Over the past few months there has been a series of high profile bugger ups on live news broadcasts. It is the role of a PR to ensure this happens as little as possible. PRs have the marvellous job of being able to push people in front of these cameras knowing that if they say the wrong thing the spokesperson not the PR will look a berk. PRs then get the joy of critiquing that person on exactly where they went wrong and why they now look like a complete buffoon. However, I thought I would help these Public Relation Advisors everywhere by including below my three favourite top tips (with glorious examples) of how to not look like a moron on TV.

Top Tip #1 – Live TV is not the time for swearing

After weatherman Tomasz Schafernaker stuck his middle finger up at BBC New’s 24 Simon McCoy it was then reported that he had previously called Glastonbury “Muddy Sh*te” rather than “Muddy site”. Though I am sure he was not wrong with this particular Freudian slip, it does lead me to ask: who ever put this man on live TV? He is clearly far too stupid! However, if he just followed the golden rule of not swearing on live TV then he may have avoided such criticism.

Top Tip #2 – Don’t try to ‘sex up’ serious news events

The weatherman with the silly name follows other brilliant live TV mess ups which have led me to ask the question: who put this moron on TV? This often comes when people try to make a news story that much more exciting. Kay Burley, in true Sky News style, is often caught out trying to make stories that much more headline grabbing. For instance, during Sky News coverage of the 9/11 attacks she somehow felt the need to hyperbolise the biggest news event of a generation by greeting viewers with this fantastic gem, “and if you’ve just joined us, the entire eastern seaboard of the United States has been decimated by a terrorist attack”. Kay managed to top this by asking the wife of Suffolk serial killer Steve Wright “Do you think if you’d had a better sex life he wouldn’t have done this?” Clearly the wife’s fault! I don’t know about you, but when I don’t get any for a while – I just have to strangle someone. Perhaps Kay Burley should have taken this tip to heart. Both these events were already huge stories; she did not need an attempt to make them bigger.

Top Tip #3 – If national news cameras are near you, behave!

This rule is a big one. If there are cameras around you, make sure you are not doing wrong otherwise you will be caught out and will look a moron. Remember ‘that banker’ who was watching porn on his company computer whilst a live TV interview happened behind him. He was nothing to do with the broadcast, just having a normal day at the office – and let’s face it, whose normal day at the office doesn’t involve the watching of pornographic movies. Sadly, he seemed to forget that this national news interview would be happening right behind his desk – he quickly became far more interesting than the actual story. What a banker!

And it’s not just everyday office workers who need this tip re-iterating to them 24/7. Who can forget the marvellous ‘bigotgate’. Although probably having little effect on the outcome of the election, it couldn’t have helped. Our own Prime Minister (at the time) Gordon Brown, surrounded by advisors, still forgot that national news cameras were listening in when he referred to Gillian Duffy as a “bigoted woman”.

Both Gordon Brown and our lonely banker really should have remembered that when you are near news cameras and journalists, you really should be on your best behaviour!