Pity Alistair Campbell
I’ve never had an opinion on Alistair Campbell one way or the other. He’s just been one of Tony’s cronies, and that’s about all that’s ever registered with me. 
Until yesterday, when I was sitting in traffic in the pouring rain on the M25 listening to Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine show. Alistair was on to talk about his trials and tribulations in coping with alcoholism, stress and depression. Presumably this interview was on the back of his appearance as the keynote speaker at the Mental Health Media Awards.
It’s a shame that he suffers from these conditions, but one in six Britons do suffer from depression and stress at some point in their lives, so he’s not alone.
The part of the interview that took me by surprise was Alistair’s clearly expressed disdain, no hostility, to the news media and journalism in general. He didn’t hold back in his criticism of news coverage; he claims nobody even read the papers. He didn’t seem to see any irony in using the media to publicise this cause.
This, after he’s made a career out of the media profession from both sides of the equation, in PR and as a journalist. How sad that he’s spent his life’s work in something he has so little respect for. He is to be pitied, indeed.
Filed under: public relations
Subscribe to our feed
Subscribe by Email
Does he have a book coming out or is he a man of independent means that can afford never to work again? Or, will he become a talking head–or talk show host?
We all need to pay our taxes. How will this man bring in a living to do so?
Rita
His wife has a very good job. She’s Cherie Blair’s advisor. Maybe he’s a house husband?
He was doing the media rounds on this. I heard him on Victoria Derbyshire’s 5 Live show and later on BBC Radio 4’s 5pm news. This was a good exercise in chipping away at the solid belief (apparently held by 6 out of 10 employers) that people who suffer from depression or other forms of mental illness are not good workers - as opposed to people with bad backs or chronic sinusitus.
The bigger problem is encouraging sufferers themselves to ‘come out’ and discuss it, without the fear that they will gain a stigma or become unemployable.
Re: his attitude to the news media - I have heard him describe the Daily Mail as a ‘dreadful newspaper’ (I suspect Paul Dacre might be rather proud of that) and many journalists have testified to his lack of respect to them as individuals.
But I think that he does respect the media as an institution (news media and PR). He knows how effective the industry is in moulding and changing public opinion - which is why he is doing his bit for promoting mental health awareness?
Thanks for stopping by Pete. I do understand the media strategy behind Alistair’s recent interviews. But it was his undisguised contempt for the news media in general that took me aback.
[...] do we get such a bad rap? I suspect it’s those of our colleagues who work in high profile politics. Yesterday’s Telegraph tells us how Gordon Brown’s spending on spin hits £1.75 [...]