Mark My Words Blog
Welcome to ‘Mark My Words,’ the digital sanctuary where insight meets intrigue, and commentary sparks contemplation.
Delve into the dynamic world of PR maverick Mark Borkowski as he unravels the threads of media, culture, and communication. Mark’s blog is a treasure trove of industry wisdom, offering a backstage pass to the inner workings of publicity and the ever-evolving landscape of modern media.
The growth of PR is threatening the integrity of the press
Great invite in my inbox from Trevor Morris DEBATE! Wednesday 9th April, 6.30pm, Old Cinema, University of Westminster Regent Campus, 309 Regent Street, London W1B 2UW University of Westminster in conjunction with the Media Standards Trust) The motion: The growth of PR is threatening the integrity of the press For: Nick Davies, journalist and author of ‘Flat Earth News’, and Roy Greenslade, former editor of The Daily Mirror and Professor of Journalis Against: Lord Tim Bell, Chairman of Chime Communications, and Phil Hall, former editor News of the World and founder of Phil Hall Associates In the chair : Trevor…
Revealed: The sly PR ruse that made Rambo PC
Hollywood has had publicists as long as it’s had movies. But getting audience bums on seats to see an ageing Sly Stallone is evidence of creative genius writes Mark Borkowski The old silent movie publicist and space grabber, Maynard Nottage, oncewrote that it is essential to think about the after effects of a photo opportunity. One of his cardinal rules was never to place anything on the actor’s or actress’s head when posing for a photographer. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/revealed-the-sly-pr-ruse-that-made-rambo-pc-790437.html
Who spilled the beans on Prince Harry's tour of duty
Poor MOD PR folk what do you do? Alas the news has broken that Prince Harry has been doing his duty for this Grandmother and shooting at the Taliban on the front line in Afghanistan. A huge pat on the back – the young man is certainly courageous. Supposedly, Matt Drudge has broken the media blackout. The head of the British Army, Chief of the General Staff Sir Richard Dannatt mused “I am very disappointed that foreign websites have decided to run this story without consulting us.” I am an old PR cynic and experience suggests that it was someone in the UK…
Risqué for Life
It’s often difficult to get publicity for charities but Nell McAndrew’s participation in Race for life 2008 saw to it that Britain’s largest women-only fundraising event in aid of cancer research had the paparazzi snapping. The photocall in Regents Park saw participants including McAndrew running in just thongs, with risqué body parts covered by body painted shorts and running numbers. Often we see celebrities being used in a clichéd manner to get brands in the papers, but this was a clever idea and it’s fantastic that a celebrity like Nell will do something like this for charity.
Commercials that appeared in days gone by
These commercials that appeared in days gone by are laughable by today’s standards, but I wonder which advertising campaigns that we take for granted today will be looked back upon with the same amount of derision? I dare say numerous products will carry health warnings in years to come, that we currently accept without question.
Geek feast and the Art Academy of 21st Century.
In 1999 I was invited to speak at the Art Academy of 21st Century. It was a gathering of artists, producers and arts and media folk. Everybody from Laurie Anderson to Timothy Garton Ash and was there. The initiative was created by the Dutch government for thinkers, writers, historians, cultural critics, scientists, economists and dramatists to discuss aspects and key concepts for the future of art in 21st Century. The publicity blurb said “invitees will let themselves be blown forward by the wind of curiosity on a stream of imagination and reality to discover unexpected horizons for 21st Century”. …
6 steps to revive your career
She’s just another chav with a cheating boyfriend so I shouldn’t really give a **** but I find Cheryl Cole’s situation astounding. Her ritual humiliation at finding out her partner Cashley Cole, had ended up with an old Premier Football team groupie has led her to lose lots of weight, go to Thailand, get a great tan, tip photographers that she’s there, surreptitiously pose for shots in revealing beach wear, get endless coverage, refuse to speak to her husband, get even more coverage, go to the Brits, steel the show in a classy dress. Hey presto – her lacklustre career…
Pap Publicity
It has been a surreal day. It started on the BBC Breakfast sofa where I rabbited on about Holy Moly’s decision not to accept intrusive paparazzi pictures on their site. It’s an interesting debate but I think the gesture is more of a heroic publicity stunt to garner more notoriety for Holy Moly, than taking any moral stance. The amount of coverage that this act has generated suggests thatit achieved its aims and has brought a massive amount of traffic to their site. As soon as I returned to the office, I was sent his link – http://cgi.ebay.com/The-Worlds-Greatest-Music-Collection My suspicion…
The ski lift pooch
After the huge interest in the Chalford Donkey I am now drawn to this story about a dog on the BBC web site. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/7251195.stm This pet dog is turning heads on the snow-covered slopes – by using a ski-lift. Guinness, a four-year-old collie, leaps into the air and grabs hold of the lift with his teeth at the Glenshee Ski Centre, then hitches a ride. He then decides when to jump off, before running and skidding downhill. He is owned by Graham McCabe, managing director of the ski centre, who said: “Guinness is slightly mad and very cheeky, but also…
Tony Kaye wins a Grammy
I am so pleased for my great friend and client Tony Kaye – who has won a Grammy for best short form video for his promo for Johnny Cash’s “God’s Gonna Cut You Down”. It features a huge array of famous faces lipsyncing to the track from the American V album (produced by Rick Rubin) – the song was one of the last recorded songs of Johnny Cash. Take 3 minutes out and enjoy the wonderful film.
Mark on Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera is the largest and most controversial Arabic News Channel in the Middle East, offering news coverage 24 hours a day from around the world. Mark contributes to its round up of 2007 on Al Jazeera’s media show “The Listening Post” Madelaine McCann Harry Potter
A changing world puts public relations in a spin.
Never mind Nick Davies’s suggestion that overworked ‘churnalists’ are being hoodwinked by PRs, Mark Borkowski says flaks and hacks are both struggling to cope with the news cycle. So the media world is flipping over and over like a gigantic overdone pancake because of the ethical fix caused by publication of Nick Davies’ book Flat Earth News. I have to declare an interest as I did spend an enjoyable couple of hours with Davies about two years ago in a down at heel coffee bar in central London when he was researching the thing. I made sure that I had…
Oscar PR
It doesn’t require a journey to Hollywood to notice the effects of the Oscar campaign, that great PR institution that rules the fortunes of the movie world. The Oscars were created as a way of promoting the movies, but they have become, in the hands of Henry Rogers, Warren Cowan and the endless array of flacks who have followed in their footsteps down the ragged edges of the red carpet, always in the wake of the latest Oscar nominated star, an international multi-ringed circus of the gaudiest proportions. Phineas Barnum would be proud of the enterprising zeal and self-approbating hoo-ha…
Poor spin
This is from CMU Daily, a daily email round-up and one of my favourite sources of info – this nib exposes PR at its worst with journalism as it should be… great stuff PLAY.COM ENTER THE DOWNLOAD MARKET Etailer Play.com yesterday announced it was launching a new UK download platform that will make music available in good old DRM-free MP3. In fact, the press release called the new digital music service and its supply of music without digital rights management restrictions – which, of course, mean the tracks can be played on any digital music player, including the iPod –…
The Chalford Donkey joins the disappeared …
As the Chalford Donkey disappears off the media agenda let’s not forget the other animals that ignited a newspaper firestorm .. The lion of Kabul, Phoenix the calf, The Tamworth Two, Blackie the donkey ,Dolly the sheep – where are they all now?
Lies and newspaper spin
After a particularly difficult weekend helping out a poor innocent who was the subject of some unpleasant attention from a Sunday newspaper, a note arrived in my inbox from a pal who had heard about the dilemma. “Take a look at this to see how the weasel words and lies of a news desk are treated by the on-line community – there was massive fallout from this blackmail letter sent to Abby Lee after she posted it on her site http://girlwithaonetrackmind.blogspot.com/2007/01/three.html. The web is a wonderful space; it exposes the deviant conduct of the off line media – so there is no place to…
How to bring Milan, Davos and Los Angeles to London
Times A £200 million national film centre. A permanent home for fashion shows in London. Funding for avant-garde film projects. A Davos-style arts and finance conference. These are among a range of commitments to the arts being set out by the Government next week. Mark Borkowski, who works in public relations for arts and media organisations, said: “I find it extraordinary that they are looking for a gimmick after the Arts Council caused all that consternation. The whole creative universe is a many-headed hydra and to lump it together is not very creative — it seems very quango-esque. But it…
The Archbishop and his missing PR muscle
Media meltdowns never fail to astound me; the Archbishop of Canterbury’s PR faux pas last week is probably one of the biggest slip ups – it’s high on a list of cock ups alongside Pope Benedict XVI’s Islam blunder, Prescott’s Green Pledge, Stephen Byers getting his times-tables wrong, John Selwyn Gummer feeding his daughter a beef burger, Jo Moore’s 9/11 email, John Redwood’s attempt to sing Mae Hen Wlad fy Nhadau, and even Boris Johnson gaffe in “Liverpooland” It underlines the importance of discussing issues as enormous as this with trusted PR advisers. His ill thought through remarks have now isolated him…
Chalford Donkey Part 20
The media circus moved out of my village on Sunday. Without doubt the best take on the surreal turn of events came from Cole Moreton. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/chalfords-donkey-derby-780514.html The aftermath seems to have divided the community; some suggest that it’s painted the village as full of eccentric geriatric freaks who can’t clamber up the hill, others have a lust to plunder the infamy. Don’t expect the resident film makers to pitch the ponderous “quiet after the storm” to Channel Four…
Chalford donkey
I am compelled to write about an extraordinary event that has spiralled today concerning my own sleepy village in Gloucestershire. Someone once wrote “..if ever a place deserved the often over-used cliché, “undiscovered gem,” Chalford is the place! ” The village is located in a ridiculously lovely valley bounded by strikingly steep hillsides. It’s an idyllic spot nestled on a hill called the Golden Valley—and has been ever since Queen Victoria rode the Great Western railway through the valley. It is an Alpine village with only one small road. Houses are perched up on the hill because it was one…