Public Relations

Exxon Mobil Partnership Proves Costly for Stanford

by Diane Farsetta — March 12, 2007 - 11:02am

"Exxon Mobil has teamed up with Stanford University to find breakthrough technologies that deliver more energy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions," enthuses a TV commercial by the oil giant.

Main Source: 
Mercury News (San Jose, CA), March 11, 2007

Light Shy Lobbyists

by Bob Burton — March 10, 2007 - 4:56am

Andrew Parker, the head of the Australian PR and lobbying firm Parker & Partners -- a part of the Ogilvy PR Worldwide network -- is worried that the Australian government will re-introduce a system of regulating lobbyists.

Main Source: 
The Australian, March 9, 2007

American Heart Association Sticks with Smoky Partner

by Anne Landman — March 7, 2007 - 2:14pm

The American Heart Association (AHA) is once again partnering with the Rite Aid Drug Store chain to promote its "Go Red for Women" campaign, aimed at increasing public awareness of heart disease in women.

Main Source: 
Rite Aid press release, February 1, 2007

Coal Plant Pusher Gains Green Cred for Buyout

by Diane Farsetta — March 2, 2007 - 12:30pm

"The biggest leveraged buyout in history was notable not only for its finances, but also for its unusual feature of having multiple PR firms advising both sides of the deal simultaneously," writes PR Week.

Main Source: 
PR Week (sub req'd), February 28, 2007

Appetite for Profit: An Interview with Michele Simon

by Judith Siers-Poisson — February 28, 2007 - 11:16am
  • Topics: Advertising, Corporate Campaigns, Obesity, Front Groups, Corporations, Health, Marketing, Media, Politics, Public Relations, Science

    • In December 2006, I interviewed author Michele Simon about her book, "Appetite for Profit: How the Food Industry Undermines our Health and How to Fight Back." The excerpts below are from that original interview, which took place on WORT, community radio in Madison, Wisconsin. For more information on Michele and her work, please visit her website.

    Judith Siers-Poisson (JSP): How did you personally become so involved and interested in food politics?

    Michele Simon (MS): It started about 10 years ago when I was struggling with my own weight and turned to a vegetarian diet and, lo and behold, I lost the weight I was struggling with. And then, from there, I started to learn all of the other ways our diet impacts our own health, in addition to the environment, animal welfare, and labor, and so many aspects of society -- I was just amazed at how much was impacted by those food choices.

    University of Virginia Gets an "F" in Tobacco Industry Studies

    by Anne Landman — February 27, 2007 - 1:33pm
  • Topics: Public Relations, Science, Tobacco

    • On February 9, 2007, the University of Virginia (UVa) announced its acceptance of a $25 million gift from cigarette maker Philip Morris, to support biomedical research and "business leadership." In its press release, UVa said the gift created a partnership between PM and the university "in a number of key areas in which they share a common interest."

    That a medical school would find common interests with a company whose products kill 440,000 Americans annually is troubling, to say the least. Moreover, an analysis of tobacco industry documents published by the medical journal Academic Medicine in October 2004 clearly shows that the tobacco industry seeks to buy legitimacy by funding research -- biomedical research, in particular. Study author Nathaniel Wander said that he found "PM wanted to be seen to contribute to medical research to counter the image of harm caused by its cigarettes." Such grantmaking has long been a centerpiece of the tobacco industry's decades-long propaganda campaign to keep the public confused about the health hazards of smoking and, more recently, the hazardous effects of secondhand smoke on nonsmokers. In addition, the covert influence of the tobacco industry on academic research is well established.

    Truth Voted Down in UK PR Ethics Debate

    by Bob Burton — February 23, 2007 - 4:08am

    A majority of 350 people attending a debate on PR ethics voted against the team supporting the proposition that PR practitioners have a responsibility to tell the truth. The debate was hosted by the PR industry trade publication PR Week. The director of communications for the Church of England, Peter Crumpler, was disappointed with the result. "Truth and integrity have to be the cornerstones of our profession if we are to have any credibility with the media and the wider world," he said.

    Main Source: 
    PR Week (sub req'd), February 21, 2007

    Pombo's Clear-Cut Path to the Revolving Door

    by Diane Farsetta — February 21, 2007 - 5:30pm

    "Former [U.S.] House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo has joined a lobbying and public relations firm that backed his attempts to rework the Endangered Species Act and open the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve to oil drilling," reports Josh Richman.

    Main Source: 
    Contra Costa Times (California), February 21, 2007

    Mark Penn, the One Man Band of Washington Influence

    by Diane Farsetta — February 21, 2007 - 3:42pm

    Mark Penn, the worldwide CEO of the PR firm Burson-Marsteller, "is a man who wears many hats." In addition to being a PR executive, he's the "chief strategist to New York Sen.

    Main Source: 
    Washington Post, February 20, 2007
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