Editor’s letter
	Is all PR good PR?

I admit that I watch a bit of television, and I'm also happy to admit that my viewing habits are such that I rarely watch anything of a work-related bent. But I got caught just recently when I switched on a television show called Holiday Airport Sydney or some such thing. I've seen the ones from the UK and the US and the one about the inside workings of easyJet.

But as far as I know this Sydney one was a first. The content focused mainly on Qantas staff which for much of the show didn't really paint the company in what I would consider a favourable light. There was the story about the poor family travelling from Sydney to Brisbane who had neglected to realise that they were travelling on an international flight, and therefore needed their passports. From memory dad took off with two of the kids while mum and another child were put on a domestic flight. Mum had a rousing blew with the Qantas lady who seemed hellbent on proving to the mum that she was right and they were wrong. Then there was the story about the poor woman who was paralysed and had to change from her wheelchair to another one to board the aircraft because Qantas occupational health and safety requirements were such that a Qantas staff member was not allowed to carry the wheelchair down a flight of stairs where it would be loaded onto the aircraft. So the poor girl had to be lifted from her chair to the other.

And there was also the story about the Qantas woman who had applied for a promotion. We saw her go in for the interview, and later in the show heard she didn't get the job. Bad luck. And there was also the little brief one about the Qantas aircraft that from memory had to return to Sydney Airport because of an engine problem. Passengers were offloaded and given hotel rooms for the night until a new aircraft was available. Great publicity huh? The show really made me wonder two things: Firstly, why an organisation like Qantas would agree to be filmed for such a show when every Joe Blow knows that they're looking for the sensational stuff that happens. And secondly, whether whoever in Qantas agreed to do the show in the first place really believed that this was actually good PR?

Any PR is not in my humble opinion good PR. It has been proven time and time again that publicity can do so much to a business. VirginBlue part owner, Sir Richard Branson, is a master at getting PR. His is done by performing mad stunts and creating memorable events, and I bet your bottom dollar that it is stage-mahaged to the nth degree.

Can I imagine Sir Richard Branson agreeing to a reality-style television show on his airline? Maybe he's done it already, I don't know. But I can tell you this: if he did, I bet he gets the final cut before anything hits the airwaves. But maybe Qantas did too, and that was the best of the lot. An argumentative staffer, a failed job interview, a damaged plane, and an issue with a member of a minority group. Hmm. Nice one ....not!