Stay tuned to see who he will interview next!

Midtown London is defined as the triangular sized area above the Thames, which stretches from Trafalgar Square in the West, to St Paul’s in the East, up to King’s Cross in the North – where I live.

Apparently the area is now cool thanks to big name media companies and designers, such as Alexander McQueen and Agent Provocateur, flocking to the area to take advantage of the more competitive rents.

I’m not sure this really makes the area cool or is a sign that Midtown London is escaping the economic downturn. In a recession it’s not uncommon for businesses to reduce their costs by relocating or downsizing to a less expensive office. But it’s a good angle and I like it!

Class of 2008: Public Relations with Media BA (Hons), The University of Huddersfield.

It would appear that man, Boris Johnson was listening. Or at least his aides were.

Teaming up with a famous young Londoner like Lily is a very shrewd way for the new Mayor of London to position himself as a proactive crime fighter committed to reducing the levels of knife crime in the City. That said I very much doubt that a photoshoot with Lily and a brainstorming session will make a massive difference. Kids won’t stop carrying knives because Lily says so. Kids will stop carrying knives when they feel safe on the streets.

I think many knife holders are carrying knives to protect themselves rather than to commit crimes. So rather than a knife amnesty or a Knife Aid type concert I think working to publicise initiatives setup to lower the rates of crime and news that crime rates have dropped will have a bigger effect.

A good example of this is the news released today that the rate of recorded crime has nearly halved since 1995, and is 9% down on last year. However I doubt that will be on the front page of the newspapers tomorrow. Especially since the BBC has reported that another youth has been knifed to death tonight, and tomorrow is the day of Ben Kinsella’s funeral.

The media should cut down on sensationalist reporting of crime that just heightens people’s fears and focus on the facts, no matter how mundane they are. But sadly I think selling papers is more of a priority than saving lives. The BBC has an article reporting a similar idea here, and a nonsense article here claiming that Nike has shelved its Air Stab trainer because of fears it promotes knife crime. That shoe has nothing to do with knives – it’s a stability shoe!

But is it really that easy to change your image? A short burst of positive PR with a few days charity work, a well staged photo shoot and some well timed news releases. Or does it demand a more sustained effort to make a difference. I’d opt for the latter. If Harry and William went out next weekend and had one too many bottles of champagne, before getting photographed stumbling out of some posh club in a sick stained shirt all that hard work will have been for nothing. At least in terms of improving their image.

The princes aren’t the only ‘royals’ who have been working on their reputation recently. The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, has been in the background working hard on his. The pop star who Max Clifford once described as “the hardest job in PR after Saddam Hussein” is now working on a new album, and collaborating with some of the biggest names in the music industry. I’m not sure how Wacko Jacko has improved his image, but whatever he’s done it certainly seems to have been successful. After all I can’t imagine the likes of Kanye West, Akon, and Black Eyed Peas star, Will.i.am, were falling over themselves to work with a singer recovering from a second set of peadophilia allegations.

What other public figures have turned their reputation around?

Here are my top 5:

1. David Beckham. Following kicking Diego Simeone during the 1998 World Cup, Beckham went on to become one of the country’s favourite footballers and captain of the England team.
2. Nelson Mandela. Once regarded as a terrorist, Mandella is now thought of as a key freedom fighter and in 1993 was presented with a Nobel Peace Prize after becoming the11th President of South Africa. However he was only taken off the US list of terrorists twelve days ago.
3. Kylie Minogue. Sometimes all it takes to change your image is a decent pair of hot pants. However this might not work for all.
4. David Hasselhoff. Embracing his online persona as the Hoff with some good humour was all it took for the aging actor to breathe some new life into his celebrity status.
5. Take That. Once in a while doing nothing can revive your image. There’s a reason they say what goes around comes around…

Andy Green of Green Communications, who is the honorary research fellow at the University was also there offering an insight into the public relations world.

Roger Haywood left me very impressed with his tales of public relations past and his hopes for the future of the profession. He offered us advice for when we apply for jobs, saying that we should includea photograph of ourselves with out CV. To make it truly standout from the hundreds of other applicants who might be applying for the same position. A great little piece of advice I think.

Douglas Smith invited us into his world of political public relations and lobbying. He presented us with a three-page handout containing plenty of information on how to succeed in the political arena of public relations. Although this is not an area that is of particular interest to me, I found it incredibly useful with regards to my dissertation and my plans to discuss political blogging.

Best of all – the event was free!

I’ve booked my room at the travelodge on London City Road and my train tickets there and back. Sorted.