WASHINGTON: APCO Worldwide is providing media relations support for a coalition of drug companies hoping to persuade the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to permit distribution of peer-reviewed articles on "off-label" use of drugs to doctors.

The campaign aims to collect 1 million volunteers to pledge their time or money in support of bringing freedom to Burma and releasing political activist Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest.

PALO ALTO, CA: Facebook hired Elliot Schrage, former VP of global communications and public affairs at Google, as its new VP of communications and public policy.

WASHINGTON: The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) is launching a voter registration effort during the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas, which begins May 31 and runs through November, with the aim of rallying support for reversing or blocking federal and state laws that prohibit gambling on online poker.

A Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) study found that The Wall Street Journal de-emphasized its front-page business coverage in favor of political news during the first three months of News Corp.'s ownership, compared to the prior four months.

Agent Provocateur is the latest example of a company extending its advertising message with dramatic, film-like videos to add buzz.

Pope Benedict XVI'S visit last month marked only the fourth time a sitting pope has made a trip to New York. Joseph Zwilling, director of communications for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, had to make sense of the hysteria generated by the unique event.

While the pundits debate the current state of the economy and whether it fits the formal definition of a recession, we continue to see high gas prices, consumer spending is sluggish, the dollar is weak, healthcare costs are skyrocketing, and the housing crisis is affecting everyone from Bear Stearns to the average citizen.

This year, PRWeek will visit eight cities where an industry close to that respective region will be discussed. For each event, leading PR pros from a variety of firms, companies, and other organizations will gather in a roundtable discussion about the issues affecting them and their peers. Keith O'Brien and Tonya Garcia were in New York to discuss financial communications.

The National Association of Home Builders works to portray the industry positively in a 'meltdown'