The Lighter Note

Pic me

All too aware of the truth in the expression ‘people in glass houses ...’, The Note prefers offering advice to fellow journeymen on the punishing road to publishing success.

It is with this mind that we suggest to Engineers Australia WA division president Mark Bush that just one, or perhaps two, photographs of oneself are necessary in the body’s monthly newsletter.

Turning to this august journal’s August edition, as we always do upon receipt in our in-tray, we were bemused to find the good professor appearing no fewer than 21 times among the newsletter’s 12 glossy pages.

Admittedly, 18 of these were of Professor Bush pictured welcoming new chartered members to the fold with certificates. A further two photographs of him were on the same double-page spread as the new members.

The Note has only experienced this kind of overkill in overtly political newsletters from local members of parliament. Which begs the question, is Professor Bush running for higher office?

Spin cycle

The Note takes particular care to avoid mentioning public relations firms whenever possible; they are, we pretend, journalism’s dirty little secret.

But they do exist and they even have names, which it seems change quite frequently.

Take our friends Paul Downie and John McGlue, who only recently reached the end of their workout period after selling their business to international mob Financial Dynamics. The business trading name has changed thus in the past decade: Turnbull Fox Phillips, Turnbull Porter Novelli, Porter Novelli, FD Third Person, FD and now FTI Consulting. That’s bearing in mind that FD Third Person used to be Kudos Consultants and Mr McGlue merged his own business, Castle Gates Australia, in there as well.

Who knows what will spin out next?