PR Leader's Panel believe the worst is still to come for News International

London, 13/07/2011 -Leaders in the PR industry believe that the News of the World hacking scandal is just the beginning of the troubles News International is about to face, even though the News of the World closed at the weekend.

Interestingly, only a quarter of the Leaders Panel believed that the decision to close the popular Sunday tabloid was to try to limit the damage of the News International brand, compared to nearly 50% who believed that the decision was made to protect the newspaper publisher's controversial takeover of BskyB. However, the panel was split regarding the implication the hacking scandal will have on the outcome of the takeover, with 37% believing it will delay the takeover by months and 33% believing it now makes the takeover unfeasible.

PRCA Chief Executive Francis Ingham said: “The News of the World allegations are both astonishing and appalling. The wall of contempt that has hit News International is remarkable both in its ferocity and its justification. Put all that together with the growing extinction of the newspapers' current business model, and I'm glad not to be in the newspaper industry right now.”

In terms of political consequences, around two-thirds of the panel believe that Prime Minister David Cameron has suffered a temporary dent in public trust of his judgment due to his initial appointment of former News of the World editor Andy Coulson to head his communications team. This is compared to a third who answered that his relationship with Andy Coulson will have long term ramifications for public trust in his judgment.   

                                                                        


                                                                                                         - ENDS -

Notes for Editors

Media enquiries - please contact Tom Hawkins, Research and Policy Executive - tom.hawkins@prca.org.uk / 020 7233 6026

About the PRCA

Who we are: Founded in 1969, the PRCA is the professional body that represents UK PR consultancies, in-house communications teams and PR freelancers.  The PRCA promotes all aspects of public relations and internal communications work, helping teams and individuals maximise the value they deliver to clients and organisations.

What we do: The Association exists to raise standards in PR and communications, providing members with industry data, facilitating the sharing of communications best practice and creating networking opportunities.

How we do it and make a difference: All PRCA members are bound by a professional charter and codes of conduct, and benefit from exceptional training. The Association also works for the greater benefit of the industry, sharing best practice and lobbying on the industry's behalf e.g. fighting the NLA's digital licence.

Who we represent: The PRCA represents many of the major consultancies in the UK, and currently has more than 230 agency members from around the world including the majority of the top 100 UK consultancies. We also represent around 60 in-house communications teams from multinationals, UK charities and leading UK public sector organisations

Comments (0)
Think before you print! Save energy and paper! Do you really need to print this page?
Fee Income
X
Drag here
  • This field should only be completed by the individual with responsibility for your company's PRCA membership.
  • NB - Once you check the box to the left of this field and click update this figure is fixed for the entire year.
  • Fee income is defined as fees or income arising from time spent on carrying out public relations consultancy work plus any mark up and any handling charges or profits made on disbursement or expenses.
  • This figure
    1. will be used to calculate your membership subscription fee for 2009
    2. will be published on the PRCA website and in the yearbook.
  • This figure must include the fees from any subsidiary companies but not associated companies (see below).
  • If you are bound by Sarbanes-Oxley please select that accordingly, we will contact you individually about your fee income.
Holders of public office
X
Drag here
  • Please list any employees who hold any public office including members of House of Parliament, members of local authorities or of any statutory organisations or bodies who are full- or part part-time directors, partners, staff, special advisers or consultants retained by the consultancy
Subsidiary companies
X
Drag here
  • These companies are entitled to the same benefits as other PRCA members, they must abide by the PRCA Professional Charter and Codes of Conduct and their fee income must be included in the fee income field above.
Associated companies
X
Drag here
  • These companies are not included in your membership and as such do not benefit from PRCA member benefits. These companies are not covered by the PRCA professional charter.
Current clients
X
Drag here

The clients listed in this section are those which retain a consultancy on a continuing basis to deal with their public relations either in a specialised area or as a whole. One asterisk (*) against a client's name indicates that the consultancy has been retained by that client for three years; two asterisks (**) indicate that it has been retained for at least five years. Clients served on an ad-hoc basis are listed separately.

Adhoc clients
X
Drag here

Clients for whom you have undertaken work in the last twelve months on a project rather than a retained basis

Conflict of interest clients
X
Drag here

NB This will not appear as a separate list in the yearbook.