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January 20, 2003 Issue of PRWeek

PR industry hails US Supreme Court decision to hear Nike appeal

WASHINGTON: PR advocacy groups have applauded the US Supreme Court's decision to hear Nike's appeal of a California Supreme Court ruling that PR is not ...

FAO taps Sitrick for comms aid after filing for Chapter 11

NEW YORK: FAO, Inc., the parent company of high-end toy retailer FAO Schwarz, has tapped financial and crisis communications firm Sitrick & Company to assist ...

Burrelle's and Luce shed light on their imminent merger

LIVINGSTON, NJ and MESA, AZ: Two major players in the press clipping area, Burrelle's Information Services and Luce Press Clippings, are in the process of ...

CME invites bids for first post-IPO PR task

CHICAGO: The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has invited 10 firms to bid on what's expected to be a six-month PR assignment.

Beers suffers blow as State Dept. pulls plug on her TV ads

WASHINGTON: The State Department announced it was scrapping a series of TV ads designed to reverse anti-American sentiment in Muslim countries last week in favor ...

Anti-Addict drive spurs PX stores to pull Dior product

LOS ANGELES: A loosely organized protest against Christian Dior's new perfume Addict has succeeded in having the fragrance pulled from the shelves of Army and ...

Former FAA head joins APCO Worldwide

WASHINGTON: Jane Garvey, former head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has joined APCO Worldwide as EVP and chairman of its transportation practice.

PRR brought in as Seattle voters approve monorail

SEATTLE: After a fierce election battle to gain voter approval for a new monorail, the Seattle Monorail Project has hired PRR to lead PR efforts ...

USOC comms vet joins Edelman with Games on horizon

NEW YORK: Edelman's sports and entertainment practice has tapped Mike Moran, who is retiring as chief communications officer for the US Olympic Committee, to chair ...

NEWS IN BRIEFS: Paul Jacobsen tapped as secretary

WASHINGTON: New Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) has tapped Paul Jacobsen, VP of corporate communications at Starz Encore Group, as his new press secretary. ...

NEWS IN BRIEFS: Bob Wynne joins Edelmans

SAN FRANCISCO: Bob Wynne has joined Edelman's San Francisco office as deputy GM. Wynne left Singer Associates in September to launch his own firm, Wynne ...

NEWS IN BRIEFS: Coyne PR names broadcast director

FAIRFIELD, NJ: Coyne PR has named Janet Schiller, a former Today show producer, to the newly created position of broadcast director. She will work to ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Shirine Coburn signed to handle PR

NEWS IN BRIEF: GCI Group adds

NEWS IN BRIEF: Hill & Knowlton signs NASSCOM

NEWS IN BRIEF: Overture appoints officer

NEWS IN BRIEF: Memphis Symphony Orchestra moving

NEWS IN BRIEF: Golin/Harris names managing director

NEWS IN BRIEF: International Decision picks Maccabee

NEWS IN BRIEF: HMS Success changes name to HMS

Sacramento sees shuffle among PR chiefs tied to Davis

SACRAMENTO, CA: High-level Democratic communicators have shuffled into key positions in the state capital.

BW invests in new internet platform for news delivery

SAN FRANCISCO: Business Wire has completed beta testing of its News Express delivery system, a proprietary internet platform that delivers multimedia content directly to special ...

Scouts aim to get girls interested in science

NEW YORK: Girl Scouts of the USA has teamed up with the Ad Council and Patrice Tanaka & Company (PT&Co.) to develop a campaign designed ...

$5m campaign touts coal as energy source of choice

WASHINGTON: As energy issues loom ever larger in the nation's capital, America's coal producers are coming together for the first time to wage a "massive," ...

Rival fund CEOs join forces to battle SEC rule change

NEW YORK: Two giants of the mutual-fund industry put aside their rivalry last week to unite against a proposed Securities Exchange Commission rule change that ...

Brinton tapped as head of corporate comms for Netflix

LOS GATOS, CA: Lynn Brinton has joined Netflix as the internet company's director of corporate communications.

Ketchum boosted by the addition of litigation PR guru

WASHINGTON: Ketchum's litigation communications practice added one of the sector's most prominent figures to its roster last week, Rose Marshall.

Home Depot critics given timber report

ATLANTA: The Home Depot has released a report to select environmental and government groups that details its timber-purchasing practices. The report comes after wood retailers ...

MarineMax brings WSW on board as agency of record

CLEARWATER, FL: Recreational boat maker MarineMax has taken on Weber Shandwick Worldwide as its first PR agency of record.

Appraisers look to sell collectors on value of ASA's nod

WASHINGTON: The American Society of Appraisers (ASA) is launching a national campaign to educate everyone from antique collectors to Fortune 500 companies on the value ...

Watts opens PA group upon House exit

WASHINGTON: The day after leaving Congress, former US Rep. J.C. Watts (R-OK) announced the formation of a group of public affairs and consulting companies.

Tamraz takes over as new president for Business Wire

NEW YORK: Cathy Baron Tamraz, COO of Business Wire, has been named president.

Airport scare exposes comms challenges

DALLAS: Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) regional public affairs officer Ed Martelle will remember his first week in the field as a trial by fire, thanks ...

Viardo signs up Madonna's Maverick in production-promotion deal

LOS ANGELES: The Viardo Agency has signed Madonna's Maverick Films as a PR client, but will also represent the film- and video-production company for intellectual-property ...

Publicis adds new healthcare unit to Seattle operation

SEATTLE: Publicis Dialog is expanding the range of its healthcare work by opening a healthcare marketing practice in Seattle.

Miller Lite kicks off PR push as Super Bowl approaches

MILWAUKEE: Miller Brewing is planning a major PR push for its Miller Lite brand this year. Included in the campaign will be pre-Super Bowl stunts ...

IABC and Cardean join forces to offer business courses

SAN FRANCISCO: The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) is joining with online educator Cardean University to offer members a range of business-management courses.

EDITORIAL: Companies need only look at the GE strike to realize the importance of employee comms

A national strike against General Electric by 17,500 members of the International Union of Electronic Workers-Communications Workers of America (IUE-CWA) and the United Electrical, Radio ...

OP-ED: Branding possibilities abound in the litigation process

Today's corporate litigation climate is characterized more by the billions of dollars spent annually on litigation costs than by meaningful planning to confront the avalanche. ...

ANALYSIS: Collaborations offer major gains beyond big income

The tough economy aside, many reasons exist as to why firms are sidestepping the traditional M&A route to instead explore strategic alliances.

PAUL HOLMES: The government's anti-drug ads opened the floodgates for attacks on everyday products

That government-funded advertising campaign suggesting that if you buy marijuana you're helping to fund terrorist activity has a certain superficial logic, as long as you ...

CORPORATE CASE STUDY: 'Spirit of Service' guides Qwest's new PR journey

Once limited by in-house politics, Qwest's PR team has been buoyed by new CEO Dick Notebaert's mission to brand the company as one that puts ...

MEDIA WATCH: Dividends of Bush's tax-cut plan aren't apparent to many

President Bush knew that critics would deride his $674 billion tax-cut plan, whose centerpiece is the elimination of the dividend tax, as a break for ...

MEDIA ROUNDUP: Bottom-line focus can't change alternatives' mission

Though most alternative media outlets share the same bottom-line concerns as mainstream titles, David Ward finds their allegiance to aggressive investigation and covering the oft-ignored ...

MEDIA PROFILE: Scoops go long way in maintaining PSBJ's exclusive reputation

Scooping dailies and in-depth reporting have earned the Puget Sound Business Journal respect. To retain that status, the weekly seeks exclusives and a big-picture focus ...

PR TECHNIQUE: Did your television broadcast really matter?

Getting a VNR or SMT on the air is one thing, but having an impact is another story. Sara Calabro looks at ways to evaluate ...

CAMPAIGNS: Weather experts bolster Bahamas tourism forecast

PR Team: Bahamas Ministry of Tourism (Nassau, Bahamas) and Weber Shandwick Worldwide (New York) Campaign: "Islands of The Bahamas Weather Conference" Time Frame: April 17-21, 2002 Budget: $200,000

CAMPAIGNS: Parent conference comes of age with issue-based focus

PR Team: Beech Acres (Cincinnati) and Powers Agency (Cincinnati) Campaign: For the Love of Kids conference Time Frame: January 2002-November 2002 Budget: $15,000 (plus $18K in paid media)

CAMPAIGNS: Early push allows Toshiba tablet PC to win over media

PR Team: Toshiba (New York) and Benjamin/Weber Shandwick (Irvine, CA) Campaign: Tablet PC launch Time Frame: November 2001-November 2002 Budget: $313,000

THE PUBLICIST: A tough year reminds us that a bad job is better than no job

At the beginning of the New Year I like to ring up a handful of my fellow publicists and catch up. Find out what they ...

PR PLAY OF THE WEEK: Ryan adds new life to death-penalty talk

CHICAGO: Outgoing Illinois governor George Ryan's dramatic twin announcements that he would pardon four death-row inmates and commute the death sentences of 164 others to ...