A weekly roundup of talking points, sans effort
Thought for the week
“Fully compliant beef lasagne will be in stores again soon.” A spokesperson for Findus UK, after 18 of the company’s products were tested, and 11 were discovered to contain between 60 and 100% horsemeat as Britain’s food supply chain scandal worsens.
Worth the paper it’s printed on?
This week’s light news success stories include…
…Harry Styles of One Direction celebrating his birthday with a stripper, and making it into 4 articles, as did Burma’s first ever literary festival, the Irrawaddy Literary Festival…
…the £30,000 nightclub bill Tamara Eccleston rang up, the crux of 6 articles, in contrast university admissions remaining low after the tuition fee hike only managed to hit 3 headlines…
…and finally, Beyonce Knowles admitting she was lip-synching at Obama’s inauguration ceremony, adding to the controversy and creating another 38 articles, far more than the 2 written as a result of Ministers admitting 100,000 more children will be living in poverty because of the current benefit cuts.
(Source: Journalisted)
Weekly high
This month is synonymous with Valentine’s Day, and love related PR stunts. However, this week we’ve been far more entertained by this Shrove Tuesday inspired effort from the Happy Egg Company, which features the firm’s own Wallace & Gromit style pancake-making machine. Truly unforgettable.
Weekly low
Ministers finally decided to come clean and admit more children will be living in deprived conditions as a result of ongoing austerity measures, and then Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, and schools minister David Laws decide not to scrap GCSEs, and not to introduce a new English Baccalaureate Certificate. Needless to say then, what little faith remained in Britain’s coalition government looks even more depleted.
Things that might happen next week…
By next Friday British food producers must prove any meat used in their products does not contain anything other than the animal it is supposed to, the European Union may implement historic cuts to its budget for the first time in 56-years, and a backlash is likely to arise after David Cameron proposed nurses should be paid based on how well they look after patients following the Mid Staffordshire Hospital scandal.
Dates for your diary
Tuesday 12th February; All Saints, MMU, Oxford Road, Manchester; Search Analytics & Social School – SASchool 2013- Back for its fourth year, the SASchool returns with 5 of the city’s leading digital agencies on hand to help students break into modern marketing.
Tuesday 12th February; The Adelphi, Leeds; Big Chip Roadshow- Orchard Recruitment sponsors the biggest digital awards event outside of London. Established in 1997, partners from Manchester, Leeds, and Liverpool help select and shortlist the impressive contenders.
If there is a success story, blunder, or news event you’d like to see included email helloATsmokinggun.co.uk or tweet using #blaggersblog. Happy Friday!