Owning the news - how to position yourself

With the situation at Heathrow Airport now back to normal after a fire at an electricity sub-station forced its closure for 24 hours, it's interesting to take a look at the inevitable posturing as organisations start washing their dirty laundry in public to try and own the media narrative.

Looking at the coverage, it seems the front page of today’s FT suggests National Grid is confident in its handling of the incident.

CEO John Pettigrew has taken a direct and transparent approach - unsurprising to me, having briefly worked with him. He doesn’t strike me as a leader who would deflect blame if Grid had cause for concern.

In contrast, Heathrow boss Thomas Woldbye seemed uneasy in his BBC News interview, appearing to shift responsibility onto Grid. Yet, Grid has been clear: while the Hayes substation was down, two others remained operational.

Pettigrew isn’t one to seek the limelight, but his visibility here suggests Grid is standing by its actions. Perhaps Heathrow’s own resilience- or lack of it - is what Ed Miliband’s investigation will ultimately expose!