Public Relations

Lobbyists Fight Back Against Negative Stereotypes

Submitted by Laura Miller on

"Washington lobbyists, having endured nearly as much verbal abuse this year from the Democratic candidates as President Bush, are fighting back against what they call unfair characterizations," PR Week's Douglas Quenqua reports. The American League of Lobbyists (ALL) asked Democratic Presidential hopefuls to stop demonizing "government relations professionals." In a letter ALL writes, "[Lobbying's] one of the major ways that politicians are held accountable to the people.

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Main Source: 
PR Week, February 16, 2004
Topics: 
Lobbying
Public Relations

FDA Seeks a Few Good Flacks to Pat Itself on the Back

Submitted by John Stauber on

"The Food and Drug Administration is looking to hire a PR firm to help it celebrate its 100th anniversary on June 30, 2006," O'Dwyer's PR writes. "It is looking for a campaign based on the 'Protecting and Advancing America's Health' theme. The PR firm is to use the campaign to celebrate the FDA's accomplishments and further its 'mission to promote and protect the public health for future generations.'" Before FDA knocks itself over patting itself on the back with its tax-subsidized PR campaign, let's look a little harder at its record versus its mythology.

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Main Source: 
O'Dwyer PR Daily, February 13, 2004
Topics: 
Health
Public Relations
U.S. Government

"Osama, Osama" Jeer Greets US Soccer in Mexico

Submitted by John Stauber on

Survey after survey documents how the Bush administration has squandered the international outpouring of sympathy after 9/11, turning it into an outpouring of fear and hatred toward the US and its foreign policies. But actions of Mexican soccer fans spoke louder than poll numbers in Guadalajara today. "The boos nearly drowned out The Star-Spangled Banner , and a few dozen fans chanted "Osama! Osama!" as the United States was eliminated by Mexico in Olympic men's soccer qualifying.

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Main Source: 
Associated Press, February 11, 2004
Topics: 
International
Public Relations
U.S. Government

In Search of the Magic Phrase

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on

The "apparatus of public diplomacy" (the official government euphemism for overseas public relations) "has proven inadequate, especially in the Arab and Muslim World," says Harold Pachios, a commissioner on the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. In testimony before the U.S.

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Main Source: 
http://www.state.gov/r/adcompd/rls/29213.htm
Topics: 
International
Public Relations
U.S. Government

Losing Hearts and Minds

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

In Margaret Tutwiler's first public appearance as the State Department's public diplomacy head, she admitted that America's international standing has fallen so far that "many years of hard, focused work" are needed to restore it. This week, the al-Hurra ("Free One") network begins broadcasting from Virginia. The $62 million project will tell "the truth about the values and the policies of the United States" to Middle Eastern countries and overcome "hateful propaganda...

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Main Source: 
Christian Science Monitor, February 9, 2004
Topics: 
International
Public Relations
U.S. Government

PR, Journalism, Same Thing

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

University of Kansas' journalism school will award its prestigious William Allen White Foundation Medal for "outstanding journalistic merit" to PR professional and former Reagan and Bush I White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater. Previous honorees include Charles Kuralt, Bob Woodward and Molly Ivins.

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Main Source: 
PR Week, February 2, 2004
Topics: 
Journalism
Public Relations

Lobbying Makes DC a PR Capital

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on

Everyone from the highway construction industry to the mining industry, environmental groups and the healthcare and tobacco industry has a stake in Washington politics. As a result, reports the Washington Post, "Pasting ads all over Capitol Hill has become a big business -- so big that Washington is the nation's second-largest public relations market after New York, even though the District is only the 21st-largest city in the country, behind places like Phoenix, Memphis and Milwaukee."

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Main Source: 
Washington Post, February 1, 2004
Topics: 
Advertising
Lobbying
Public Relations
U.S. Government

Army Will Continue To Tell Its Own Story

Submitted by Laura Miller on

"The Army has abandoned plans to outsource nearly one in six of its jobs to the private sector, a move that could have resulted in the loss of thousands of public affairs positions worldwide and a windfall of contracts for private PR firms," PR Week reports. "The outsourcing plan, first announced in late 2002, was part of President Bush's directive to trim the government by farming out all work not 'inherently governmental.' The Army also cited an interest in directing more of its resources to national security and the war on terrorism.

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Main Source: 
PR Week, January 19, 2004
Topics: 
Public Relations
U.S. Government
War / Peace

Media Trainees Keep Journalists on a Tight Lead

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

Columbia Journalism Review editor Trudy Lieberman, after examining transcripts from some 50 major news shows, concludes that "journalism has morphed into a cog in a great public relations machine." Lieberman blames the prevalence of PR-driven media training: "At a time when the audience makes decisions based on perceptions rather than facts, the goal is to create positive perceptions of companies and their products, politicians and their policies." Recent interview excerpts illustrate how "trained" guests can easily gain control, especially when the "unwritten rules" discourage journalists

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Main Source: 
Columbia Journalism Review, Monday, January 12, 2004
Topics: 
Ethics
Media
Public Relations

Ogilvy & Mather Charged With Bilking White House

Submitted by Laura Miller on

The U.S. has indicted executives from Ogilvy and Mather, a PR and advertising agency, for participating in an "extensive scheme to defraud the U.S. Government by falsely and fraudulently inflating the labor costs that Ogilvy incurred" for its work on a media campaign for the Office of National Drug Control Policy. According to O'Dwyer's PR Daily, O&M's anti-drug media campaign work was part of a five-year $684 million dollar project. The government claims it was overcharged by O&M from May 1999 to April 2000.

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Main Source: 
O'Dwyer's PR Daily, January 6, 2004
Topics: 
Advertising
Ethics
Public Relations

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