Media House International Limited
![]() |
This article is part of the Scotland: Portal project of SpinWatch. |
Media House International is the PR and lobbying agency created by Jack Irvine, a former editor of the Scottish Sun. Media House came to national attention when running the 'Keep the Clause Campaign' (against the repeal of Section 28 / Clause 2a, preventing local authorities teaching school children about the acceptability of homosexuality) on behalf of Stagecoach tycoon Brian Souter in 2000.
Contents
Background
Media House advertise themselves as specialising in Public Relations, Crisis Management and Public Affairs.[1] They have offices in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow and New York.
Media House define Public Relations as
- 'the systematic attempt to influence people's beliefs, attitudes, opinions or behaviour towards an organisation, its people, products or services, or an issue or cause'[2].
Keep the clause
Media House targetted their campaign at the tabloid press in Scotland (supported by an expensive billboard advertising campaign across the country), almost entirely avoiding television news and current affairs, as they believed staff at both BBC Scotland and STV to be sympathetic to liberal, politically correct, causes. The campaign was a political success in that it forced the Scottish Executive to issue a policy u-turn and promise that official guidance would be given to local authorities on how homosexuality could be treated within the curriculum.
- A public relations company has been forced to withdraw claims that several celebrities were backing the campaign to retain the law banning the promotion of homosexuality in schools. The climbdown followed the formal launch in Edinburgh of the Keep the Clause campaign, which is being funded by millionaire Stagecoach chairman Brian Souter. Media House, a PR firm run by former Scottish Sun editor Jack Irvine, has been hired to organise the drive to retain Section 28 in Scotland. At the launch, the firm's David Macaulay read out a list of celebrities and well-known business people who he said supported Section 28. These included:
- Simple Minds lead singer Jim Kerr
- Television chef Nick Nairn
- Former Kwik-Fit tycoon Sir Tom Farmer
- Car sales group owner Arnold Clark
- Optical Express chief executive David Moulsdale
- But a short time later, Mr Macaulay was forced to admit publicly that some of those he had named, had not given their backing. He blamed a malicious fax sent to his office, from which some of the names had been taken. The names had not not been verified with the individuals concerned and its source is not clear.[3]
Media House also ran the campaign on behalf of the Countryside Alliance to resist the fox hunting ban in Scotland.[4]
Media House have not always worked in opposition to Scottish government. At the behest of the former Secretary of State for Scotland, Michael Forsyth, Media House handled the Scottish Office's PR and public affairs campaign to secure the release of two Scottish nurses accused of murder in Saudi Arabia.[5] In 1996, Media House recruited David Whitton from Scottish Television to head its public affairs division. Whitton's later appointment as Donald Dewar's official spokesman, and thereafter his return to PR consultancy is symptomatic of the connectedness of the worlds of media, politics and advocacy in Scotland.[6]
Jack Irvine described his approach to Scottish political campaigning in 2001 as:
- 'Because the media is a very, very closed shop up here and [Media House] are fortunate or unfortunate enough to have been involved in it for all our lives, and you cannot do one [campaigning]without the other [contacts]. I mean you could present the most brilliant public affairs case you want, but if you can't get the editors convinced of it, you'll lose it ... I go into clients now and say we come at it from two levels, the political/intellectual level and we have the guys who go in with the boots on and kick politicians brains out.'[7]
Clients and regulation
Whilst Media House do not name DuPont, Dell, L’Oreal, Revlon and Estee Lauder as their clients, their 2005 report EU REGULATION: A CHALLENGE FOR US BUSINESSES[8] lists them by name as being affected by EU regulation. Whilst this is not conclusive, it does draw attention to the possibility that they are potentially connected to Media House in some form or another.
In the 2005 report EU REGULATION: A CHALLENGE FOR US BUSINESSES [9], the Media House Commercial Intelligence Team write of how they are concerned at how 'Europe’s stringent environmental standards entail a substantial financial and bureaucratic burden' for many American Companies. They voice a resistance to new regulations designed to protect our environment stating that 'Europe has been under intense pressure to stem the flow of new environment laws' They go on to add that 'there is a hope, given the economic downturn, the issues over expansion and the constitution that the appetite for new legislation may be blunted. Indeed the European Commission President Jose Manual Barroso has just launched the region’s biggest ever de-regulation campaign; supported by the UK and its ‘better regulation agenda’.
The 'better regulation agenda' they refer to is that of the then called Better Regulation Task Force (now know as the Better Regulation Commission, which was replaced by the Risk and Regulation Advisory Council in 2008[10]). The Better Regulation Task Force (BRTF) was set up in 1997 as an 'independent advisory body' to advise the Government on regulatory action. The BRTF went on to ‘become a very influential body in influencing the Government's policy on regulation’[11].
People
Lois Boyle | Tom Cassidy | Andrew Connell | Christine Dick | Caroline Gordon | Allan Hogarth |Lorna Inglis | Jack Irvine | Gordon Robertson |Lindsay Smith | Ramsay Smith
Clients
Media house previously disclosed the following clients on its website (circa 2008). It also noted that 'Certain major clients cannot be named for strategic and confidential reasons.'
Main Accounts
- Anderson Strathern
- Ashbourne Healthcare
- Bourne Leisure Ltd
- Clydebank College
- CKD Galbraith
- Data Discoveries Ltd
- Enterprise Ireland
- Four Seasons Health Care
- Go Travel Direct
- Ann Gloag
- The Hamilton Portfolio
- Southern Cross Healthcare
- Levy & McRae, Solicitors
- Lexmark International (Scotland) Ltd
- Mackays Stores
- The Malcolm Group
- John Menzies Plc
- Mercy Ships UK
- Motherwell Football Club
- Scottish Care
- Scottish Estates Business Group
- Scottish Radio Holdings Plc
- Scottish North American Business Council
- Special Olympics
- Spreadex
- Stadia Investment Group
- Stagecoach Group Plc
- The National Theatre of Scotland
- tie.limited
- Thornfield Properties plc
- WestSound
- William Grant & Sons
- Zoom Airlines
USA
- Black Mountain Group, New York
- Coach USA
- Gray Line New York Sightseeing
- The American Ireland Fund, Dallas, Texas
Project Work
- Aberlour Child Care Trust
- Aitken Holdings Ltd
- Axeon Ltd
- Bank of Ireland
- The Best of Health
- Boland Construction
- Bunzl Fine Paper Ltd
- Carnyx Group
- CBM (Christian Blind Mission)
- Cummins Engine Company Ltd
- Dames & Moore
- Edinburgh Principal Hotels Association (EPHA)
- English Care
- Enterprise Ayrshire
- eParliament Ltd
- eTourism
- Glasgow 1999
- Glasgow Bar Association
- Glasgow Caledonian University
- Glasgow Rugby
- Hibernian Football Club Ltd
- Humbie Green Partnership
- InPractice
- International Components Corporation
- Ladbroke Racing Ltd
- Lancashire Care Association
- John Letters (Scotland) Ltd
- Luxtec Inc.
- LEEL Catalyst
- Luddon Construction Ltd
- Mallinson Television Productions
- Mercy Ships
- Mitchell's Self Drive
- National Caravan Council
- National Galleries of Scotland
- Newcastle United Football Club
- Optical Express
- Peoples Ltd
- Princess Royal Trust for Carers
- Reid Furniture Company Ltd
- Linda Reid
- Reliance Secure Task Management
- Reuters (Tokyo)
- SCA Packaging Scotland
- Scottish Countryside Alliance
- Scottish Enterprise
- Scottish Landowners' Federation
- The Scottish Prison Officers Association
- THUS Plc
- University of Glasgow USA
- Vancouver Stock Exchange
- Vital Holdings Plc
As of October 2011 MH no longer lists clients on its website, with the exception of eight case studies.
Current clients listed:
- Bourne Leisure (Corporate Issues Management)
- Dairy UK (Trade Organisation PR & Issues Management)
- Steelcase Plc (Corporate Public Relations)
- Lexmark International (Corporate Public Affairs)
- Mercy Ships UK Charity Public Relations
Past clients:
- New Zealand High Commission (Public Sector PR)
- Special Olympics (Public Sector PR)
- William Grant & Son (Corporate Issues/Crisis Management)
Contact
Website: http://www.mediahouse.co.uk/index.htm
References
- ↑ Media House What We Do Accessed 29th January 2008
- ↑ Media House FAQ Accessed 29th January 2008
- ↑ BBC Online Wednesday, 19 January, 2000, 19:44 GMT PR firm hit by Section 28 'hoax'
- ↑ Ref needed
- ↑ Ref needed
- ↑ Ref needed
- ↑ Ref needed
- ↑ Smith, L. & Connell, A. (2005) EU REGULATION: A CHALLENGE FOR US BUSINESSES Media House Commercial Intelligence Team. Accessed 29th January 2008
- ↑ Smith, L. & Connell, A. (2005) EU REGULATION: A CHALLENGE FOR US BUSINESSES Media House Commercial Intelligence Team. Accessed 29th January 2008
- ↑ Times Online Risk assessment watchdog set up to halt march of the nanny state Accessed 29th January 2008
- ↑ Centre for Corporate Accountability Better Regulation Task Froce Accessed 29th January 2008
- ↑ MH International Case Studies, accessed 11 October 2011.