Is any publicity good publicity?

In the wake of the most recent student protests in Parliment Square yesterday it seems that students and others who have been protesting are behaving like violent thugs and ruining it for everyone who wants  to protest peacfully. This of course is true, however how much publicity would these protest have had if they were simply a few people picketing peacfully?

I understand that of course violence is not the answer and will undoubtedly cast a shadow over the message the students are trying to get across about tuition fees but the amount of publicity this has attracted has been increased dramatically due to the sheer volume of people and the bad behavour of some. surely to get the message heard, it needs to be heavily publicised. I know this isnt in the minds of some of the unruly youngsters who turned up yesterday and at the Millbank tower, but surely any publicity is good publicity?

I know that when Nick Clegg pledged to abolish tuition fees in his manifesto, along with other promises to look after the younger generation, it encouraged alot of young people to vote for Lib Dem and now I think they feel short changed, this is yet again a generation that will grow up feeling resentment to their government, because we are paying for the problems the previous generation have caused. Will they listen though? I doubt it.

Do you think any publicity is good publicity? or do you think that a minority are abusing our right to freedom of speech and peacful protest by behaving like thugs? Do you thing the negative publicity is making all young people look bad, and losing the focus of the message?