Public Relations

Help Yourself to Deportation

by Diane Farsetta — August 6, 2008 - 4:08pm

Following a raid on a meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa that's been condemned as "inhumane" and "a Kafkaesque travesty of justice," U.S.

Main Source: 
Associated Press, August 6, 2008

U.S. Navy to PR Firms: Throw Us a Life Preserver!

by Diane Farsetta — August 1, 2008 - 2:33pm

The U.S. Navy's Chief of Information (CHINFO) is taking on water. "Navy leaders have placed increased demands on CHINFO," which have "long outstripped CHINFO's capacity to respond," admits the Navy's solicitation for public relations help.

Main Source: 
O'Dwyer's PR Daily (sub req'd), July 30, 2008

Whose Line Is It, Anyway?

by Diane Farsetta — July 30, 2008 - 1:36pm

It's an "open secret of lobbying," writes Jeffrey Birnbaum. "Public relations firms regularly solicit authors of opinion-page articles, draft the pieces for them and place the articles in publications where they will have the most impact -- all for a fee." Recently, an op-ed criticizing a bill that would reduce credit card fees appeared in Southern newspapers, attributed to Charles Steele Jr., the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).

Main Source: 
Washington Post, July 29, 2008

Taking out the Trash

by Bob Burton — July 27, 2008 - 6:54pm

On parliament's last day before its summer break, the British government publicly released thirty ministerial statements, including one listing the salaries of "special advisers," one detailing the siting criteria for new nuclear power stations and another detailing the guests entertained at

Main Source: 
Guardian (UK), July 22, 2008

Depends Who You Work For: Half Empty or Half Full?

by Judith Siers-Poisson — July 25, 2008 - 4:59pm

While the closing of 600 Starbucks stores is bad news for the 12,000 baristas who will lose their jobs, it's an economic plus for others. The coffee giant is ramping up PR efforts to shape its message about its contraction.

Main Source: 
O'Dwyer's PR Daily (sub req'd), July 23, 2008

Public Criticism for Public Strategies

by Diane Farsetta — July 23, 2008 - 4:04pm

Human rights and labor activists protested outside the Washington DC offices of Public Strategies, Inc., claiming that the public relations firm helps the Bridgestone / Firestone Tire Company "deflect attention away from the company's long history of exploiting workers and the environment on its rubber plantation in Liberia." The protest comes shortly after the publication of a

Main Source: 
The Stop Firestone Coalition, July 23, 2008

Pity the Poor Airlines

by Diane Farsetta — July 23, 2008 - 3:39pm

"It's hard to take the airlines seriously when they try to play the pity card with consumers," opines Advertising Age. The trade publication's biting editorial comes in response to a public relations push by the Air Transport Association of America (ATA).

Main Source: 
Advertising Age, July 21, 2008

Nuclear "Renaissance" Dismissed as a "Carefully Fabricated Illusion"

by Bob Burton — July 22, 2008 - 5:42am

Asked why people like Patrick Moore and Stewart Brand, who made their name as environmentalists are now nuclear power advocates, the highly regarded energy efficiency analyst Amory Lovins was blunt: "I think they haven't done their homework.

Main Source: 
Democracy Now, July 16, 2008

Peak Drug Industry Body Sin Bins Roche

by Bob Burton — July 22, 2008 - 1:40am

The Swiss drug company Roche has been suspended from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) after adverse findings over its promotion of the weight-loss drug Xenical.

Main Source: 
Financial Times (UK), July 15, 2008

Edelman Gets Called out for Greenwashing

by Judith Siers-Poisson — July 18, 2008 - 5:28pm

Members of the Oxford Climate Action group protested at the London offices of PR firm Edelman to draw attention to the greenwashing done on behalf of its energy client

Main Source: 
PR Week (UK), July 17, 2008
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