Activism

Fineman Wins Gold Award for Pacifying Pacifica

The Bulldog Reporter, a publication that specializes in compiling dossiers on journalists for corporate PR use, has given its "gold award" in "crisis communications" to Michael Fineman of Fineman Associates Public Relations for his work on behalf of the Pacifica radio network. Fineman was hired to help contain the image problems that arose when the Pacifica's management used armed guards to forcibly expel veteran broadcasters, arrested demonstrators, and shut down station KPFA in Berkeley, CA.

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Leeds Students Campaign against Burson-Marsteller

The Burson-Marsteller PR form has established a partnership with Leeds Metropolitan University, the UK's largest university provider of public relations education. B-M will provide input into LMU's courses, share research, provide visiting lecturers and offer undergraduate and graduate training programmes, and LMU has also offered an honorary degree to company founder Harold Burson.

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Corporations Urged to Declare War on Food Activists

Agribusiness needs to use "attack technologies" against activists, according to Nick Nichols of the PR/crisis management firm Nichols-Dezenhall. Speaking to the annual business meeting of the National Pork Producers Council, Nichols quoted gangster Al Capone, who said: "You can get more with kind words and a smile and a gun than you get with kind words and a smile." (PR Watch has obtained a copy of Nichols' Powerpoint presentation to the pork producers.

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Pacifica Pacified, CounterSpin Countered, Democracy Now Abolished

The Pacifica radio network has been known for decades as the home of "listener-sponsored free speech radio." That has changed, however, following the network's "Christmas coup" in December 2000, when workers at Pacifica's New York City station, WBAI, were fired and banned from the station. Since then, the situation has gone from bad to worse, with the station imposing a "dirty laundry rule" that threatens employees and volunteers with disciplinary action if they discuss the Pacifica crisis on-air.

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In NGOs We Trust

This news release by Edelman PR explains the rationale for trying to encourage business "partnerships" with activist groups: "You've got an environmental disaster on your hands. Have you consulted with Greenpeace in developing your crisis response plan? Co-opting your would-be attackers may seem counterintuitive, but it makes sense when you consider that NGOs (non-governmental organizations) are trusted by the public nearly two-to-one to 'do what's right' compared with government bodies, media organizations and corporations."

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Standing Up to the Swoosh

Professional athlete Jim Keady became an activist against sweatshop conditions in Nike's overseas factories while studying theology at St. John's University and coaching for the school's soccer program. His athletic and academic career slammed to a halt, he says, when St. John's negotiated a multi-million-dollar sponsorship deal with Nike that would have required him to become "a billboard for a company that was reaping profits on the backs of the poor. ... As a coach, I would've had to wear the equipment

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$100,000 vs $50-million -- Competing Biotech PR Campaigns

"This month, April 2000, biotech biggies Aventis CropScience, BASF, Dow Chemical, Dupont, Monsanto, Novartis, and Zeneca Ag Products, in conjunction with their trade association, launched at $50-million, multi-year, North American PR campaign to improve public understanding and acceptance of biotechnology, particularly genetically modified foods," notes PR pro and right-wing ideologue Ross Irvine (not to be confused with right-wing ideologue Reed Irvine).

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PR Newsletter Gathers "Intelligence" on Environmental Reporters

TJFR, a publisher of media insider news for the PR industry, has launched a new publication, the Environmental News Reporter, to provide "in-depth intelligence on the nation's most important environmental news organizations and journalists." TJFR says having this information will help public relations pros "manage potentially negative situations." TJFR's other publications include the Business News Reporter and the Health News Reporter.

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