Public Relations

Spinning the Money Markets

In a two-part series on Australian corporate PR, an investment banker explained that investor relations campaigns are carefully planned. "At morning conference calls, there's always a lot of talk on which journalist is a softer touch and who will be more favourably disposed and who has particular relationships with the other side," an investment banker said. The spokesman for one large corporation explained that they used external PR consultants for "media management of senior commentators.

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Solid SLAPP Misses Target

An application by a New Zealand government-owned coal mining company, Solid Energy, for $NZ379,342 in witness costs and legal expenses against two environmental groups has been dismissed. Forest and Bird and the Buller Conservation Group (BCG) had argued before the Environment Court against approval for a new open-cut coal mine. While the Court approved the project, it dismissed the company's costs claim.

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Transparency Haunts PR Firms Selling Corporate Social Responsibility

In a review of the role of PR firms in corporate social responsibility programs, Lisa Roner writes that "many early efforts to communicate on corporate responsibility have been high on production value and low on substance." Citing examples such as Hill & Knowlton's role

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ABA's School Vending Policy Fizzes On Obesity Prevention

American Beverage Association logoThe American Beverage Association scored PR points recently when they unveiled a new voluntary "school vending policy." The trade association for soft drink manufacturers says it is encouraging beverage producers and school districts to provide "lower-calorie and/or nutritious beverages" to schools and limit the availability of soft drinks in schools. ABA's announcement snagged positive news stories across the country, but public health advocates questioned the group's commitment to preventing childhood obesity.

Indian Givers

Indian rupeesPublic relations "is coming of age" in India, writes Ramesh Narayan, the founder of an advertising agency in Mumbai. Its emergence has been accompanied by some shady practices, such as press confererences where reporters receive a "press kit which contained relevant material and a gift. ... Considerable time was spent in deciding what gift should be purchased.

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One-Stop Influence Shopping

The Sacramento-based public relations firm run by California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's chief fundraiser "is representing a local developer who, while working to block a bill at the Capitol, has agreed to help host a fundraising dinner on the governor's behalf." It's the fourth time that clients of fundraiser Marty Wilson's firm, Wilson-M

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