THERE are some corporate executives and politicians you can pick up the phone and call any time of the work day, and even beyond, and they would come on the line. Others, once they hear 'media on the line', scamper for cover. "Tell Mr Allen I'm not here. Tell him I'm in a meeting. Tell him anything!"

Of course, I exaggerate a little bit. Most people take my calls. That's perhaps because of my longevity in the business. But many journalists complain bitterly that it's extremely difficult making contact with many executives.

For this reason, I think you will find, at least interesting, the results of an informal survey conducted among journalists, public relations professionals and producers in the print and electronic media, to determine the top 10 most media savvy corporate executives; the top five politicians; the top two public sector personalities and the top three company spokespersons.

The survey was carried out by Stracom, the online newsletter published by PR and marketing whiz and former journalist, Marie Berbick-Graham who has kindly consented to The Spike sharing the results with you. If you want more details, contact Marie at mariebg79@yahoo.co.uk.

The most media savvy personalities were chosen from 30 nominees and were selected based on the total number of votes they garnered. The criteria used included: willingness to facilitate media interviews and attitude toward journalists, articulacy and eloquence, knowledge of their business and industry, overall media relations skills and professionalism, charisma and likeability.

The top 10 most media savvy corporate executives, in order of placing, are:

• Douglas Orane of GraceKennedy
• Harry Smith of Digicel
• Grace Silvera of Red Stripe
• Rodney Davis of Cable and Wireless
• Donovan Perkins of Pan Caribbean Financial Services
• Audrey Marks of PayMaster
• Beverley Lopez of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ)
• Gordon 'Butch' Stewart, of Sandals/ATL/Jamaica Observer
• Ryland Campbell of Capital and Credit Financial Services
• Sandra Shirley of First Global Financial Services

Top public sector personalities

• Danville Walker, Director of Elections
• Mark Shields, Deputy Commissioner of Police
• David Geddes of the Office of Utilities regulation (OUR)
• Nadine Newsome of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) .
• Winsome Callum of the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS)

If you did not participate in the survey and you don't agree with any of the nominees, or if you think some deserving personality was left out, drop me a note.

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