Ivan Yates and the great 'podgate' row is a distraction from the real issues facing us

The breakup between Ivan Yates and Matt Cooper is a standard 'dead cat bounce' — what are they distracting us from now, asks PR guru Paul Allen 

Ivan Yates and Matt Cooper: The podgate furore is distracting us from real issues such as housing and the cost of living. Picture: Fran Veale

In moments of great difficulty, or what the rest of us once upon a time called "a good old-fashioned crisis", I always tell clients: "This too shall pass." While this is a well-worn and trusted old military saying, it holds true whether you’re in the trenches or in the busy newsroom of today.

Reflecting on great past moments such as Harry Houdini, the 1930s' escapologist. Chained, submerged, and gasping in icy water, he’d eventually break free, battered, bruised, but thankfully alive, while the astounded audience held its breath.

That’s it! Crisis management masterclass in a nutshell. Hold your nerve, stay calm, and, crucially, don’t drown in the noise.

Ivan Yates: The podgate saga tells us as much about modern media as it does about sharp egos and ethics. Picture: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

Almost a week has passed since the front-page furore around broadcaster, former government minister, and occasional provocateur Ivan Yates, a man who hits the headlines without trying.

While presenting a few stand-in slots on Newstalk and co-hosting his podcast Path to Power, Yates had also been moonlighting as a media trainer, including two sessions with the Fianna Fáil presidential candidate, Jim Gavin.

And over the weekend, there came another twist...Poof! Yates’s Path To Power podcast partnership with Matt Cooper was no more.

Cooper, broadcaster, serial author, and half of Ireland’s much-loved double act, felt blindsided. The chemistry had fizzled, the magic was gone.

The breakup was official: the Path to Power is over and we're all a little heartbroken.

For thousands of listeners, it became weekly comfort food. And, like all good things in Irish broadcasting, it ended in a row.

And that’s where things get interesting, because this entire saga tells us as much about modern media as it does about sharp egos and ethics.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin faces questions over Ivan Yates's coaching of party members. Picture: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie

I have just spent 35 years telling people what they don’t want to hear.

One of them is this. Every interview you hear, every story you read, every soundbite you watch, someone, somewhere, has rehearsed it. In the world of fast communications and fake news, there are two kinds of people, those who media trained and those who wish they had, before going on Morning Ireland.

But the fallout from the 'podgate' drama tells us something else. In a world full of noise, the easiest way to make a quick headline is to throw a dead cat on the table.

It’s a tactic famously deployed by US president Donald Trump. When you’re losing an argument in the media, create a spectacle so big and absurd that everyone stops talking about the real issue and changes their focus.

The media can’t resist it and love it! And the public can’t ignore it.

Then suddenly, we’re debating the dead cat, not the policy failures.

Before podgate, Ireland’s front pages were dominated by weightier issues such as the cost-of-living crisis, a new children’s hospital that’s been “under construction” since the Jurassic era, and the leadership question inside Fianna Fáil — will he stay or will he go?

And yet, for days, what grabbed headlines?

A spat between two middle-aged men about a podcast.

It’s the human condition. We all love drama; the sound of a good falling-out is magic to our senses.

RTÉ presenter Miriam O Callaghan taking a selfie with Ivan Yates in Dublin Castle as they wait for the arrival of winning presidential candidate Catherine Connolly to arrive. Picture: Eamonn Farrell/© RollingNews.ie

When you see a storm in a radio or TV studio story dominating the airwaves, chances are something else is slipping quietly under the radar.

That’s why we need to understand these tactics and call them out.

Of course, the dead cat isn’t alone in the multi coloured political zoo.

My personal favourite — 'outrage bait', where a minor issue is inflated to whip up fury and clicks. Flags, statues, Halloween costumes, all perfect ingredients for a week’s worth of outrage.

The result? We forget the cost of living, housing, and we forget the real story.

Instead, we end up arguing about who said what on a podcast So yes, this too will pass.

Just like every crisis does.

The irony is that, in a few weeks, Matt and Ivan will probably be back on air, perhaps separately, maybe even together for one night only.

If I may the opportunity to suggest: 'The Rumble in the Radio Jungle — Cooper vs Yates, Live at Croke Park.' For one night only? Tickets? Gold dust. You cannot afford to miss this one.

But for the rest of us in the communications world, the lesson is timeless.

Every great magician must come up for air. Every broadcaster faces a storm. And every distraction, no matter how shiny, eventually sinks after it has had its day or two.

Until then, stay calm, stay sharp, and remember if you see a dead cat on the media table, don’t scream. Ask yourself: “What are they trying to make me forget?” 

• Paul Allen is managing director of Paul Allen & Associates