Quotes of the week - Centaur, Rio Ferdinand, Hearts FC
Centaur closes Design Week and New Media Age in print form, Rio Ferdinand explains his love for Twitter and a PR expert tells us why the Hearts controversy is so much more than a public relations row.
"I know that this will be a painful process for a number of those affected by it, but these changes will bring great benefit to Centaur. The new structure will help to accelerate our growth ambitions and ensure that we continue to lead the markets we serve."
Geoff Wilmot, the chief executive of publishing company Centaur, announces to staff that the print editions of Design Week and New Media Age are being axed - among other changes.
“We regretfully confirm that from today The Market Creative will cease trading. This is devastating news all round, but the blow from HomeForm has meant that we simply couldn’t continue. We have a team of extremely talented people who we have had to let go, but we would like to thank them and everyone in the industry who has supported us.”
Sue Benson, managing director of The Market Creative, reveals that the Manchester agency has been forced to close as a knock-on effect of its client Homebase falling into administration.
"This man, to my mind, is not a fit and proper person to be purchasing such an organisation."
Lord Prescott expresses his displeasure at the prospect of Rupert Murdoch taking full control of BSkyB.
"Sometimes I’d speak to a journalist, but you wonder to yourself, ‘why do I speak to them if they are going to spin it?’ when I can just say it here myself on Twitter and it shouldn’t get taken out of context. If it does, people can always refer back and see that I didn’t really say what is being claimed - that happened to begin with but you get reported on a little bit more closer to the truth in situations like that."
Rio Ferdinand, the Manchester United defender who has 1.2m followers on Twitter, thinks the social networking site - and not the post-match press conference - is the best place to share his pearls of wisdom.
“These proposals are vital to protect the ongoing position of the business in the challenging economic environment."
Managing director David Sharrock admits that some 13 Manchester-based sales roles are under threat at MEN Media, publisher of the Manchester Evening News.
"In a crisis, all too often the immediate focus is on the words you use, not the actions you take. Hearts seem to be learning that lesson the hard way now – though you wonder whether suspending the player goes far enough. The club has committed to no further comment on the matter, but will that be enough for the growing number of dissenters? Like I said, it’s a matter of principle, so Hearts Football Club better work out where it stands, and fast."
PR expert Billy Partridge believes Scottish side Hearts has more to do to safeguard its reputation after suspending a player who was put on the sex offender's register.
“Inevitably this means Simon Kelner will be stepping down as Editor of The Independent and i. Simon's contribution to The Independent over the past 13 years has been considerable. I am sure you will agree that he has been a powerful and impressive force for the paper and I would like to say how grateful I am to him for all he has done.”
Evgeny Lebedev, the chairman of The Independent, informs staff that long-standing editor Simon Kelner is being replaced by Chris Blackhurst, a city editor and columnist on the London Evening Standard.