Media training lessons from another country
A propensity to blame others and our environment while avoiding personal responsibility has become a national trait. It now appears however, that we do not have this on our own…
We are all familiar with the allegations of corruptions and the dalliances of the 72-year-old Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, and his apparent shameless predilection for what Italian call “veline”. This is a term that has come to mean young girls with no talent (but other endowments) except for appearing on television.
Well in his hour of need, the philandering PM has adopted a media strategy that takes some beating. Firstly, he uses his lawyer as his third-party advocate (this man is also a parliamentarian); who, secondly, explains that all the allegations are flawed because they are against him – and that’s just anti-Berlusconi-ism!
We know this because there is this fascinating article about Berlusconi’s scandals in the September issue of Vanity Fair entitled, “All Broads Lead to Rome”.
Let’s look at some of the key messages in response to Vanity Fair’s questions.
His separation from his wife? Response: He still loves his wife. Perhaps if he was able to involve his wife more in his life. But this is not so easy, because he is a very busy man, and also a man with a strong character.
His relationship with 18-year-old (barely) Noemi? Response: He has a long relationship with her family. It is common for people to remember things differently.
The allegation that a British lawyer took bribes from Berlusconi, in exchange for giving false testimony in an investigation into Berlusconi corruption. Response: But you see he was the main witness, so that must be proof that he was not given money.
If only dealing with our media was that simple.
Tags: Affair, Corruption, media, Media strategy, Silvio Berlusconi, Vanity Fair