"This month marks the end of one of the most successful and respected conservative PR teams in Washington, as Herb Berkowitz and Hugh Newton retire from the Heritage Foundation," PR Week writes. "Heritage, a conservative think tank founded 25 years ago, became one of the foremost purveyors of right-wing public policy in Washington with Berkowitz and Newton at the PR helm. The two are credited with helping win credibility for conservative ideals among often-hostile liberal journalists in Washington."

Nike has asked the US Supreme Court to review a California Supreme Court ruling that Nike's public statements on the work conditions of its overseas factories be considered commercial speech and be subject to truth-in-advertising laws. Nike argues that the ruling is "profoundly destructive of free speech." The ruling applies to statements made by Nike in op-eds, letters to the editor, and comments made to reporters. PR trade publication The Holmes Report wrote that as a result of the ruling, Nike would not be releasing its annual corporate responsibility report.

A University of Southern California shows that local television newscasts have been barely covering the 2002 campaign. As a result, candidates are forced to spend all their time "dialing for dollars" from big campaign donors so they can promote themselves through paid advertising. "They don't go to talking to people. They don't do the kinds of visits to public fora that they used to, because they know it's a total waste of time," says Martin Kaplan of USC's Annenberg School for Communication.