The Dawson report and changes at the top of the accc are remodelling the regulatory landscape. From CFO in August 2003.
Recent posts
CFO: Corporate Campus
From CFO in 2002. THERE has never been a better time for custom-built facilities that cater to your business. The pay-off is accelerated growth, recruitment advantages and higher retention rates,
AFR Boss: What’s it worth
Some afternoons dog walking I bump into Maurice (human) and Maggie (Labradoodle) and aside from dog discipline the conversation turns to valuation techniques. Maurice is an expert in valuing high tech companies. The answer? You could read this article from AFR Boss in 2002 and have a crack at Real Options Theory. Or it could be that value is in the eye of the beholder. What’s it worth? WHEN a model becomes standard, two things happen: critics start to pick […]
AFR Boss: Tips on business cards
Back to freelance journalism after 18 months of running my own magazine business, which is going through ambigious times, shall I say. Perhaps it’s time for a new businesscard. Here are some tips from something I pulled together for AFR Boss a while ago. CARD SHARP If you think your business card is just about passing on your telephone number, think again. It can make or break your image. Paper quality. Too thin looks cheap; too thick, as if it […]
The Australian: Bad news is good for some
The September 11 terrorist attacks caused a big spike in users of all media outlets i reported in The Australian post 9/11. The same can be said for the recent bombings in London – just add bloggers to the story below. IT may be macabre, but bad news is good news for the news media. The terror and war of the last two months have proved no exception. Across the board, all media outlets have increased their audiences since the […]
The Australian: Journalists take flak
As I remember it I caught flak for this story in The Australian which was part of this one. In cutting the original in two Noel Turnbull’s comments, below, appeared in both stories by accident and gave one spinner an opportunity to knock me. FLAKS, spin doctors, the enemy, the dark side. These are just some of the phrases journalists use to describe those in the public relations industry. Noel Turnbull, chairman of leading local PR firm Turnbull Porter Novelli, […]
The Australian: Churn me right round, baby
If ad agencies were stressed then, as I wrote in The Australian, what is it like in 2005? ADVERTISING has always been an insecure place to work. But with gruelling office hours and job insecurity driven by a constant shuffling of accounts between a few of the bigger agencies, staff turnover is often four times the average for business in general. Even in current hard times when many agencies are cutting jobs, it is a problem to retain the right […]
The Australian: How PR runs the shady world of damage control
I’m not sure this story was too popular with PRs.The real confession was that my client was a leading tobacco company. We used to train their sales reps from french West Africa and work with a leading securtrity company in running crsis management workshops. From The Australian September 2001. CONFESSION time. I used to be a PR consultant. One client paid my British-based employer $250,000 a year to maintain a watching brief; to keep them out of the press. One […]
The Australian: Government’s ad spend a taxing issue
Another Government ad campaign by Ted Horton. Another Furore. This article for The Australian looked at whether the Howard government spent too much on its advertising in 2000. It’s worth revisiting. DON’T smoke. Don’t take drugs. Don’t drink and drive. Pay taxes, get private health cover — vote. The chant of a nanny government costs each Australian about $4 a year. A total of $72 million is spent on government advertising in an average year — until an election nears.In […]