To have two exciting pieces of positive news to tell in a single week is surely a PR officer’s dream. The team at Laban must therefore be thrilled at being able to announce that it has won the coveted Stirling Prize in the same week as it announces its merger with Trinity College of Music to create the UK’s first music and dance conservatoire (p1).
For others, PR is more of a challenge. FACT (p8) has had more than its fair share of bad news to manage, and is well qualified to offer sound advice to anyone. “Clear and honest communication with all stakeholders” has been at the heart of the organisation’s approach to its PR, and this principle has enabled the organisation to engage the support of its key stakeholders, including staff. Contrast this with the news of the National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT, p3), whose Directors are hoping it will cling to life on the basis that creditors (including its former staff) will agree to a Company Voluntary Arrangement offering them a “return” on the debts owed to them – presumably in lieu of the full amount of money they are owed. A statement announcing this proposal was made by the Board and placed on the company’s website two weeks after staff were made redundant and several days after the offices were mysteriously closed. Whilst former staff have hinted in their recent statement that the company’s troubles go beyond the financial, NYMT refused to comment on ArtsProfessional’s written questions concerning the reasons behind the company’s closure. Whether or not NYMT manages to survive its current troubles, battening down the hatches and refusing to deal with legitimate questions posed by stakeholders and the media is unlikely to aid its long-term credibility.
Published: 20-10-2003