Public Relations

Marketers Seek Multicultural "Magic"

by Diane Farsetta — December 5, 2006 - 7:17pm

The Association of National Advertisers recently held its Multicultural Marketing Conference, "which drew more than 300 attendees from companies such as McDonald's Corp., Sprint, Home Depot and Lexus." Earvin "Magic" Johnson told the conference that early engagement of communities of color resulted in brand loyalty. If "somebody beat you in, we're going to stick with them," he said.

Main Source: 
Advertising Age (sub req'd), November 20, 2006

Perchlorate Makers Blow Smoke on Health Issue

by Diane Farsetta — December 5, 2006 - 7:02pm

The Los Angeles-based group Environment California says an industry-funded group is using "misleading research and tobacco industry-style lobbying to influence the debate on the effects of perchorate." Perchlorate is a rocket fuel ingredient and "a known thyroid inhibitor" often present in water supplies near military and manufacturing sites.

Main Source: 
DailyBulletin (Ontario, California), December 4, 2006

The First Casualty

by Paul Rouse — November 30, 2006 - 7:55am
  • Topics: Journalism, Iraq, Public Relations

    • The fate of Terry Lloyd has made headline news. But what of the reporter killed by Al-Qaeda who may have been an unwitting accomplice in the countdown to war in Iraq? Paul Rouse investigates.

    People who knew him always joked that Paul Moran would be late for his own funeral.

    Implant Flacks

    by Bob Burton — November 23, 2006 - 5:55am

    On November 17 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved silicone breast implants manufactured by Mentor Corporation and Allergan. PR Week reports that the PR firm MS&L "began working with Inamed Corp.

    Main Source: 
    PR Week (sub req'd), November 21, 2006

    New Zealand Opposition Leader Retreats From Banning Book

    by Bob Burton — November 22, 2006 - 4:30am

    The Leader of the New Zealand National Party, Don Bracks, has indicated that he may clear the way for the publication of a book by investigative journalist Nicky Hager, despite having obtained an injunction last Friday banning anyone from publishing the contents of leaked internal party emails.

    Main Source: 
    TV New Zealand, November 22, 2006

    U.S. Fake News Sales Slide

    by Bob Burton — November 21, 2006 - 9:33pm
  • Topics: Advertising, Video News Releases, International, Marketing, Propaganda, Public Relations, U.S. Government

    • One indication that the controversy over the unattributed use of video news releases (VNRs) is beginning to bite is buried in the latest quarterly financial report of Medialink Worldwide, the $30 million a year behemoth of the fake news industry.

    Uranium Miners Want PR Push

    by Bob Burton — November 20, 2006 - 3:40am

    With the Australian government supporting plans by BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto for a major expansion of uranium mining, a recently released report proposes a major PR campaign to counter public concern. The Uranium Industry Framework report, written by a mining industry dominated group, notes that a majority of the Australian public oppose the establishment of additional uranium mines.

    Main Source: 
    Australian Department of Industry Tourism and Resources (Pdf), November 15, 2005

    Fast Food Nation Interview: Eric Schlosser On Obesity, Kids, and Fast Food PR

    by Jonathan Rosenblum — November 17, 2006 - 6:08pm
  • Topics: Crisis Management, Obesity, Front Groups, Children, Health, Public Relations

    • When PR Watch most recently caught a cell phone signal from Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation and the new Chew on This: Everything You Don't Want to Know About Fast Food, Schlosser was rushing from car to car in New York City, after London, which was just after Berkeley, where he was giving students a preview of the indie film version of "Fast

    Malaysian Palm Oil Producers Plan PR Blitz

    by Bob Burton — November 17, 2006 - 12:00am

    Source: Orangutan Foundation

    The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC), a lobby group whose members dominate the global trade in oil produced from palm oil plantations, is looking to launch a PR blitz in the U.K. to overcome criticism from environmentalists.

    Main Source: 
    PR Week (sub req'd), November 15, 2006

    Lantos Set for Promotion Despite Role in Incubator Scandal

    by Bob Burton — November 16, 2006 - 11:55pm

    California Democrat Tom Lantos is reportedly the frontrunner to chair the House International Relations Committee in the next Congress. In 1990 a Hill & Knowlton created front group, Citizens for a Free Kuwait, lobbied Congress for military action after Iraq's invasion.

    Main Source: 
    Mother Jones, November 14, 2006
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