Submitted by Laura Miller on
Ross Irvine, corporate activist and president of ePublic Relations, points out how business PR can learn from anti-biotech activists and NGOs. Irvine recommends taking a broader view of the issue, going beyond traditional allies and PR activities. According to Irvine, "With creative thinking a great deal of synergy among biotech and other issues is possible and essential."
Submitted by Laura Miller on
In a recent memo titled "Talking to the Press," Polk Laffoon, Knight Ridders's VP for corporate relations, laid out some media relations "rules of thumb" for the company's executives, publishers, and editors. In the memo, which was leaked to the Philadelphia Weekly, Laffoon writes: "Reporters who want to do take-outs on the company virtually always have an agenda. If the agenda isn't friendly (often the case), we muster whatever facts and figures we can to refute or blunt it. Although it would be rare that a reporter changes the agenda based on what we say, we can have an impact.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
Calling his current jobless status "an exciting, much-needed opportunity to reassess my direction in life," former Porter Novelli public-relations executive Josh Wallace has great things to say about unemployment reports the Onion, a satirical newspaper. "I wasn't fired so much as my job was one of the positions phased out through the outsourcing of certain activities and the restructured insourcing of others, " Wallace said. See also O'Dwyer's PR story.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
This essay by PR industry writer Paul Holmes examines the pros and cons of the "attack dog" strategy advocated by PR specialists in crisis management such as the firm of Nichols-Dezenhall, which urges corporations to "get in the trenches and fight" against activists. "It
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
"Future generations may look back on this as the Century of the Spokesperson," comments Washington Post reporter Linton Weeks. "The Mouthpiece Millennium. The Night of the Living Flacks. Only a year and half into the 2000s and already we've seen: Marina Ein for Rep. Gary Condit and lawyer Billy Martin for Chandra Levy's family. Elizabeth Quigley for the family of confessed child-drowner Andrea Yates. William Shatner for Priceline.com. Cheryl Ladd for Presbyopia Awareness Month. And Tiger Woods for everything else."
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
PR Watch reported in 1997 that the Burson-Marsteller PR firm created the Global Climate Coalition. They've never challenged this statement prior to July 2001, but after they issued a denial we checked our files, and it looks like we were wrong. This doesn't change the fact that B-M has been a major force behind industry campaigns to block measures aimed at preventing global warming. For a report on what they've actually done, read our correction.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
"It was 2:05 a.m. when an ambulance brought Mr. Jacobs and his daughter to Sarasota Memorial Hospital's emergency room," stated a news release from Sarasota Memorial Hospital. "Mr. Jacobs was complaining of difficulty breathing. He was 65 years old, overweight and on medication for high blood pressure.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
Burson-Marsteller's Black Kelly Scruggs and Healey lobbying wing has a $180,000 contract to provide strategic advice to the embattled Government of Ecuador. The South American government has faced intense protests by its citizens for imposing "austerity" measures and for a proposed pipeline. O'Dwyer's PR reports that the lobbiests are to make sure that Washington lawmakers understand "the issues facing the Government of Ecuador," according to the Justice Dept. filing. BKS&H also will work to increase trade and financial aid, especially military aid, to Ecuador.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
The Body Shop has picked Ruder Finn to promote the company's U.S. store expansion. RF will handle several events and local PR campaigns aimed at increasing awareness and attracting traffic to Body Shop's new locations. In contrast with the Body Shop's animal and environment friendly image, Ruder Finn owns the almost legendary E. Bruce Harrison Company. Harrison is ironically considered "the founder of green PR" because of his work for the pesticide industry in the 1960s when he helped lead the attack on author Rachel Carson and her environmental classic, Silent Spring. E.
Submitted by John Stauber on
Gutting the First Amendment has become the "patriotic" last refuge for scoundrel PR firm Burson-Marsteller (B-M). Citizens Flag Alliance depicts themselves as a frustrated group of proud veterans saving our nation from flag burning by amending the constitution. However, the CFA website and media reports fail to identify perhaps their most important "member," the giant PR firm reaping big bucks managing the campaign. B-M's masterminds are no doubt the source of CFA talking points such as: "Putting a few disgusting means of expression out of bounds in no way threatens ...
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