177. Olaf Scholz: Putin, Power, and Far-Right Populism
23 February 2026
Ian Holloway and Paddy Harverson popular winners at PR awards
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26 October 2011
To the PR Week awards last night, to present 31 trophies, the first of which received one of the loudest cheers of the night.
Some of the judges were worried that their peers would not quite understand why football manager Ian Holloway was being so honoured - indeed Mr Holloway himself felt the same - but their concerns were misplaced, even before the video highlights of his best outbursts were shown.
Over dinner the Blackpool manager who brought a breath of fresh air to the Premier League and whose after match interviews became must viewing for football fans and comms students alike, gave me his version of how he developed his own unique brand of interview style.
He credited two life changing events, both of which required him to make huge changes in attitude and lifestyle. The first was his wife's cancer. The second was the discovery that due to a genetic condition, his three daughters were all born profoundly deaf. The first of these taught him the value of life, the second the importance of clarity in communication. He is a fluent sign linguist.
In any event, he was a worthy and popular winner, as was PR of the year Paddy Harverson who presided over the media management of the Royal wedding.
Holloway's appeal is that in a world fed up with pre-packaged everything, he says what he thinks, and thereby passes the number one rule of communication -authenticity.
I do hope however that it is the only thing he wins this week, as on Saturday Blackpool are playing at Burnley.
How does this work Alastair – I would have thought PR was precisely responsible for ‘pre-packaging’ all communications?
On a similar note, in a world of Michael Owens I find Mario Balotelli quite charming.
What a fabulously uplifting piece this Wednesday morning. I hope your regular readers find my comments clear and concise. My writing style has been honed over the years (in 1998, I joined the Internet) One tip I give all of you – I took an online Plain English course many years ago.
So now I try never to write:
at the end of the day – unless I am going to bed
literally – unless I am defining a word
round – unless it’s a circle
on trend – I say fashionable or current
basically – ever!
There are many more long-winded ways of saying the same thing that could be written so much more easily and in a clear manner.
which means
It is easy to write plainly rather than in a complex style.
So I admire anyone who can do this in person – my speech is hand signals, stuttered and, often, lost for words.
That’s why I write.
Great to hear of Ian Holloway’s win. Back in the late 90s I would interview him weekly (as part of my first job in local radio) when he managed Bristol Rovers. In addition to his unique eloquence, he was always hugely generous with his time – despite my lack of expertise in the subject. Of course, you had to have your wits about you, as he wasn’t likely to offer you ‘standard’ replies – and how refreshing that was!
Well done Ollie. Blackpool are at home to Burnley are they? Well, enjoy your afternoon at Bloomfield Road…
Ian Holloway, brought Blackpool recovered, as Chris Lowe did, with Pet Shop Boys,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VCqAjYO3NM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn9E5i7l-Eg
Dusty, gramaphone 1966 as I remember it.
Remember watching the 1966 World Cup with my dad, and asking him who he was supporting, the ones in the black or white, on a black and white telly. Honest – I am not making it up, that is actually what I asked him in the summer of ’66. I remember it. He looked at me bizarrily, the poor unimaginative dab.
Jackie Charlton, jumping up and down,
but beat by Webb Charlie knocked in.
1970, FA Cup replay, Old Trafford,
non-horses before play, goalies,
Sprake and Bonetti, Harvey and things,
gloves worn, becoming quite thin.
Sport is intense, especially when not paid,
for mirrored Allan Clarke, who got you to the bloody semi-final in..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQgshsflIGo