With only a few days  to go to the Lisbon referendum, recent opinion polls indicate very clearly that the campaign to get the proposition passed is under very serious threat of failure. Opinion polls this close to voting usually indicate the trend that will emerge on polling day. So at this stage the Lisbon Treaty looks […]

An interesting innovation in the Broadcasting Bill, currently before the Oireachtas, is the proposal that the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications would have a role in the appointment of  some members of the new Broadcasting single superbody, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI).
Under the legislation, Minister Ryan has proposed that what he calls “a significant […]

The controversy created by Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, for his use of an expletive in the Dail yesterday headlines all of the papers today.
Politicians, possibly more than any other group of communicators, know that they need to be aware of how they are coming across when they communicate, whether on the doorstep, on radio or on […]

The importance of the grass roots in Irish politics couldn’t have been more strongly underscored than in the presidential style homecoming received by newly elected Taoiseach Brian Cowen in his native County Offaly last weekend.

Aspiring politicians take note. Policies may be agreed at Cabinet but the political heartbeat thuds elsewhere.
Cowen is taking a strong stance on […]

In communications terms, the Democratic Presidential nomination has been notable for the exploitation of the web and particularly social media sites by all parties.
It has even been dubbed the YouTube presidential election. Both candidates are using the internet to extend their message and reach. Senator Clinton has a director of Internet Development who is supported […]

With the economy losing 1,300 jobs a week, according to IBEC’s Turlough O’Sullivan, the word redundancy - barely used in Irish business for the last six years - is now back in the boardroom and getting plenty of airing.
Many senior management teams are facing the real and dismal prospect of having to let some of […]

Welcome to the Alchemy Communications blog.
It’s our take on the world in general, and the part that good (and bad) communications decisions play in making the wheels of business, government and everything else turn round.