Borkowski Media Trends: General Election, Scarlett Johansson vs OpenAI and Poch Out
Analysis of Rishi Sunak's election announcement, featuring Mark Borkowski's thoughts on the prospect of TV debates and comms lessons from Chelsea and Pochettino's 'mutual' separation.
A General Election Announcement Drenched in Symbolism
The country witnessed one of the least optimistic General Election announcements in living memory this week.
Running out of time, beset by scandal and with a mountain to climb in the polls, there was never going to be an ideal time for Rishi Sunak and the government to fire the starting gun.
When rumours of a July snap election began to dribble out of Whitehall on Wednesday morning, the government could not seize control of the narrative beyond refusing to deny that the announcement was imminent, giving Rishi Sunak’s 5pm broadcast about as much momentum as a Reliant Robin trundling into a busy roundabout in neutral.
The announcement itself was an opportunity to project power and self-assurance and get a head start in voters’ consciousness by replaying some of the greatest hits, but alas, it was not so.
Torrential rain saturating his suit, behind a lectern that cruelly accentuated his diminutive stature, and wearing the resigned look of an elderly hound who knows it’s being taken to the vet for the last time, Sunak’s exhumation of ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ as the jewel in the crown of his case for another term in power was drowned out by a mocking rendition Blairite anthem ‘Things Can Only Get Better’.
Sunak gamely ploughed through the cacophony to deliver the rest of a speech that also included blaming the Ukraine war for rising energy bills – at times prioritising excuses over achievements- before trudging back into Number 10 to start a campaign whose launch makes it feel quite doomed.
Despite Sunak’s struggles, one potential thorn in Kier Starmer’s side could be the proposed televised debates. Mark Borkowski dissected the issues for the Daily Express, and available to read below.
A key factor in this risk is that Sunak has nothing to lose. His party’s polling numbers and personal approval ratings are so low that the only way is up. It’s a desperate situation, but one that offers its own kind of freedom.
To use a boxing analogy, Starmer’s whole Labour leadership has been one big rope-a-dope exercise; his priority is to dodge heavy confrontation and let his opponent toil, so he’ll never go for a knockout blow that might leave his chin exposed. Protecting a healthy points lead before ‘seconds out’, he’s never going to deviate from this strategy in a televised debate.
Sunak, on the other hand, is so battered by his tenure in No.10 that he might as well take some big swings of his own.
If he does, Starmer’s vulnerabilities of both style and substance could be exposed. His noncommittal approach to policy and unwillingness to deviate too far from the status quo lest he cede the centre ground could be positioned by a wily opponent as indecision or cynicism.
Stylistically he’s more of a tricky customer than a smooth operator. If PMQs is any indicator Starmer is a ‘death by a thousand cuts’ ankle-biter, not a charming aphorism dispenser. Whatever advantage this might give him in the courtroom, in the wrong circumstances it could make him a more awkward proposition for the public than the more gregarious Sunak.
Of course, none of these risks outweigh that of failing to show up. The Tories’ key attack line is that Labour does not have a plan; if Starmer is seen as shirking the challenge of a televised debate, he’s feeding Sunak an attack line that could tip the scales of the whole election.
ChattyGPT: is it really 'Her'?
Last Monday, OpenAI released its latest update: ChatGPT can now talk. It was released a week ago with male and female voice options: Sky, Ember, Juniper, Cove, and Breeze. However, Sky has disappeared, morphing into another artist vs. AI controversy.
Scarlett Johansson is at the centre of this, calling out OpenAI over the uncanny similarity Sky's voice bears to her own, specifically to the voice of her AI character in the movie 'Her'. CEO Sam Altman only added fuel to the fire when he launched a product demo on social media captioned 'Her', prompting Johansson to declare that she had rejected his earlier request to use her voice. OpenAI was quick to refute these allegations and, in a blog post, said that Sky was "not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson" but that with each of its AI voices, the company's goal was to create "an approachable voice that inspires trust," one that contains a "rich tone" and is "natural and easy to listen to." OpenAI claims to have used a hired voice actress months before asking Johansson to collaborate and shared documents and recordings with the Washington Post to support the claim.
It's a story that has certainly emboldened the public clash between artists/creators and Silicon Valley. Artists' fears of being copied and ultimately replaced by AI seem ever more real. Johansson may have recourse to sue under the Right of Publicity, whereby your likeness is protected from being stolen or misused, however rights differ by State and AI-specific cases are a new precedent. The debate will rage on, especially with AI companies already being accused of scraping copyright-protected content to train their models; the distinction between IP and AI imitation is blurry at best.
Pochettino’s departure shocks Chelsea FC
Mauricio Pochettino's surprised the footballing world, leaving fans scratching their heads as to what's next. Having turned a miserable season around by securing an impressive sixth spot, many were expecting Poch to stick around for next season. However, tensions between the former Chelsea manager and Clearlake Capital (Chelsea's owners) became untenable, leaving the club currently searching for its successor.
The saga has undoubtedly questioned how football clubs can improve their communications when leaks can come from agents, players, 'insiders', or straight-up lies fabricated by Twitter accounts looking for clout. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach, Clearlake could not take control of the situation. Several significant leaks unveiled a sense that a great deal of friction between the ownership and coaching staff was allowed to build up for several weeks, prompting this snap departure.
The Telegraph's Matt Law broke the story and has been publishing much of these developments, beating out the club's internal communications. This means the players found out Poch was leaving at the same time as the fans. Rumours are circulating that players question the club's direction and whether they signed up for the right project.
This is a harsh moment of learning for Clearlake. As things stand, Chelsea faces a difficult road ahead, especially if the new manager faces a bumpy start to the new season. Unfortunately, the executive team powering Chelsea has created a massive target on their backs, and unless Chelsea starts the season as they left off, the fans won't let this one go.