Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
Guthrie/Mayes PR is helping the Archdiocese of Louisville handle its sex abuse crisis. Eight of the Archdiocese's 182 priests have been "permanently removed" from their ministries. Other clients of Guthrie/Mayes include Philip Morris, Toyota, Eli Lilly and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
"Some of the United States' best-heeled corporations and capitalists, seeking to elect a Republican Congress in November, have turned to a gambit pioneered nearly 70 years ago by rulers of the Soviet Union," Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist Joel Connelly writes. "The underlying reason: Sheep's clothing is often needed for wolves to stalk their prey." With elections drawing near, industry-sponsored front groups are flooding the air waves with their anonymous messages. The drug company sponsored United Seniors Association spent more than $1 million to boost embattled Rep.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
For insight into ways to promote better US-Arab relations, the Saudi Arabia-based Arab News interviewed Jim Cox of the Hill & Knowlton PR firm (which worked a decade ago to promote war in the Persian Gulf). "Saudi Arabia has a cadre of friends," says Cox, "who know, respect and value it in terms of business relationships and the culture of the Kingdom. The trouble is that cadre is very small.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
The Canadian firm National PR inadvertently sent an email instructing Conservative members of the Ontario Parliament how to "undermine the Kyoto Protocol" to Liberal members who support the accord. The National Post reported the misdirected email caused "embarrassment for a government that has yet to take a clear stand on the international plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions." National PR, which is partly owned by PR giant Burson-Marsteller, helped organize the anti-Kyoto front group the Canadian Coalition for Responsible Environmental Solutions.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
Wampler Foods, a unit of poultry producer Pilgrim's Pride, has hired Edelman PR Worldwide to help handle a recall crisis, according to O'Dwyer's PR. Over the weekend, Pilgrim's Pride recalled 27.4 million pounds of cooked sandwich meat, primarily sold under the Wampler brand. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have traced a deadly strain of listeria bacteria to a Pilgrim's Pride plant in Franconia, Pennsylvania. This is the largest meat recall in U.S. history.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
What do former Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig, Jr., former CIA director James Woolsey, White House advisor Richard Perle, Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer, American Enterprise Institute's Michael Ledeen, and dissident Iraqi nuclear scientist Dr. Khidir Hamza have in common? For one thing, they all have the PR expertise of Eleana Benador behind them.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
Industry apologist Steven Milloy, formerly a tobacco lackey at The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition and currently a self-proclaimed expert on "junk science," is hiding behind yet another front group.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
Seeking to "create a favorable image for the country," Pakistan will pay $600,000 for a year of media relations work, O'Dwyer's PR Daily reports. The recently formed Sterling International Consulting Corporation, based in Lansing, Michigan, will "root out negative stories" and provide journalists with "background, response and clarification." The PR firm is to find Pakistani-Americans willing to speak out on behalf of Pakistan. "Those 'message surrogates' will be given talking points and media training by SICC.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
Enron CEO Ken Lay and Global Crossing CEO Gary Winnick are both claiming that they knew nothing about the billion-dollar shortfalls, deceptive accounting and other problems at their companies. Experts say ignorance is a "potentially effective legal strategy," even though "you should expect chairmen to be aware of major factors affecting the business." After all, isn't that why they pay them the big bucks?
Submitted by Laura Miller on
"If you are going to fairly represent the [military] institution to the media, you must know how the boss views various issues," PR Tactics reports Air Force Lt. Gen. Steven Plummer saying. "You have to understand his position vis-a-vis the greater environment in which he works." According to Tactics, loyalty, "strategic communications" experience, "deep insight into the media environment," and "knowledge of all the 'skeleton-in-the-closet' issues" are other key ingredients needed to make a good public affairs officer.
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