Top spinners

A family of lobbyists and spinners with feet in all camps ... Government's food rating website and the clash of interests ... Remembrance of advice past ... Peanut butter lobbyists instructed judges and beaks on how to handle the meeja 

Nash (centre): assistant health minister with an unhealthy agendaTracey Cain ... Tracey Cain ... Where have we heard that name before? 

Trace has been in the headlines for the past week. 

She's the proprietor of a lobbying and spin doctoring outfit called Australian Public Affairs.   

APA's clients include companies that manufacture and purvey fat foods - e.g. Cadbury, Oreo Biscuits, Kraft peanut butter and the Beverages Council.  

Tracey's husband, Alastair Furnival, co-owns APA and on Friday (February 14) resigned as chief-of-staff to Assistant Health Minister, Fiona Nash. 

It took a while for someone in the government to conclude that it wasn't desirable for the same individual to be, allegedly, working to promote community health, while at the same time being a beneficiary of a business whose job it it to promote junk food. 

It all came to a head when Furnival directed the removal from the internet of a government website giving rating information about the nutritional value of foods. 

His PR/lobbying interests prevailed over his government obligations to the community. 

In this context APA's statement of ethics is particularly instructive. 

Gnashing her teeth Senator Nash flipped-flopped about as at first she defended Furnival then cut him loose. 

Sayonara Alastair. 

Cain: watch out for the spiral notebooksBut, back to Tracey Cain. 

Through APA's holding company, Strategic Issues Management, Tracey was retained by the judges lobby group, the Judicial Conference of Australia, to advise on a media strategy. 

Tracey came up with a booklet called Working with the Media: A Guide for Australian Judges and Magistrates. 

See: Roadmap to better intercourse 
 
The booklet was chock-a-block with useful tips for the bewildered judges and beaks. 

The aim was ... 

"To provide a broad framework for more positive and efficient intercourse between the Australian judiciary as an institution, and the news media." 

Q: How should a judge identify a journalist?

A: You will usually find that journalists travel in groups. You will recognise them because they always sit at the back of the room, often arrive late and leave early, carry a small spiral notebook, and are constantly looking for someone to give them some background.

Q: How should a judge decide whether to engage with a journalist?

A: What can I achieve through engagement? Will my involvement introduce balance and accuracy? Do I have enough expertise to engage in this situation? What can go wrong if I do not engage or if I do engage? 

If the decision is made to "engage" then there must be consideration of further burning issues, such as:

• Key message development - keep the messages in front of you at all times. 

• Research - ask yourself repeatedly why you are involved in this story and what you want to achieve through that involvement. 

• Translating a legal message into 'media speak' - the media grab needs to be short, sharp and simple. Remember, the average age of the target audience of most metropolitan newspapers is between eight and 15. 

It gets better. There is advice for handling some of the trickiest assignments in life.

How to approach a journalist:

Do not approach a journalist unless you have a credible story. Make sure you know what you want to say. 

How to write a media release:

Do not provide too much information.  

Standard interview techniques:

Make sure you are prepared, calm and without distraction. Be positive, upbeat and convincing, you must win credibility and respect. 

For radio interviews:

Speak slowly and clearly. Remember to breathe - stand up so that the air flows more freely. 

For television interviews:

Wear plain clothes of solid colours, avoid stripes or bright patterns Do not wear a hat or sunglasses unless relevant to the story. 

Ms Cain also gave a a couple of presentations to gatherings of the judiciary, in 2002 and 2003. 

After mentioning a mysterious something called, "the story clock formula to new areas of journalism", the alarmed judges were warned:

"Stand by for a more personal approach to judicial officers and to stories about the workload and efficiency of the court system."

She talked of the "murky waters of Australian journalism" and how the media guide provides a "fairly detailed roadmap".

Maybe judges should be aware of the even murkier waters of spin doctors and lobbyists. 

See presentations to judges by Tracey Cain in 2002 and 2003