Public Relations

Saudi Arabia Picks Burson-Marsteller For PR

Saudi Arabia hired PR giant Burson-Marsteller on September 14 according to O'Dwyer's PR Daily. B-M will place ads and provide "issues counseling and crisis management" the Saudi government. Craig Veith, chairman of B-M's media practice in Washington, D.C., said B-M has placed ads for the Saudis in The New York Times expressing support for the U.S. in its time of crisis.

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Who Flacks for Peace ?

Peace Action is no new kid on the block. This very serious and well established group dates back forty years to the 'ban the bomb' movement of the 1960s, and led the fight in the 1980s against Ronald Reagan's nuclear build-up. Now, it tackles the current crisis in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

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Toxic Sludge Plant's Toxic PR Defames Colorado Activist

Environmental activist and college instructor Adrienne Anderson has been the victim of an "outrageous" defamation campaign at the hands of the PR department of Colorado's largest sewage plant, and a judge has hit the plant with a $450,000 damage award. According to the Denver Post, the judge has ordered the sewage district "to publicly apologize in a full page ad." The Post notes that the judge "singled out Metro's public relations director Steven M.

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U.S. Sikhs Hire MWW

A New Jersey Sikh group has hired MWW Group to launch a national PR campaign to educate Americans about the religion that was founded in India more than 500 years ago. There has been at least one hate-based killing of a Sikh and many other reported hate crimes against Sikhs in the aftermath of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. There are 400,000 Sikhs living in North America.

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Air Transport Association Hires Burson-Marsteller

The Air Transport Association, which represents air carriers, hired PR giant Burson-Marsteller to develop issue ads in support of the group's lobbying activities. ATA is seeking from Congress a $17.5 billion rescue package consisting of cash and loan guarantees for the airline industry, in the wake of its collapse following last week's attacks. Airlines are said to be losing $200 million a day because of disruptions in air traffic and the public's general unwillingness to fly.

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Powell Tate Lobbies for Star Wars

Boeing is using Interpublic's Powell Tate unit to build PR support for President Bush's missile defense system. Bush's request for $8.3 billion for missile defense was expected to be sliced due to the vanishing surplus, but now has gotten new life in aftermath of last week's terror attacks. This contradicts Kevin McCauley's prediction in last week's O'Dwyer's PR Daily. McCauley wrote that the terrorist attacks "killed Bush's missile defense program.

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PR Watch Examines How Corporate PR Defeats Environmentalism

Supporters of the Center for Media & Democracy have just been mailed the third quarter 2001 issue of PR Watch. It examines the strategies employed by corporations such as Philip Morris and BP/Amoco, and their PR firms such as Burson-Marsteller, to defeat environmental activism through partnerships and co-optation. Articles include "Keep America Beautiful: Grassroots Non-Profit or Tobacco Front Group?" by Walter Lamb; "Corporations 'Get Engaged' to the Environmental Movement" by Andy Rowell; and, "Endangered Wildlife Friends Are Here" by John Stauber.

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PR Newswire Opens Wires

PR Newswire opened its wires to companies whose crisis communications plans were activated by the attacks on the World Trade Center as a public service. The newswire sent out an e-mail to members at approximately 11a.m. The message read: "For PR Newswire members whose crisis communication plan has been activated by today's World Trade Center and Washington, D.C.

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You Too Can Be a PR Wizard

The Minneapolis weekly newspaper City Pages offers readers 13 Secrets of Crisis Management based on Allina Health System documents made public by Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch. The documents, stamped "trade secret" and "attorney client privileged," outline the tactics employed by crisis management consultants employed by Allina. The health care company is being investigate by Hatch for abusing its "nonprofit" status, spending too much money on corporate perks and PR consultants.

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U.S. Army Calls in Hill & Knowlton

The U.S. Army Community and Family Support Center recently hired PR-firm Hill & Knowlton for a 5-year, $2-million-dollar contract to promote the Center's "morale, welfare and recreation (MWR) programs." According to a Center spokesperson, H&K's work on 250 various MWR activities will include concerts (Miller Genuine Draft Army Concert Tour), sporting events ("Bowl Hog Wild" tournament featuring a Harley-Davidson motorcycle as grand prize), theater, and social/health/education programs.

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