death of a president

January 4, 2016 Darren Caveney

History teaches us many things. Not least how we have responded in times of crisis.

"The Lincoln continues to slow down. Its interior is a place of horror. The last bullet has torn through John Kennedy's cerebellum, the lower part of his brain.

"...at first there is no blood. And then, in the very next instant there is nothing but blood...Gobs of blood as thick as a man's hand are soaking the floor of the back seat..."

I recently read The Death of a President, William Manchester's brilliant unflinching account of the events leading up to and the aftermath of the assassination of John F Kennedy in November 1963.

You can see the Wikipedia entry about the book here.

Everything is in here, from the paintings on the wall of the hotel room where Kennedy spent his last night alive to the layout of the emergency room the president lay in at Parkland Memorial Hospital as doctors tried vainly to save his life.

how to give the smaller people a bigger voice

September 2, 2015 Darren Caveney

Know your stuff. Know who covers your patch then get to know them. It's an approach that's as old as the hills but one that continues to bear fruit if done with skill.

by Russ Cockburn

It’s interesting to view how much the economic pendulum has swung since the global recession of 2009.

Back then a large part of the media’s agenda was sewn up with the big boys, the car producers, aerospace giants and the financial powerhouses would regularly adorn the pages of the nationals and the airtime of our major broadcasters.

Stories from SMEs - small, medium enterprises - did get covered, don’t get me wrong. However, more often than not they were neatly packaged away in their own special enterprise section and very rarely did they make it into mainstream news.

seven things you always wanted to know about the general election but were afraid to ask

May 6, 2015 Darren Caveney

You may have heard, there's an election on. Since we're into the closing stages, comms2point0's resident political nerd Will Mapplebeck does some myth-busting and fact-finding about the big day.

by GUEST EDITOR Will Mapplebeck

What are we likely to wake up with on 8^th of May?

It's probably coalition time again, but this time it may take more than two to tango. Labour and Conservatives may get between 270 and 290 seats each so it's likely to take a number of parties to get over the magic mark of around 326 which gives you a majority even though, in practice, you'll probably need fewer seats to function as a Government. Remember, just because if either Conservative or Labour get the largest number of seats, that doesn't necessarily mean that they will go on to form a Government.

66 nuggets I picked up at #ComsAcad

June 15, 2014 Darren Caveney

The World cup may have kicked off this week but all the talk in Manchester was about communications at the inaugural Public Sector Communications Academy.

by Darren Caveney

I’m a little biased, but I thought that this was the best Academy I’ve attended and the collaboration with central government added a welcome extra dot-joining and learning dimension.

For many communications pros it is becoming harder and harder to get to events like this one. But I believe that it’s never been more important to continue to learn, to expand and to share.

That’s what’s so great about Government Director of Communications, Alex Aiken’s drive to invest in government comms people and their development – it is setting a tone and direction which other parts of the public sector can point to in their own organisational fights for investment in up-skilling.

how social media is helping the ministry of defence

February 8, 2014 Darren Caveney

Opening up to use social media can be tricky. Not least if you are the Ministry of Defence. Which is why this case study shows how one department of the MOD adopting social can lead to some unintended benefits.

by Tony Moran

With social media now so much a part of our everyday lives, it’s easy to forget what life was like without it.

digital communications and channel shift in government

April 16, 2013 Darren Caveney

With the pace of change ever faster there has never been a greater imperative to learn. Resaercher and blogger Liz Azyan has spent more than five years at first hand mapping those changes. She talks here about her second white paper on the subject. This time for Govdelivery and LGEO Research.

by Liz Azyan

A few years ago I wrote a white paper on digital communications in government. I received useful feedback and also insight into the world of governments everywhere on how they were embracing change that was happening in the digital landscape.

However, the landscape of government communications is still changing, especially within the digital space. And its not just the landscape, it US - as people, as individuals, have changed.

traditional comms? digital comms? or both?

June 11, 2012 Darren Caveney

Civil servant Ann Kempster cuts to the heart of a dilemma. Should we keep traditional comms and digital comms separate? Or united? You can also read the original - and the comments - here

By Ann Kempster

I attended a fab off-grid get-together this afternoon of a mix of digital and press folk in government today. I was very honoured to have been included.

We looked at what is working well, what isn’t and what the perfect future might look like. A lot of interesting discussions and models for the future. Really got my brain buzzing on a Friday afternoon….