A spin industry insider writes:



There are some interesting rumoursdoing the rounds of the corporate flak network. Telstra’s mega PR team is headed for a huge shake-up under its new regime with the amigos apparently questioning the worth of John Short’s mega dollars to manage government relations when Telstra and the Howard Government always seem at odds, and questioning PR boss Michael Herskope about why Telstra has such a large PR staff who seem unsuccessful at winning the PR battle.

Herskope is scouring the country and the corporates for a 2IC to help him manage Telstra’s woes. Meanwhile, head-hunters have been taking numerous calls from Telstra flaks of all levels looking for a change of scenery as the new regime takes hold.

And interesting moves at Leighton’s subsidiary Thiess, with Corporate Affairs head honcho Michael Riley leaving the tropics in Brisbane and returning to Melbourne to start up his own business – which according to my source already has several clients and a number of business divisions, including a sports marketing arm.

The tip for his replacement is Riley’s good mate Stuart Murrihy, Orica’s chief flak. Apparently Riley recommended Murrihy to Thiess management. Orica just happens to be another client of Riley. Also in the mix is Ros Kelly (she of whiteboard fame), who is on the board of both companies and who knows both Riley and Murrihy very well.

And head-hunters I talk to claim there is a rush of PR consultants from the major consultancies seeking jobs in house as rumours of another purge in numbers of the big consultancies as a result of losing business to the smaller boutique consultants continues. Watch for one of PR land’s most high-profile consultants (think top five consultancies) to land nicely at the millionaire’s factory (Mac Bank) before Xmas.