Inside the world of crisis managers and spin doctors as David Yelland and Simon Lewis watch the week's biggest PR disasters unfold. In each episode our hosts go behind the scenes of the latest news stories and find out how, where and when it all began to hit the fan.
When It Hits The Fan is hosted by two of the most influential and experienced people in the game; David Yelland is the former editor of the Sun and alongside him is Simon Lewis, former trouble-shooter for the Queen and Gordon Brown, as well as for major corporations like the Nat West, Vodafone and British Gas. Together they bring decades of experience in both creating and managing crises. They'll share all they know about what's keeping those big stories in and out of the news.
Inside the world of crisis managers and spin doctors as David Yelland and Simon Lewis watch the week's biggest PR disasters unfold. In each episode our hosts go behind the scenes of the latest news stories and find out how, where and when it all began to hit the fan.
When It Hits The Fan is hosted by two of the most influential and experienced people in the game; David Yelland is the former editor of the Sun and alongside him is Simon Lewis, former trouble-shooter for the Queen and Gordon Brown, as well as for major corporations like the Nat West, Vodafone and British Gas. Together they bring decades of experience in both creating and managing crises. They'll share all they know about what's keeping those big stories in and out of the news.
"They make really stupid basic mistakes and they are hopeless at PR."
If you're a podcast about PR, then that quote - made about the BBC this week - is a good place to start when assessing the reputation of the Corporation.
This week, David Yelland and Simon Lewis examine the crisis engulfing the BBC. One which began with a leaked memo, resulted in two huge resignations and now has President Trump threatening to sue for $1bn.
How did we get here and did the BBC make some cardinal PR mistakes along the way?
Maybe the BBC could do with putting in a call to the man dubbed 'Drastic Dave'. On the extended edition on BBC Sounds, David and Simon look at the risks and rewards of parachuting a 'superstar CEO' into a struggling company. In this case, it's Dave Lewis - who's now tasked with turning round drinks business Diageo. The company has seen an immediate bounce in its value, but how long can that PR honeymoon period last?
And what happens if you need to get hold of your CEO - superstar or otherwise - but they're not picking up? The answer, according to the boss of Heathrow, is to give them an extra loud phone.
Thomas Woldbye says that's what he's now got - after sleeping through several alerts when the airport was hit by a huge power failure back in March. David and Simon recall moments from their own careers when they had to decide if, when and how to wake the boss.
Producer: Duncan Middleton Editor: Sarah Teasdale Executive Producer: Eve Streeter Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur Studios production for BBC Radio 4