Media

PR Czar Hughes Loses the Reporters

by Diane Farsetta — February 13, 2006 - 3:30pm

"In September, Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes ... took 16 reporters on her first trip to the Mideast," Al Kamen writes. "We all know how well that trip turned out.

Main Source: 
Washington Post, February 13, 2006

On MTV, the Ads Never End

by Diane Farsetta — February 8, 2006 - 7:08pm

Unilever's advertising firm, the Publicis Groupe agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH), and the production company Radical Media are behind a new MTV show.

Main Source: 
Advertising Age, February 6, 2006

Anxious Al Caruba

by Bob Burton — February 7, 2006 - 5:11pm
  • Topics: Environment, Media, Public Relations

    • Alan Caruba, from the CDFE website

    Alan Caruba is a public relations professional who is so anxious about issues like environmentalism, immigration and the United Nations that he runs the National Anxiety Center. Caruba, who states on his website that his clients include or have included "chemical and pharmaceutical companies, think tanks [and] trade associations," writes a weekly column, called "Warning Signs," which is run by conservative websites.

    In last week's column, Caruba, an "adjunct fellow" at Ron Arnold's anti-environmentalist Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise (CDFE), expressed anxiety over our SourceWatch article on his friend Michael Fumento. The title of his column was "Smearing Conservative Writers."

    Fake News without the Gatekeepers

    by Diane Farsetta — February 6, 2006 - 4:06pm

    It's "the most aggressive example yet in a growing trend of marketers utilizing broadband video downloading to bypass traditional TV outlets," writes Joe Mandese. During the ABC network's Super Bowl coverage, Anheuser-Busch debuted "Bud TV," a "direct-to-consumer network ...

    Main Source: 
    MediaDailyNews, February 2, 2006

    On TV News, the Ads Never End

    by Diane Farsetta — January 30, 2006 - 3:11pm

    "Local TV news operations hungry for free content have intersected with brand brokers looking for product placement opportunities," writes Advertising Age. The segments "typically come in the form of four-minute lifestyle segments that are dedicated to one brand and feature a brand's spokesperson chatting with the show's host and delivering the product's message to viewers.

    Main Source: 
    Advertising Age, January 30, 2006

    An Inclusive Approach to Fake Radio News

    by Diane Farsetta — January 25, 2006 - 11:28am

    The PR firm NovoMedia "has launched a radio news release service that will focus on the African American market," reports PR Week. NovoMedia president David Henry "said in doing work for the Hispanic market, he recognized a need for the same types of services in the African American market." African Americans have $723 billion in buying power, and 90 percent of Black adults listen to the radio on a weekly basis, according to market research.

    Main Source: 
    PR Week (sub req'd), January 25, 2006

    Simon's Prediction: VNR Disclosure Will Increase in 2006

    by Bob Burton — January 22, 2006 - 12:26am

    Doug Simon, the President and CEO of D S Simon Productions, a major producer of video news releases (VNRs), optimistically predicts that in 2006 "TV stations will more willingly disclose sources of outside video they use on air during news and other programs." Last yea

    Main Source: 
    Bulldog Reporter, January 20, 2006

    Reporter Says Scrushy Stacked the Media and Jury

    by Diane Farsetta — January 19, 2006 - 5:54pm

    "Throughout the six-month trial that led to Richard Scrushy's acquittal in the $2.7 billion fraud at HealthSouth Corp., a small, influential newspaper consistently printed articles sympathetic to the ... fired CEO." The author of those stories, Audry Lewis, now says "she was secretly working on behalf of Scrushy, who she says paid her $11,000 through a public relations firm," The Lewis Group.

    Main Source: 
    Associated Press, January 19, 2006

    PR More Prevalent Than Ever

    by Diane Farsetta — January 19, 2006 - 3:24pm

    Public relations "is an increasingly vital marketing tool," writes The Economist, "especially as traditional forms of advertising struggle to catch consumers' attention." Overall spending on PR in the United States is growing, reaching "some $3.7 billion last year, according to Veronis Suhler Stevenson, a New York investment firm that specialises in media. It forecasts PR spending will grow by almost 9% a year.

    Main Source: 
    The Economist, January 19, 2006

    Abramoff Stink Extends To Media

    by Diane Farsetta — January 13, 2006 - 4:46pm

    Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff's media clients included the Magazine Publishers Association (MPA) and Primedia. For MPA, Abramoff "and an unidentified Congressional aide worked to stave off an increase in postal rates - a significant benefit for an industry that depends on the postal service," reported the New York Times.

    Main Source: 
    Advertising Age, January 11, 2006
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