More paid PR by Malaysian Government?

The Malaysian authorities have handled well the global scale daily media conference on a missing Malaysian Airlines (MAS) fight, said a communications expert Ethan Becker.

The US-based Speech Improvement Company Inc. president said that through his observation of several of the media conferences, the communication between the authorities and the media improved as it came along, although it was less effective at the earlier stage.

“There were some moments when they fell off their game, some moments when their frustrations came through and at other moments I think they did a very good job of being calm and collected”, he told reporters after delivering a talk entitled “Strengthening Crisis Communication” here [Putrajaya] today.

Becker commended the manner of Ahmad Jauhari when handling one of the press conferences where he shared the pain of the victims’ family members, saying the MAS CEO had done a good job…

“Sometimes, at a press conference, because each media outlet has its own agenda, some folks are just looking to get emotional and some facts just cannot be revealed at that time because maybe they don’t have all the information,” he said.

The half-day seminar was organised by the Razak School of Government (RSOG) …. Becker is also co-author of the best-selling book “Mastering Communication at Work” and holds an honorary doctorate from Fitchburg State University.

Our comment

Is this just more paid PR orchestrated by the Malaysian Government and fed through Bernama?

It certainly looks like it!

If so, perhaps the PM’s office and key consultant Mr Paul Stadlen (ex-APCO and ex-FBC Media) could advise on how much they paid this time?

Peruse this article (below) from Becker’s alma mater, Fitchburg State College, USA, and draw your own conclusions:

“Becker is co-author of the best-selling book “Mastering Communication at Work,” and has developed customized motivational training programs related to communication for a number of businesses, organizations and governments worldwide.

“The work is great, because one day I could be sitting down with the leader of a country, coaching them on how to address the media, or negotiate a particular situation, the next day, I could be working with a teenage pregnant mom…”

While Becker said he can’t discuss his most interesting clients because of nondisclosure agreements, he said he has learned a great deal..

When Becker told his friends he and his family were going to move to Malaysia for three years for a long-term assignment, some of them expressed fear about his possible interaction with Muslim people.

“The first time I was coaching someone in Malaysia, a Muslim woman who was fully covered, I remembered sitting down, thinking, ‘Is she going to hate me because I’m an American?'” Becker said.” [Posted 15/05/12]

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