What do the Elections, Osama, & Will & Kate Have in Common?

Singapore goes to the polls tomorrow (courtesy of Wikimedia )

This week has been an especially significant one for many of us.

Right now, the biggest news for many Singaporeans is that of the impending Singapore General Elections 2011, with polling day taking place tomorrow. By this time, everybody would have read, heard, or viewed about the fierce contests taking place between the ruling and opposition parties. Both mainstream and social media channels have carried lots of news, views, and opinions on the election. Also known as Cooling-Off Day, today is the day when all qualified voters around the island will reflect and carefully consider their decision tomorrow.

Another big news happening this week was the killing of global terrorist Osama bin Laden by the US special forces in Pakistan. This has flooded the headlines of major papers and TV channels all over the world, resulting in both jubilation and a new found trepidation amongst those fearful of revenge attacks.

On a smaller but still significant scale, the past week has also seen the world witnessing the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. In a modern day fairytale, the majestic nuptials have captured the hearts and imagination of many.

So what do the three huge events have in common?

Well, first, they are hogging almost all the bandwidth, channels and media spaces on both mainstream and alternative media. Everybody’s talking about either one or the above. In Singapore, its mostly about the elections, but I believe that Osama’s death would probably be a hotter topic of discussion in the States.

Second, they have stimulated interest across a wide range of media vehicles, from huge global and local news networks, to ordinary bloggers, Facebookers, and Twitterers producing and curating home-brewed content. Huge newsmaking events like these above have captured the airwaves, fibre networks, and satellite transmissions, across virtually all channels one can think of.

The third and perhaps most important thing I see (for publicists like us), is that these huge newsmaking activities WILL thwart any other publicity efforts made during this period. Sure, you can try to get some coverage amongst special interest blogs, or a blurb on the community news pages of the local newspapers. However, due to our limited attention space, it is unlikely that people will pay particular attention to what you’ve got to say.

In other words, when news of national or international importance breaks across both national and international media platforms – professional or amateur – the best thing to do is to wait until the event blows over.

Don’t try to fight against the Tsunami of news because you’ll just end up drowning in the deluge.