Public Relations

Making Cuba Libre, for Public Relations

by Diane Farsetta — August 10, 2006 - 12:55pm

Main Source: 
Associated Press, August 7, 2006

Patient Lobbying

by Bob Burton — August 8, 2006 - 6:04am

Drug company funding for the Mental Health Council of Australia to run lobbying and disease awareness campaigns, The Age reports, raises "questions about whether the agendas of a consumer group and that of a multinational drug company are the same." Some of the companies that have funded the council include Pfizer, Janssen-Cilag, Eli Lilly

Main Source: 
The Age (Australia), August 8, 2006

Who's Afraid of Eric Schlosser?

by Jonathan Rosenblum — August 7, 2006 - 4:23pm

"Who made the edit?" asks Evan Hessel in his Forbes "OutFront" column. "The edit" in Wikipedia's entry on McDonald's Corporation erased a link to Eric Schlosser's highly critical assessment of McDonald's in Fast Food Nation, and replaced it with a link to a more academic tome.

Main Source: 
Forbes, June 19, 2006

Viral Video Questioning Global Warming Linked to DCI

by Diane Farsetta — August 3, 2006 - 11:58am

The video "Al Gore's Penguin Army," which belittles the threat of global warming (suggesting viewers "stop exhaling") and makes fun of the former vice-president, has a

Main Source: 
Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), August 3, 2006

Former PR Executive's Wrongful Dismissal Suit Rejected

by Bob Burton — August 3, 2006 - 5:11am

U.S. District Judge Margaret Morrow has thrown out a wrongful dismissal suit brought by Douglas R. Dowie against his former employer, the public relations company Fleishman-Hillard. In court documents, Morrow wrote that "no reasonable jury could conclude that Fleishman-Hillard lacked good cause to terminate" Dowie, who was general manager of the company's Los Angeles office.

Main Source: 
San Jose Mercury News, August 2, 2006

How to Be a Grassroots Propaganda Buster

by Diane Farsetta — July 31, 2006 - 5:57pm
  • Topics: Citizen Journalism, Activism, Public Relations

    • While in the Denver area for a conference, Center for Media and Democracy Associate Director Judith Siers-Poisson and I met with staff and board members of the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center (RMPJC). We wanted to hear about RMPJC's fine work, especially on nuclear weapons issues, and to describe CMD's online resources to them. One offshoot of that meeting was the following article, which I wrote for RMPJC's newsletter.

    PR Firms Pitch 'War on Terror' Players

    by Diane Farsetta — July 31, 2006 - 4:10pm

    Pakistan hired the firm Quinn Gillespie & Associates, to promote the country to U.S. audiences as a "reliable and attractive member of the global economic community." One goal of the $616,000-per-year deal is to secure a "more robust bilateral relationship with the U.S. based on trade and security," according to the contract.

    Main Source: 
    O'Dwyer's PR Daily (sub req'd), July 27, 2006

    Rick Berman, Corporate Attack Dog for Hire

    by John Stauber — July 31, 2006 - 12:29pm

    Rick Berman, the corporate lobbyist and front group king who runs Berman and Co. is probably smiling all the way to the bank, no doubt enjoying a prominent profile in USA Today headlined "Got a nasty fight?

    Main Source: 
    USA Today, July 31, 2006

    Russo Marsh & Rogers Flacks for Iraq

    by John Stauber — July 31, 2006 - 11:35am

    Aaron Glantz, author of How America Lost Iraq, reports on Free Speech Radio and in Inter Press Service that "Kurdish officials toured the United States last week to launch a massive advertising and public relations campaign [under the slogan Kurdistan - The Other Iraq ] thanking the United States ... .

    Main Source: 
    Inter Press Service, July 31, 2006

    Who Is Strumpette?

    by Sheldon Rampton — July 22, 2006 - 4:00pm

    Howard Kurtz gives a shout out to an anonymous team of PR industry bloggers who are posting under the identity of "Strumpette," a slutty expert in marketing communications with "perfect perky boobs" who "sprinkles high-toned dissections of the flaws and foibles of the PR business with personal insults and the occasional expletive.

    Main Source: 
    Washington Post, July 19, 2006
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