Is there ever such a thing as bad press? To be honest, yes. But, if we never put our heads above the parapet, we'll never be seen or heard.

I was, therefore, somewhat bewildered when I read a comment in The MJ last month on the value of good communications. What surprised me was that some local councils don't include communications as a top priority.
The work carried out through the LGA's Reputation project and MORI shows  authorities with good PR and media are better-regarded by their communities and enjoy higher ratings.
At Teignbridge, we've placed good media and public relations at the core of what we do. The team has 24/7 access to the authority's top managers and leading politicians, and we keep everyone ‘in the loop' and respond fast when needed
I believe a close working relationship with the media and communications team is essential. After all, how can a council expect to communicate effectively with its customers if it can't get the message across internally?
At Teignbridge, we have nurtured a productive two-way flow of information between the corporate management team, senior managers, and media and communications colleagues. ‘Hot' topics are never left to go cold in the vain hope the media will go away. We have daily in-house media monitoring so we're up-to-date.
Recent feedback from our residents' survey shows ratings have improved. A total of 89% of respondents say the way we run things has improved or stayed the same over the past three years, there's been a 7% climb in satisfaction with the overall service provided.
We all strive to offer value for money and quality services, while keeping council tax rises to a minimum, and Teignbridge has found the best way to ensure customers realise this is to communicate what we're doing, and why. It's a fine balance for any communications team to juggle reactive and proactive media work, while also steering branding, a quarterly newspaper, an A-Z of services, press launches and photo shoots, news releases and internal publications.
Teignbridge's team has risen to this challenge, and generated the equivalent of more than £150,000 in the last financial year. Its members are adding to the service with a corporate style guide and creating a news group of diverse staff from across the council. An interactive online press office, photo library, RSS feeds and an enhanced audio and video presence are all in the pipeline, plus a new corporate branding strategy and a redesign of our customer magazine. With these in place, we will be among those at the cutting edge of media support, comparable with bigger authorities but with fewer resources. 
Now that's value for money. n
Nicola Bulbeck is chief executive of Teignbridge BC