Public Relations

Playing Politics with Refugees

by Diane Farsetta — June 11, 2008 - 6:02pm

Western Sahara -- a North African territory and one of the last remaining official colonies, or non-self governing territories -- is controlled by Morocco. The Polisario Front, a political group of indigenous Sahrawis, wants independence. Tens of thousands of Sahrawis live in Polisario-run refugee camps in Algeria. Recently, "a delegation of six Sahrawi refugees ...

Main Source: 
New York Times, June 4, 2008

What's Green on the Outside and Has a Hummer on the Inside?

by Anne Landman — June 9, 2008 - 2:25pm

Discovery Communications is spending $100 million to re-make its home television network into "Planet Green," the first television channel devoted entirely to environmentally-themed programming.

Main Source: 
CNBC Media Money, June 3, 2008

Two Unions Are Finding Deals at Wal-Mart

by Sheldon Rampton — June 5, 2008 - 12:19pm

"After waging an aggressive public relations campaign against Wal-Mart for three years, the company’s full-time, union-backed critics, who once vowed never to let up, are putting down their cudgels," writes Michael Barbaro.

Main Source: 
New York Times, June 5, 2008

McClellan and the Ethics of Spin

by Sheldon Rampton — June 5, 2008 - 10:29am
  • Topics: Iraq, Journalism, Ethics, Propaganda, Public Relations, Rhetoric, U.S. Government

    • John Stodder has written the most interesting commentary I've seen from within the public relations industry about former Bush administration press secretary Scott McClellan's new book. It's interesting in part because Stodder is an interesting figure. For those who remember this sort of thing, he was one of two executives at the Fleishman-Hillard PR firm (the other was Douglas Dowie) who were convicted in May 2006 of multiple counts of conspiracy and fraud in a scheme to overbill the city of Los Angeles for public relations consulting services.

    Corporate-Sponsored "Slacktivism": Bigger and More Dangerous than the Urban Dictionary Realizes

    by Anne Landman — June 2, 2008 - 3:10pm
  • Topics: Corporate Campaigns, Cause-Related Marketing, Front Groups, Corporations, Education, Environment, Ethics, Health, Propaganda, Public Relations, Women

    • Recently while browsing the Web I came across UrbanDictionary.com, which is sort of a wiki of contemporary slang. I found some of the newer words listed there amusing, like "hobosexual" (the opposite of metrosexual; someone who cares little about their looks), "consumerican," ("a particularly American brand of consumerism"), and "wikidemia" ("an academic work passed off as scholarly yet researched entirely on Wikipedia").

    The Silver Lining for Olympics Sponsors

    by Diane Farsetta — May 29, 2008 - 11:10am

    "The catastrophic earthquake that rocked China's Sichuan province has changed the entire tenor of the coming Olympics" -- and the shift is good for beleaguered Olympics sponsors.

    Main Source: 
    Advertising Age, May 26, 2008

    Thanks to Chantix, Quitting Smoking May Be Hazardous, Too

    by Diane Farsetta — May 29, 2008 - 10:51am

    The pharmaceutical company Pfizer "is preparing an advertising and public-relations campaign to counter concerns about its antismoking drug Chantix, once trumpeted as a potential billion-dollar-a-year blockbuster." So far, Pfizer has "run ads in five major newspapers in which its medical director explains Chantix's risk-benefit balance." The drug company will soon "start hosting round

    Main Source: 
    Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), May 29, 2008

    Marketing with Meaning Still Means You're Selling Something

    by Diane Farsetta — May 28, 2008 - 3:29pm

    The WPP Group's online advertising firm Bridge Worldwide offers its clients what it calls "marketing with meaning." For ConAgra, the firm created the "Start Making Choices" website, which "conveys nutrition, exercise and other well-being tips from cardiologist James Rippe ...

    Main Source: 
    Advertising Age, May 26, 2008

    GMA Is Fueling the Ethanol Backlash

    by Diane Farsetta — May 28, 2008 - 2:09pm

    The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) "has been leading an 'aggressive' public relations campaign ... in an effort to roll back ethanol mandates that passed in last year's energy bill," reports Anna Palmer.

    Main Source: 
    Roll Call, May 14, 2008

    Tiger Woods Caddies for Chevron

    by Bob Burton — May 28, 2008 - 1:19am

    In early April, the global oil company Chevron announced that it has entered into a five-year deal with the foundation created by the professional golfer, Tiger Woods. Woods proclaimed that "Chevron has a track record and a commitment to bettering the communities where they operate." Chevron's record, such as its partnership with the Burmese military dictatorship on the Yandana gas pipeline is "certainly nothing with which Woods should want his name attached," writes Dave Zirin in The Nation.

    Main Source: 
    The Nation, May 22, 2008
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