The Fin recently published the second part of its series on the “new”
spin merchants. And what a mixture of curiosities, myth,
banalities and omissions it was.

First, the curiosities. The article was
illustrated by a
photo of Toll’s Paul Little and spinner Martin Debelle. While Martin is
a good
hand, and did excellent work for Telstra over the years, it was a
little
surprising to see a consultant in a pic with a client. When I was a
young
consultant in the 1960s, that would have been considered almost as
sinful as
wearing suede shoes or coloured shirts. But today it illustrates
something else – the difference between the article’s assumptions
about consulting work and
reality. Indeed, while the article is predicated on the consultants’
operations
being based on their relationship with the media, the fact is that most
top
level advisors would regard having to speak directly with the media as
a
manifestation of crisis and/or operational or strategic failure.

Another curiosity is the fact that the Fin reported with
some breathlessness and enthusiasm the fact that the “spinners” were charging rates
of around $500 to $600 an hour. While this was reported as if it was an
important new development, the fact is that this is exactly the same rate being
charged by top people back in the late 1990s. So the real story is not that
the rate levels today are high, but that they apparently have not increased
much in at least six or seven years.

Read more on the Crikey website here.