Candid Cameron

Well he's not been entirely candid, but David Cameron has proved that he's more of a master of the media than his doppleganger, the only slight more right wing T Blair Esq. He decided his strategy well in advance for handling accusations of a fly puff on the exotic cheroot behind the bike sheds (do they have bikes at Eton?). And he stuck to it. It wasn't a denial - it was a principled stand on the right for privacy over any mistakes made years before someone decides to become a politician. Then, when the inevitable slow news day comes along and a Sunday paper with a blank front page decides to expose him, he swings into appropriate action. Brief appearance in front of the cameras, cheerful and relaxed approach, non commital statement so everyone gets a quote, and that's it. He follows the rules: make an appearance, make a statement, be consistent, keep it brief. But did anyone notice that the BBC news pictures were curiously soft-focus? Surely he didn't go that far!

Don't Get In A Flap

Things are looking bad for Bernard Matthews. Their handling of the media has been pretty sure footed so far: plenty of TV coverage of their workers taking action, grisly but necessary, to clamp down on the bird flu bug. Plenty of supportive statements from Government, and even the TGWU, their main union, saying they've done everything right in the face of this unexpected and devastating crisis. But one thing is missing. Old Mr Bootiful himself. Suddenly the tide has turned against the Bernard Matthews organisation, with claims that they've not been totally open about the business they've been doing in Hungary, where the outbreak is thought to have started. Where is the reassuring face of Bernard to convince us that he has our welfare at heart? Now he's getting on a bit - no spring turkey he, at 80, but the personal appearance of the man who personifies the company is necessary, and notable by its absence. There's no escaping the golden rule of media handling in a crisis: get on the site, get before the cameras, be seen to be in charge of putting things right.