Doug Dowie, the former Fleishman-Hillard executive who is about to begin serving prison time for conspiracy and fraud, continues to maintain his innocence.

Steve Schmidt, a former White House communications strategist and campaign manager for Arnold Schwarzenegger, has gone to work for Mercury Public Affairs, a subsidiary of the Fleishman-Hillard PR firm.

Ann Higgins of Utopia Communications, a member of the Public Relations Society of America, has started a blog about ethics and public relations.