Mark Croucher

Thank you all for the benefit of the professional advice on here. I'm sure the senior management of the BBC are delighted to be inundated with e-mails from UKIP members, particularly as the UKIP leadership election already appears on their news diaries. As indeed will be the senior management at Sky and ITN. Why stop there? Why not e-mail every journalist in the country, and refresh their memory on the bloody obvious, as clearly the press office wouldn't think to do it, would we? What do you expect them to say to you? 'Yes, we've got it here, but we're not going to cover it', and open themselves to a further cascade of 'angry from Tunbridge Wells' style correspondence? I just hope that this nonsensical series of e-mails doesn't shag up the coverage already in the pipeline.

As for the nonsense propaganda put about by the more irresponsible, there is a UKIP Press Office which answers to the party leader. Consistent attempts to re-locate it out of the EP building in London have failed because of the cost, which is why it remains where it is. For the benefit of the mathematically challenged, the press office costs a small fortune, and it would require some £250,000+ per year to run it if premises, salaries and phone bills (not to mention the other costs which most pretend don't exist) were picked up by UKIP, which equates to the annual membership dues of almost 2/3rds of all UKIP members.

It was located in Dartford for 3 years, when I donated the rental of the premises and the rates, and moved back to QAG in December 2004.

I've read some pretty stupid bloody threads on here before, but this one must take the biscuit.

M

Colin McNamee

On this one I have some sympathy with your view, Mark and suggest that no more e-mails are sent by members on this issue to the media. There is a potential backfire risk.

mkpdavies

I still haven't seen sod all on Sky, thus I am going to keep moaning at them.

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jim h

If the assistant Editor of Newsnight is not aware of the contest it is a problem!!!!
Take a leaf from other voluntary organisations the head office issues a press release but then they will regularly follow up by organising a members' campaign to keep the issue in front of the decision makers.
Mark says that there is coverage in the pipeline which is good news but when are we going to see some of it. It'll be pretty pointless if it doesnt happen soon because once the ballot papers are issued there will be very little worthy of media attention because all the pre vote activity will come to a standstill . It would be helpful if members could be advised if any media activity is taking place so they could watch it, read it or participate.
Thanks for clarifying that there is a UKIP press office because most members are under the impression it works under the auspices of the MEPs' EU Parliament group.

Lawrie Boxall

There is always going to a potential conflict of interest and divided loyalties when the press officers are employed by individual MEPs rather than by the Party. It is unbelievable that after 7 years of MEPs the UKIP organisation is still imature and undeveloped.

Personally I think funding the leaders office and the press office from central funds should be at the top of the UKIP agenda - and it has to be based in London. UKIP used to have very good premises in London but the leadership managed to **** that advantage away.

Likewise the London Assembly would have been an ideal virtually free base for a press office but as usual the leadership were more interested in creating enemies and focusing on their own paranoia to see clearly what needed to be done. These are the same people (MEPs) employing the press officers now so there is little chance of anything sensible happening while this lot are still in control

I also think the reason why the Press Office cannot communicate more clearly with the members is that very often they don't know until the last moment if a story will appear or someone will get on the telly - and they don't want to look stupid by telling members something is going to happen which then does not.

That is where UKIP is and the press office can't do much about it. It will take a political leader with ideas and vision to change it around.

BASILDON BOY

So how much does a couple of telephone lines, a computer, fax machine, digital camera, scanner, telephone answering machine costs these days?

...and looking at the press output so far - I would expect dozens of press releases sent to hundreds of media outlets every day for £250,000+.

...In the LibDems we ran a pretty good media campaign with 2 or 3 stories each week in 3 or 4 newspapers - costs nothing as stories emailed with photo attachments!

mark starr

Going back to Mark Croucher's comments the official UKIP website lists 10 news releases issued between 6th and 25th July. Now this may be the parable of the duck i.e peace and quiet on the surface but a helluva of a lot going on down below but it doesnt give much opportunity for local branches to issue press releases to the local media by adding a local slant.

However it is clear from the responses on the particular issue of the leadership contest that 2 important individuals within the BBC have responded positively to e-mails sent by members.

The main thing about media contact is that it is time consuming initially when making contact but thereafter it seems straightforward. LOcally I have 9 press/radio contacts but now for a press release I send them an e-mail which costs nothing.

I appreciate Mark C feels somewhat put upon but Basildon Boy has made some interesting comments.