Public Relations

Anxious About Greens

by Sheldon Rampton — December 28, 2006 - 3:43pm

Public relations consultant Alan Caruba, who runs the anti-environmentalist "National Anxiety Center," is anxious about the upcoming switch to Democratic Party control of the U.S.

Main Source: 
Alan Caruba news release, December 26, 2006

Falsies on Parade: The Worst Spinners of 2006

by Sheldon Rampton — December 18, 2006 - 2:52am
  • Topics: Corporations, Ethics, Media, Politics, Public Relations, U.S. Government

    • Here at the Center for Media and Democracy, we've made our year-end list, and our readers have checked it 1,204 times. That can only mean one thing -- it's time to announce the winners of the coveted 2006 Falsies Awards!

    A Cause (-Related Marketing) for Joy?

    by Diane Farsetta — December 15, 2006 - 6:53pm

    "Large American nonprofits spend at least $7.6 billion per year on marketing and public relations," according to a consulting firm's analysis of U.S. tax data. "$7.6 billion annually in spending for advertising, communications, public relations and branding ... is not an insignificant business sector," writes Tom Watson. "Total spending on public relations in the U.S. reached some $3.7 billion last year. ...

    Main Source: 
    The Huffington Post, December 13, 2006

    Playing High-Stakes Media Games in China

    by Diane Farsetta — December 15, 2006 - 5:49pm

    As the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing approach, "the Chinese government knows cameras and notebooks are just as likely to record angry farmers protesting, practitioners of the banned Falun Gong discipline clashing with police, or Hollywood stars campaigning for Tibet's independence -- if reporters have the access." While China has 31 journalists in jail -- more than any other country -- the government has "pledged to temporarily relax limits on foreign journalists" reporting on the Olympics.

    Main Source: 
    The Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), December 15, 2006

    A Letter Writer's Imagination

    by Bob Burton — December 14, 2006 - 5:16am

    A doctor who featured in the PR plans of the drug company GlaxoSmithKline has been appointed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to a committee reviewing possible links between anti-depressant drugs and suicidality. In December 2004, internal GlaxoSmithKline documents revealed that Dr.

    Main Source: 
    BioEthics, December 12, 2006

    Taco Bell Seeks PR Antidote to E. Coli Cases

    by Jonathan Rosenblum — December 13, 2006 - 4:31pm

    Taco Bell has hired a safety expert, tested its produce, eliminated green onions, changed suppliers, and hired a PR crisis-response firm, Penn, Schoen & Berland. The firm's advice: publicize safety, which the company has done in big market newspaper ads. Still, with 69 reported East Coast cases of E.

    Main Source: 
    The Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), December 13, 2006

    Government Scientist Pleads Guilty to Accepting Pfizer Fees

    by Bob Burton — December 12, 2006 - 4:33pm

    The chief of the geriatric psychiatry branch of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Pearson Sunderland III, has pleaded guilty to accepting approximately $300,000 in undisclosed fees and expenses from Pfizer between 1997 and 2004. The NIMH is a part of the U.S. government's National Institutes of Health (NIH), which conducts and funds medical research projects.

    Main Source: 
    Baltimore Sun, December 9, 2006

    PR Adviser Pleads Guilty To Insider Trading Charges

    by Bob Burton — December 11, 2006 - 3:35am

    Margot Mackay, a former PR consultant to the gambling company Aristocrat, has pleaded guilty to three charges of insider trading. Mackay, who headed her own company Margot McKay and Associates, used family members to buy almost $150,000 in shares ahead of announcements to the stock exchange that she wrote herself.

    Main Source: 
    Sydney Morning Herald, November 29, 2006

    It's the Little Things

    by Sheldon Rampton — December 10, 2006 - 5:45pm

    "Walmart used to annoy me with its horrible labor practices, draconian rules, and blatant manipulation of the media, but now it's gone past annoyance to bafflement," writes marketing consultant K.D. Paine. "The latest was the firing of their VP of Marketing because she allegedly went for rides in an Aston Martin and accepted dinners from Agencies pitching their business. ... Their message is: we're all about ethics.

    Main Source: 
    KD Paine's PR Measurement Blog, December 8, 2006

    Edelman Flacks for Big Oil

    by Sheldon Rampton — December 7, 2006 - 2:18pm

    "With congressional Democrats readying probes into oil companies' profits and eyeing legislation aimed at curbing global warming, the American Petroleum Institute and its K Street allies are looking to assemble a $100 million war chest to rally policy makers and public opinion to their side," reports Peter Stone.

    Main Source: 
    National Journal (reg req'd), December 1, 2006
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