The internet finds an engagement ring, PRCA Census spotlights £15 billion industry, fabricated storytelling, Comms School end of term, and a new #FuturePRoof podcast.

I lost Sarah’s engagement ring after she asked me to look after it while we were swimming on Sunday. I dropped it from my pocket somewhere between our local Metro station and the centre of Newcastle late on Sunday evening. It would be an understatement to say that emotions ran high in our household when the loss was discovered.

Social media posts on Facebook and Twitter travelled around the world and back on Bank Holiday Monday. Sarah contacted local jewellers and pawnbrokers throughout the North East on Tuesday morning. Incredibly the ring was returned after somebody tried to sell it at a store in the city.

Huge thanks to everyone who shared the story but especially Pam Jackson at the Newcastle Jewellery Company for spotting and returning the ring. We’ll be raising a toast to you at our wedding for sure.

And now for more mundane and less emotional matters.

📈 PRCA Census: £15 billion UK industry on the march

The PRCA Census is a must-read benchmarking exercise of the public relations industry in the UK. There’s much to celebrate but also some disappointing news. Public relations in the UK is worth almost £15 billion per year and employs 95,000 people. It has grown 8% in the past 12 months. But growth has come at cost. Salaries have been deflated by an average of 8.75% and are down in all areas of the market including freelance, agency and in-house. There’s a full write up on my blog.

🗯 Careless talk

Fabricated storytelling has become commonplace in public discourse. It’s a form of fake news that erodes trust between an organisation and the public. There’s a growing trend in public life for political, civic and business leaders to share everyday conversations to support an argument without providing a reference or evidence for a source. We all have a role to play in questioning authority and the media. If you work in marketing or public relations, you need to go a step further and provide evidence for your sources.

🚌 Comms School reaches end of term

Comms School this week explored how to create content and sources of inspirations. Here’s the write up by my Metia colleague and co-host Marcel Klebba. The webinars series reaches the end of its first term next week. We’ll recap the previous sessions and discussions among the Facebook community of more than 400 active members.  If you’ve any ideas for what might come next please hit reply and let me know. Join us on 21 May 2019, 6:30pm BST.

📻 #FuturePRoof podcast: celebrating over 60s in public relations

There’s a new edition of the #FuturePRoof podcast out in which Sarah and I cover:

• Protecting your creative idea and intellectual property with a shout out to Manifest’s work for Brewdog

• The PRCA Census 2019 and why the industry isn’t making progress on diversity and socioeconomic issues despite best efforts

• The Cision Global State of the Media Report 2019 with insights for pitching to time-pressed and over worked journalists

• The influence of the Trump playbook in local politics in the North East during the North of Tyne Mayoral election

• Book recommendations: Airhead by Emily Maitlis and The Joy of Work by Bruce Daisley

Have a great week.

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