The revelations in this week’s NOTW from Heather Mills’ former ‘PR aide’ Michele Elyzabeth make for fascinating reading – particularly on a dreary Sunday morning.

However it troubled me that someone would decide to stake their professionalism and potential career on what appears to be a fairly ill-conceived debt collection service. Mills apparently still owes Elyzabeth £168,000 and the pair are at ‘legal loggerheads’ over the bill.

Notwithstanding her claims that Heather is a ‘witch’ and ‘the tightest human being I know’, what struck me was how Elyzabeth professes to have been so cleverly duped by the ex-Beatles wife that she conducted publicity drives and shady tactics to uncover stories about Paul McCartney during their divorce battle.

As someone that’s had a few ‘rogue’ clients I would never be so public about naming names – but crucially I would never claim to be duped by a client into undertaking all manner of underhand methods to promote them. As a PR you have a responsibility to check at least on some level the validity of your clients’ stories and companies – your credibility with journalists and your fellow stakeholders depends upon it.

o was it career suicide or the rantings of a frustrated woman? Time will tell. But don’t expect a slew of celebrities to begin beating her door down for publicity.

Today has been one of the busiest news days for quite some time. The ongoing situation with Shannon Matthews has jostled with the Mills McCartney divorce, the worsening global credit crunch as well as political troubles in Tibet.

The Quest team has been involved fully in the media scrum ensuring national and international coverage for one client, while fielding calls for another who’s recorded a major victory for one of his clients.

Constantly monitoring 24-hour news channels and key news sites offers us an illuminating insight into the changing perspectives of editors and the pressure to find new angles on the ‘top’ story. The BBC has featured all of the ‘top’ stories in its prime position at different points of the day – and both Sky and BBC have sought constant updates on each of the major items.

Even in an age of omni-present news reporting however it’s clear that some stories are being left by the wayside. The first arrest in the Jersey care home case, attacks on UN troops in Kosovo and three children seriously ill following a methadone overdose are some that are being given short shrift.

Clearly interest in the three main stories is high – BBC News website has reported surges in traffic 15 per cent above average – but it does bring into question the role of 24-hour news and media outlets if they continue to focus on a small number of issues – and not always with very much to add.

It can be frustrating when you have a newsworthy and interesting story to tell, only for the rug to be pulled from under you as the news agenda changes. It’s why we always ensure our campaigns consist of more than a spray and pray strategy. With careful management, even as breaking news proliferates across a range of media, your message can still reach an interested audience.

Having said that, I would hope broadcast outlets are able to offer us something different, rather than simply competing with each other to get the latest scoop on the same stories.