By Gabriel Princewill
The director of the United Kingdom Home Care Association, Colin Angel has been highlighted among those who needs to improve the expertise of his press team.
An experienced representative of the home care sector with policymakers, regulators and the media since 2004, mr. Angel’s press representative appeared unskilled and lost for words when The Eye Of Media.Com contacted him last week to inquire about an expressed concern that post Brexit immigration policies would spell disaster for the care sector.
Although mr. Angel had been in meetings all day discussing the topic and had made representations to some sections of the media, his press representative, mr Matthew Kierman was unable to reflect his views nor communicate them at all. Press representatives of individuals or organisations have a duty to address pressing issues about their field or obtain the necessary information to do so.
Individuals who have representatives in their media section ought to be well primed about topical issues of the day in case they are questioned about it by a member of the press.
In any event they don’t have the required information at their finger tips, it is incumbent upon them to obtain it as quickly as possible. All for his exalted position of policy director of a Home Care Organisation, mr Angel obviously has a lot to learn about adequately training his press department. His representative, mr.Kierman had be contacted for over 4 hours but became agitated when asked why he could not do his job which was to deliver an answer to the questions he was being asked relating to complaint his boss had been making about pressure on the care system.
Kierman made the fatal error to claim to have formerly worked as a journalist, without stating for which publication, yet lacked the nous to tackle a journalistic inquiry about an area his employer presides as a director. Evidently, inadequate direction has been given to a man who ought to know that competence and effectiveness are fundamental attributes required of those working in any press capacity. When stuck on questions he was unable to answer, he foolishly dropped the phone, lacking foresight that he would be exposed for his indiscretion which gives him away as a paper weight media officer.
The media representative for another organisation Unison, Myrne was by contrast, a lot more competent. Myrne Garfield , right from the moment he answered the phone, flowed smoothly and confidently in answering the same questions put to the media officer of Colin Angel, referring us to a further section of their website where we could get further information to bolster our understanding and coverage of the topic. There was a wide disparity in class and standard between the two men doing the same job without any constraint in resources, except training.
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