not feel prouder.

Weber Shandwick Belfast tonight became the first Northern Ireland agency ever to win a SABRE Award and the only agency from the island of Ireland to collect a top prize for excellence in PR this year. Our award came for our work with IKEA, advising the global retail on the planning application for its very first store in Ireland. Sonya Cassidy, Chris Brown and Stephen McGrath can feel well satisfied that their work is considered the best in Europe.

Across the continent our colleagues are celebrating too. We were the biggest winners of the night collecting seven SABRES. The rooftop garden at the Hilton Stucky Molino will be bopping into the early hours. I’m off to bed and looking forward to getting some sightseeing in before heading back with the trophy to the emerald isle.

It’s all about Europe

O’Conall Street is going back to its roots and heading for Europe tonight. Venice is the destination and the excuse are the SABRE Awards, Europe’s PR Oscars, which Weber Shandwick is the only Irish agency shortlisted for. All will be revealed on Thursday night.

Elsewhere the turkey is for the oven. Dustin is out of Europe. His talent rejected at the first hurdle. That is the end of that one. Tonight the island of Ireland will unite in its rejection of Chelsea Football Club. From the Ballymoney to Bantry Bay the red army is our army.

Alex Ferguson has a selection dilemma. With all 24 players fit and ready for the game of the year he will have a job picking not just his first team but also his substitutes.Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Heaton, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Brown, Neville, O’Shea, Silvestre, Pique, Scholes, Carrick, Giggs, Hargreaves, Anderson, Fletcher, Park, Nani, Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez, Saha, Welbeck are the current inheritors of the great red shirts. This is their night to make history.

Paul Scholes has already been promised a place in the starting line-up after missing the 1999 European Cup victory through suspension while Ryan Giggs is poised to overtake Bobby Charlton’s record of 758 appearances for the club.

According to SportingLife.com, Diego Maradona is backing United tonight. Maradona will support Manchester United in Wednesday’s Champions League final against Chelsea because of Carlos Tevez.

The former Argentina great admitted he will turn into a United fan for one day because he wants Tevez to win the Champions League in Moscow.

Speaking in Cannes, where Maradona is promoting the film ‘Maradona’ by the Bosnian director Emir Kusturica, he said: “I think Manchester will beat Chelsea. My friend Carlitos (Tevez) plays there.

“I think Manchester win tomorrow, even though I have quite a lot of friends in several teams.”

With the hand of God on our side we can’t go wrong. Do us proud lads.

I’ll wake in Venice and let you know what I think.

Let’s do it for Dustin

According to the Press Association, Ireland’s Eurovision entry Dustin the Turkey hopes to score maximum points and be plucked for this weekend’s final.

The cult figure plans to ruffle some feathers with his performance of Irelande Douze Pointe – a parody of Eurovision – at the song contest semi-final in Belgrade.

Our feathered friend has been campaigning hard in cyberspace too. He has a plethora of Facebook and BeBosupport groups and turkey is off the menu at the thousands of  Eurovision BBQs across Ireland scheduled for Saturday night.

Denis Murray had a great interview with the king of foul this morning on the BBC. Dustin reminded our great island that Terry Wogan was born in Limerick in 1592 and sent to England in 1902 as revenge for the famine. Of course O’Conall Street to tally dissociates from such remarks but would like to point out that culchies are, well, different.

Can’t resist the opportunity to see the great bird in action.  
 

Another Monday, another week

They buried Robert Dunlop yesterday, another Irish hero dead. Billy Blease passed away too this weekend. An honest trade unionist and a working class leader now gone from ‘the other place’ to another place in the sky. We had a grand old party on Saturday night. Stu Bailie spoke eloquently about the day rock and roll mixed with politics in Belfast’s Waterfront Hall. He also made a lovely radio documentary which you can hear here.
South of the Border the country is dividing in a referendum campaign over the Lisbon Treaty. Sinn Fein is trying to convince the country the 26 counties should reject Europe. The farmers are on the fence looking for a side deal from the government and the new Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, is making it his business to ensure there is a solid yes vote. O’Conall Street is right behind him on this one.

There was an interesting debate in the Balmoral Hotel in West Belfast last week, hosted by SDLP MLA Alex Attwood. Ruairi Quinn TD (Labour) and Fergus O’Dowd TD (Fine Gael) joined Alex to debate social justice in a new Ireland. They were to be joined by Martin Mansergh TD but his appointment as Minister of State for the Arts the day before made his presence impossible.

I wont go into the details of what was a private meeting expect to say that both TD’s came with a simple message for those gathered. “Don’t think there is a white knight south of the border waiting to save your political souls. Your future is in your own hands and the way to return yourselves to power is through good policies and a strong local organisation.” I have no reason to believe Minister Mansergh would have said anything different.

A big get well soon to the great Senator Edward Kennedy. 

And finally the championship is off. Just one more big soccer game on Wednesday before the summer gets started in earnest. Antrim fell at the first hurdle to Cavan, Galway (a county my late mother proudly played camogie for) got off to a good start. June 8th is the beginning on O’Conall Street with Dublin v Louth. Oisin and I are off to get him a new jersey. They don’t half grow – children.  

One, but not the same… Party night on O’Conall Street

It’s party night on O’Conall Street. Tonight at around 8.00pm the Yes campaign will rock again to mark the 10th anniversary of the U2 – Ash Concert which brought together John Hume and David Trimble and swung a referendum campaign in tailspin.

Looking forward to seeing the SDLP, UUP, Alliance, Womens Coalition, Trade Unionists and business leaders who mobilised the often silent majority for the better future. Looking forward also to seeing many of the ordinary foot soldiers who campaigned for an won a referendum which opened the gates of possibility on this island.  

If you were involved are you have not heard about our little party come down to the Errigle Inn on the Ormeau Road tonight. If you are already coming, see you there.  The blog title? U2 fretted about what to play and settled on One. I thought it was a perfect choice.

Speaking of the silent majority. With Ms Ruane, the North’s Education Minister, continuing to prove that she is more interested in a victory over the DUP than in reaching agreement with them about our children’s future I am reminded of the words of the great poet, Percy Bysshe Shelly:

“Rise like Lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number,
Shake your chains to earth like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you -
Ye are many – they are few.”