Tag: communications

Janey Godley: “Being mildly offensive helps get Corona message out there”

  • Janey Godley discusses positive effect of coronavirus daily briefing voiceovers in exclusive interview for the RSE (Royal Society of Edinburgh)
  • Interview with Kirsty Wark is first of two events focused on importance of effective public communication during coronavirus

Comedian Janey Godley has spoken about the positive impact of her viral social media videos in which she provides a voice-over to the First Minister’s daily coronavirus briefings, in an exclusive interview with Kirsty Wark FRSE for the RSE (Royal Society of Edinburgh), Scotland’s National Academy.

The comedic catchphrase of “Frank, get the door!” has become synonymous with the daily briefings, and while the videos have brought light relief to many, they have also served a much more important purpose of reinforcing the key messages of “stay at home” delivered to the public by the First Minister.

Godley said: “I basically imagined a wee woman called Jeanette at the bus stop, and how she would translate the daily briefings to her friend, wee Agnes.”

In the interview, Godley also highlighted that the comedy sketches are “not about the politician, and it’s not about the politics, it’s about getting the message about coronavirus out there, in an informed, relatable and mildly offensive way.”

The interview was organised as part of the RSE’s Post-Covid-19 Futures Commission’s Public Debate and Participation workstream, and is the first of two events with Janey Godley around the topic of communication during the pandemic.

Next Thursday (17 December) she will be joined by Professor Jason Leitch and Professor Mona Siddiqui OBE FRSE for a live panel event, “Voices of Covid” hosted by Professor Dame Anne Glover; in which they will discuss the importance of communication with the public during coronavirus, and take live questions from the viewers.

Dr. Rebekah Widdowfield, chief executive of the RSE said: “The importance of clear communication around a public issue like coronavirus cannot be overstated. While the Government’s daily briefing has been a steady, reliable way to provide updates to the public, the repetitive nature of the guidance can cause the impact to be somewhat dampened.

“This is where Janey Godley’s contribution has been its most effective – by adding comedy and relatability to the content, it has encouraged the public to reengage with the messaging.

“Supporting public dialogue and debate is a key objective of our Post-Covid-19 Futures Commission and the event hosted by RSE President Anne Glover next week with Janey, Jason Leitch and Mona Siddiqui will provide a deeper insight into the challenges of communication during a pandemic, and allow the public to put their questions to some of the key voices we’ve heard throughout the last nine months.”

“Kirsty and Janey In Conversation” will be premiered on the RSE’s Facebook Page at 7pm on Friday (11 December), and will also be available on the RSE’s YouTube channel.

“Voices of Covid Who Cuts Through & Why?”; with Janey Godley, Professor Jason Leitch and Mona Siddiqui OBE FRSE, hosted by RSE President, Professor Dame Anne Glover, will be  held on Thursday 17th of December at 2.30pm, you can sign up here

BT 999 Key Workers in Scotland handle more than 28,000 calls every day

999 agents across the UK handled a call every three seconds during Covid-19 peak

BT’s technology helps to pinpoint 999 caller’s GPS position

BT’s 999 key workers in Scotland handled more than 10.5 million calls in the last year.

The company today revealed the latest 999 call handling volumes for its two centres in Scotland – with agents handling over 28,000 calls every day – as BT joins the emergency services to mark this year’s 999 Day [9 September], an annual celebration of the work of emergency services across the UK.

BT’s 999 agents are the calm and confident voice answering every 999 call. Six BT call centres handle all the UK’s 999 calls in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England, passing calls to the relevant emergency service.

The number of 999 calls handled by BT has increased significantly in recent years, jumping from around 25 million calls a year in 2000, to over 33 million calls in the last year – nearly a third of which were answered in Scotland. When the UK entered into lockdown in March, BT 999 call advisors were given key worker status and put the needs of the public first to fulfil their critical role in answering 999 calls.

Nationally, during the Covid-19 peak, BT’s 999 call handlers were responding to unprecedented levels of demand, answering a daily average of 105k 999 calls[2]. The busiest periods saw 999 agents handling a call every three seconds. To meet this demand, BT trained an additional 100 staff to support with answering calls, including a number of volunteers who put themselves forward to help out.

Lacey Talbot, a BT employee who volunteered to work in the 999 team during the Covid-19 peak, said: “It was an honour to be trusted to do such an important role and I will never forget my experience.

“It made me feel proud to support the 999 service, especially during a nationwide pandemic. The people who perform this role each day under immense pressures are unsung heroes.”

BT’s Advanced Mobile Location (AML) technology provides a critical role to the emergency services, providing the exact location of a 999 caller by sending an automatic text to the 999 call handler.

The majority of mobile phones (70%) – including Android and Apple smartphones – can now detect that an emergency call is being made, with the caller’s precise GPS position being sent to the 999 service during the call and pinpointing their position to within just three metres in some cases.

This plays a really important role in helping the emergency services reach incidents more quickly and save lives. For example, Police Scotland says it helps them locate people in difficulty who may be lost.

Amanda McDonald, National Head of Service Centres, Police Scotland, said: “When it comes to emergency calls it’s all about location, location, location. Advanced Mobile Location is a valuable tool for Contact, Command and Control (C3) Division to help locate people who are in need of our assistance but don’t know where they are.

“From road traffic collisions, people lost along the coastline or in the hills to ongoing dynamic incidents which require an immediate police response – AML helps us get there.”

Brian Henderson, Contact Centre Manager of BT’s two 999 centres in Scotland, said: “Many people are unaware of the crucial role our people play in supporting our emergency services.

“Our teams answer every initial 999 call and my colleagues in Scotland handled nearly 29,000 calls every single day last year.

“We’re proud to support our emergency services partners and join together today with the nation in celebrating the amazing work they do.”

Alan Lees, BT Enterprise Unit Director for Scotland, added: “During the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic our 999 call agents faced a significant increase in calls, and have gone above and beyond to provide a critical role to the UK public.

“Our AML Technology also enables our call handlers to pinpoint a 999 caller to as close as three metres in some cases. This could mean, for example, being able to tell which side of the motorway the call has come from, helping an ambulance or fire engine get to a scene ten minutes earlier, which is potentially life-saving.

!Our 999 agents and the emergency services do phenomenal work and we’re delighted to be celebrating them on Emergency Services Day.”

BT plays a critical role supporting the emergency services – from its 999 call centres, building the Emergency Services Network (ESN), to BT’s emergency service volunteers working across the country from Cornwall to the Scottish Highlands and globally.

[1] Average daily call volumes YTD (from 1st April 2020 – Sunday 16th August 2020) 

[2] Average daily call volumes during height of lockdown (17th March 2020 – 20th March 2020)

Muckle Media unveils raft of support for Edinburgh businesses

Muckle Media, the creative PR agency, has announced a number of innovative support programmes to help businesses in Edinburgh use PR and marketing to support economic survival.

Three streams of activity will provide much needed support for Edinburgh businesses looking to reach more customers through creative communications campaigns.

£20k Muckle Helps grant fund

The £20,000 Muckle Helps grant is a 100% free pot of PR fee funding, which is open for applications today. Interested businesses can register their details here and provide a one sentence response explaining why they need PR support and what it would be used for.

Applications close on the 31st August at which point the Muckle Media team will select the businesses they feel they can have the most impact supporting.

The fund will support a total of eight campaigns. It is made up of three packages worth £5,000, with one each in the food and beverage, tourism and B2B services sectors and five packages worth £1,000 each which are open to any sector. Additional funding may become available to extend the programme and the agency is interested in hearing from any potential funders that may wish to sponsor or match-fund additional support.

PR Now, Pay Later

In recognition of the huge impact coronavirus has had on cashflow for businesses, Muckle Media is also taking the unprecedented step of offering ten-month payment terms on invoices on request, allowing businesses to access creative PR now that does not need to be paid for until June 2021.

This innovative programme will support seasonal businesses in particular, as they can benefit from marketing now to improve their business performance in the 2020 season, but not pay for it until profits are being made into the 2021 season.

Terms and conditions and guarantees may be required to access this option. The amount of funding available through the PR Now, Pay Later programme will be linked to Muckle Media’s business growth, with every £1,000 of new business won (on a pay now basis) unlocking £500 of pay later fund.

PR bootcamp

Finally, Muckle Media will be offering a ten-week PR bootcamp programme, aimed at PR professionals who would like to review and revise their strategic communications plans in light of the many changes facing the world.

Also open to out-of-work communications professionals looking to upskill, the ten-week bootcamp will follow Muckle Media’s ten step communications planning process and deliver weekly webinar content on topics including insights, strategy, planning and crisis management.

Weekly content will include guest speakers from across the industry and accompanying worksheets will allow participants to create a full strategic communications plan over the course of the ten weeks.

For those short on time or who are only particularly interested in one topic, there is also the option to opt into specific webinars rather than the full course.

Nathalie Agnew, Muckle Media Managing Director, said: “It’s a difficult time for the economy just now so we would like to do everything we can to help businesses to spring back.

“Effective PR and communications are key to cut through the noise and reach potential customers, so we hope that our three new initiatives will prove popular with businesses of all sizes in need of support.”

Briggs: New measures to keep us connected

A range of new measures have come into force to help the country to stay digitally connected during the coronavirus. 

Ofcom, the regulatory authority for telecommunications, has announced new commitments to help broadband consumers during this difficult time.

These include: 

  • Working with customers who are finding it difficult to pay their bill to ensure they are treated fairly and supported appropriately.
  • Removing all data allowance caps on all current fixed broadband services.
  • Ensuring that vulnerable customers receive alternative methods of communication if priority repairs to fix landlines and broadband cannot be carried out.
  • Offering new generous mobile and landline packages to ensure people are connected such as free calls or data boosts.

These commitments, effective immediately, will be delivered by the major internet service and mobile providers, namely BT/EE, Openreach, Virgin Media, Sky, TalkTalk, O2, Vodafone, Three, Hyperoptic, Gigaclear, and KCOM.

 Universal Service Obligation 

From the 20th March, households also now have a legal right to request a decent, affordable broadband connection from BT under the new Universal Service Obligation (USO). 

Lothian residents can check if they are eligible for an upgrade at www.bt.com/uso or by calling BT direct on 0800 783 0223.

Those eligible may be able to use a 4G Hub or will have work done up to £3,400 free of charge to install a fixed line connection. 

Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said: “During the Coronavirus lockdown, being connected to the rest of the world is more important than ever, for working from home and staying connected with friends and family.

 “These measures by Ofcom will ensure that people can remain connected during this pandemic. A number of household in Edinburgh and the Lothian’s will be finding it financially hard at the moment and companies have a responsibility to treat their customers fairly.”

Letters: Thanks,NEN

Dear Editor
May I say the social importance of NEN keeping in contact with the community is so helpful. With the isolation being felt by so many having a negative effect.
When this awful plague is over the community must come together and Public Services are an absolute priority for all Councils everywhere, fully funded and protected.
Tony
Tony Delahoy 
(by email)

Coronavirus: ‘trusted and accurate’ BBC News

BBC News has outlined its initial plans for how it will continue to offer its audiences trusted and accurate news throughout the Coronavirus crisis.

Director of News, Fran Unsworth, says: “These are unprecedented and difficult days. Trusted, accurate information is vital in a public health emergency and the BBC has a key role to play. We will continue offering our audience a continuous news service on TV, radio and online but this will look a bit different in the weeks ahead.

“Like many organisations we are unable to have all our staff on site due to the Coronavirus outbreak. We are therefore making some changes to what we do to streamline our output to ensure we can work with fewer people and protect the staff who are at work.”

TELEVISION

We will be making some visible changes to our output to focus on the latest news, information, live events and audience questions in the coming days. Breakfast, News At One, News At Six and News At Ten will continue to perform a vital role on BBC One, while we make some changes to support our continuous news channels.

We will be making some visible changes to our output to focus on the latest news, information, live events and audience questions in the coming days.

From tomorrow we will be moving to a core news service on the BBC News channel in the UK – with fewer branded programmes. This core service will replace some scheduled programmes on BBC Two including Politics Live and Victoria Derbyshire. We will be talking to these teams about how they can support the core operation, which will also provide live coverage of major news conferences and government briefings to BBC iPlayer, TV and News online.

There will also be a reduction in branded programmes on BBC World News – and more integrated working across live TV output behind the scenes. Some Persian TV programmes will be suspended.

Newsnight and The Andrew Marr Show will remain on air but will be operated by fewer technical staff; while The Andrew Neil Show, Newswatch and The Travel Show will be suspended. HARDtalk will also be suspended from next week.

Question Time will be broadcast at 8pm every Thursday without a studio audience for a period. From next Thursday it will be broadcast from a fixed location each week. Audiences will submit questions and we are particularly keen to hear from those in vulnerable groups.

RADIO

We believe we can protect much of our regular, trusted output at this point – though we are keeping the situation under close review and will be making some initial changes.

On World Service English, The World This Week will be suspended from tomorrow, with World Update and Weekend suspended from next week.

In the UK, radio summaries on BBC Radio 2, 3, 4 and 5 live will be brought together into a single output from 1am on Friday, with 6 Music using the same script. There will be shared production and output on Asian Network and Newsbeat from tomorrow. The Week In Westminster on Radio 4 (Saturday mornings) will be suspended after 21 March. We are making some other changes to radio studio usage and working methods to protect our staff.

DIGITAL

Over the last few weeks we have seen unprecedented use of our digital news services in the UK and around the world – with high consumption of our live pages, explanatory journalism and in-depth reporting. We will be making some changes to the way our teams are organised to sustain these vital services – and to ensure we can distribute important information via social media.

As a result of this we will be focusing content on the accounts that reach the widest number of people, drawing in effort from across the BBC to support our social media activity, and suspending posts on some smaller accounts over the coming days.

PODCASTS

Newscast will change into a daily edition of The Coronavirus Podcast. Americast, Beyond Today and The Next Episode podcasts will be suspended.

Earlier this week the BBC set out how it will ensure it keeps the nation informed, educated, and entertained in unprecedented times.

Director-General Tony Hall said: “We all know these are challenging times for each and every one of us. As the national broadcaster, the BBC has a special role to play at this time of national need.

“We need to pull together to get through this. That’s why the BBC will be using all of its resources – channels, stations and output – to help keep the nation informed, educated and entertained. We are making a series of changes to our output to achieve that.

“We will continue to deliver all the essential news and information – with special programming and content.

“We also will do everything from using our airwaves for exercise classes for older people, religious services, recipes and advice on food for older people and low-income families, and should schools close, education programming for different age groups. We will also be launching a whole new iPlayer experience for children. And of course there will be entertainment – with the ambition of giving people some escapism and hopefully the odd smile.

“Clearly there will be disruption to our output along the way, but we will do our very best.

“It will take time to emerge from the challenges we all face, but the BBC will be there for the public all the way through this.”

The BBC is announcing a wide-ranging package of measures today.

Our core role is to bring trusted news and information to audiences in the UK and around the world in a fast-moving situation, and counter confusion and misinformation.

In particular:

  • We will do everything we can to maintain Breakfast, the One, Six and Ten and ensure they continue to perform a vital role on BBC One
  • We will broadcast a weekly prime-time Coronavirus special on Wednesdays on BBC One, and move Question Time to 8pm on Thursdays, with call-in audiences and remote guests.
  • We will record a daily edition of the Coronavirus podcast, and film it where possible for News channel use in the UK and abroad.
  • We will bring listeners the most up-to-date information on Coronavirus through 5 Live. 5 Live will be answering listeners’ questions with regular phone-ins.
  • We will focus local radio breakfast and mid-morning output on news, open phone lines and expert advice for local communities between 6am and midday.
  • Under the umbrella Make A Difference, every local radio station will join up with local volunteer groups to help co-ordinate support for the elderly, housebound or at risk, making sure people know what help is available in their area.
  • We will keep Newsround bulletins on air throughout the day on CBBC.
  • We will delay the planned closure of the Red Button text news and information service.

We will help people in the UK deal with the impact of the crisis on their own lives, by providing advice, education and support.

Initiatives include:

  • Using The One Show as a consumer programme show for all aspects of the crisis. This will include health and well-being advice, keeping fit and healthy eating tips, as well as links to other BBC output that can help and support.
  • In BBC One daytime, Health Check UK Live will directly address the concerns of viewers who are in isolation, offering tips on how to keep healthy and happy at home.
  • Making BBC Homepage the BBC’s bulletin board supplying clear information – the answers to all the key questions, with public information, health advice and recipes.
  • Launching a virtual church service on Sunday mornings across local radio in England, led initially by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
  • Subject to outside broadcast capacity and our partners, we will aim to broadcast a weekly Sunday morning church service on BBC One, and explore how to support other religions and denominations, including in the run-up to Ramadan.
  • We will work with partners to get older age group exercise routines and other fitness programming into people’s homes on TV or radio.
  • We will retarget the BBC Food website around collections of recipes and advice on what can be made with essentials, especially for older people, and for low-income families.

In the event that schools are shut down, and subject to further work and discussions with the Department for Education, devolved administrations and schools, we are exploring:

  1. A daily educational programme for different key stages or year groups – with a complementary self-learning programme for students to follow, broadcast on BBC Red Button and made available on demand on BBC iPlayer.
  2. Expanding BBC Bitesize content, with our social media running daily troubleshooting Q&As focusing on a different subject each day.
  3. Increasing our educational programming on BBC iPlayer, bringing together the best from BBC Bitesize, BBC Teach and the wider BBC portfolio where educationally appropriate.
  4. Creating two new daily educational podcasts for BBC Sounds, one for primary and one for secondary.
  5. BBC Four and BBC Red Button devoting a block of programming each weekday evening to show programmes that support the GCSE and A Level curriculum. In Scotland, the Scotland channel will support the Scottish NQs and Highers in daytime.

We will keep people entertained, providing laughter, escapism, companionship, shared experiences and a sense of connection to the outside world.

Initiatives include the following:

  • We will bring back many favourite shows, allowing people of all ages to escape into some top-quality entertainment both on our channels and on BBC iPlayer. New boxsets going up shortly include Spooks, The Missing, Waking The Dead, French And Saunders, Wallander and The Honourable Woman, as well as more from BBC Three.
  • We will be launching an exciting new iPlayer experience for children, offering a wide range of entertaining and educational series. It will be easy to use and easy for them to find what’s relevant to them.
  • Radio 1, Radio 2 and Radio 4 will provide the information, explanation and escape that millions rely on. On Radio 4, we will dig into our rich archive of drama with such well-loved titles as The Complete Smiley, all of the novels by the Bronte Sisters, film noir classics by Raymond Chandler, and reassuring favourites as Rumpole and Wodehouse. We will be sharing popular podcast dramas with a wider radio audience for the first time by broadcasting the award-winning Forest 404 and The Whisperer In Darkness. We will also hope to provide some joy and laughter by running classic editions of I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue and Just A Minute.
  • We will do the same in BBC Sounds, looking at bringing back classic sport, comedy and drama, as well as exploring using the BBC’s programme index to allow audiences to search thousands of online archive radio programmes.
  • We will aim to create live fund-raising events, to raise money for coronavirus good causes.
  • At a time when British culture is having to close its doors, the BBC, through iPlayer and Sounds, can give British culture an audience that can’t be there in person. We propose to run an essential arts and culture service – Culture in Quarantine – that will keep the Arts alive in people’s homes, focused most intensely across Radio 3, Radio 4, BBC Two, BBC Four, Sounds, iPlayer and our digital platforms, working closely with organisations like Arts Council England and other national funding and producing bodies. This will include guides to shuttered exhibitions, performances from world-class musicians and comedy clubs, new plays created especially for broadcast featuring exceptional talent, poetry and book readings.

Cairncross Review: a level playing field for UK journalism?

  • Online platforms should have a ‘news quality obligation’ to improve trust in news they host, overseen by a regulator
  • Government should explore direct funding for local news and new tax reliefs to support public interest journalism
  • A new Institute for Public Interest News should focus on the future of local and regional press and oversee a new innovation fund

The Cairncross Review into the future of the UK news industry has delivered its final report, with recommendations on how to safeguard the future sustainability of the UK press. Continue reading Cairncross Review: a level playing field for UK journalism?

Latest news from Trinity Community Council

Here’s your first update of 2019 from Trinity Community Council following an excellent session in January with the Convener of Transport & Environment.

Our next meeting, on February 11th will hear about the massive
development planned for the area beyond Granton Harbour and, in
particular, the plans that the National Galleries have for their
National Collections Facility which is already housed there. Continue reading Latest news from Trinity Community Council