Public Relations

A New Mike for Perino to Stand Behind

by Bob Burton — November 19, 2009 - 5:07am

President Barack Obama has announced his intention to nominate Dana Perino as a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG).

Main Source: 
White House Media Release, November 18, 2009

Hill & Knowlton's Carbon Two-Step

by Bob Burton — November 7, 2009 - 1:45pm

In a media release, the PR firm Hill & Knowlton (H&K) boasts that the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has awarded the company a short-term consultancy for "an information campaign to encourage climate conscious behavior by delegates and others to help reduce GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions" related to the COP15 meeting in Copenhagen in December.

Main Source: 
Hill & Knowlton media release, October 29, 2009

Sugar-Coated Counterattack

by Bob Burton — November 2, 2009 - 5:15pm

The PR firm Edelman is handling a crisis management campaign for Imperial Sugar to "pick apart claims" by a whistleblower about poor safety standards at the Port Wentworth refinery near Savannah, Georgia. Graham H. Graham, who was Vice President of Operations for Imperial, testified that the refinery was a "dirty, dangerous facility" before a February 2008 explosion which killed 14 people.

Main Source: 
O'Dwyer's PR Daily (Sub req'd), October 26, 2009

Chemical Industry Front Group Outed

by Bob Burton — November 1, 2009 - 3:09am

A freshly-minted front group, which proclaimed that it promoted "balanced chemical safety reform that protects public health, innovation, and economic growth,” has been outed.

Main Source: 
Chemicals & Nanomaterials (Environmental Defense blog), October 26, 2009

How Business Propaganda Hijacks Canadian Democracy

by John Stauber — October 29, 2009 - 8:39am

A book review in western Canada's Georgia Straight newspaper asks, "Do you ever wonder why so many of the Fraser Institute’s right-wing commentaries get into Canadian daily newspapers? Perhaps you’ve been disturbed by the spate of articles about the inevitability of Canada forming closer ties with the United States.

Main Source: 
Georgia Straight, October 29, 2009

Flooding Chile's Media with Pro-Dam Ads

by Bob Burton — October 21, 2009 - 4:01am

With opposition mounting to the proposed US$3.2 billion HidroAysen hydropower scheme in southern Chile’s Patagonia, the project proponents have launched a "multi-million dollar public relations campaign to sell their project to Chile." The HidroAysen project, which involves five major dams, is being proposed by a consortium of the Chilean utility ColbUn and the and Italian-owned electricity utility Endesa.

Main Source: 
The Patagonia Times, 19 October 2009

Yet Another PR Ploy: The Un-Spokesperson

by John Stauber — October 10, 2009 - 1:59am

The Seattle Times' Jonathan Martin reports, "In response to a request to talk with [T-Mobile] CEO Robert Dotson and other executives this week, I got an email back from the PR firm Waggener Edstrom Worldwide that ended with a strange request.

Hi Jonathan, Thank you for your phone call this afternoon and your patience while I looked into your request. While we won't be able to provide you with an interview we are able to provide the following statement. ... Please note that if you plan to use this statement in your piece, I am not a T-Mobile spokesperson and to use my name would be inaccurate.

Main Source: 
Seattle Times, October 9, 2009

The Lie Machine Killing Health Care Reform

by John Stauber — September 24, 2009 - 9:54pm

"According to internal documents obtained by Rolling Stone, Conservatives for Patients' Rights had been working closely for weeks as a 'coalition partner' with three other right-wing groups in a plot to unleash irate mobs at town-hall meetings ... .

Main Source: 
Rolling Stone, September 23, 2009

P.S. to the Tea Party Express

by Diane Farsetta — September 15, 2009 - 3:13pm

Just who is in the Tea Party movement? In the lead-up to the anti-health care reform, anti-Obama administration rally in Washington DC on September 12, the "Tea Party Express" bus tour held smaller, local rallies across the country.

Main Source: 
Connecticut Post, September 11, 2009

Wendell Potter: How Corporate PR Works to Kill Health Care Reform

by Wendell Potter — September 15, 2009 - 7:16am
  • Topics: Health, Lobbying, Public Relations

    • September 14th I addressed a gathering at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC and delivered these remarks:

    It is easy to think of efforts to influence lawmakers as the exclusive domain of K Street lobbyists. Much has been said and written about the millions of dollars the special interests are spending on lobbying activities and the hundreds of lobbyists who are at work as we speak trying to shape health care reform legislation. Very little by comparison has been written about the millions of dollars that special interests are spending on PR activities to accomplish the same goal and that are vital to successful lobbying efforts.

    One of the reasons I left my job at CIGNA, where I headed corporate communications and was part of the Legal & Public Affairs division, was because I did not want to be involved in yet another PR and lobbying campaign to kill or gut reform. I finally came to question the ethics of what I had done and been a part of for nearly two decades to influence decision-making and bill writing on Capitol Hill.

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