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January 31, 2000 Issue of PRWeek

PR Newswire adds hot Web monitoring firm eWatch

NEW YORK: Initiating an aggressive push beyond its core electronic distribution service, PR Newswire has acquired Internet monitoring service eWatch from WAVO Corp.

Lighthouse laps up IR shop Morgen-Walke

CHICAGO: Lighthouse Global Network made its first foray into the US PR scene last week by snatching up Morgen-Walke, a dollars 25 million IR operation.

FH creates dollars 90m tech powerhouse

CAMBRIDGE, MA: As PRWeek went to press, Fleishman-Hillard became the hi-tech Goliath of PR by acquiring the dollars 16.2 million, 150-strong Lois Paul & Partners.

BM buys stake in Net broadcaster

WASHINGTON, DC: Burson-Marsteller has acquired a minority interest in Streampipe.com, an Alexandria, VA-based company that provides live Internet broadcast services. The investment is Burson’s first in an Internet ...

Microsoft gives Shandwick digital biz

SEATTLE: Microsoft’s Digital Media Division (DMD), an account Waggener Edstrom reportedly resigned last October, has handed its dollars 500,000 PR business to Shandwick.

UN communication efforts continue to miss the mark

NEW YORK: The United Nations, which made a conscious effort last year to embrace the media (PRWeek, August 16, 1999), once again seems to be sinking in ...

Click points to Golin-Harris for PR push

CHICAGO: Sensing an opportunity to distinguish itself in the burgeoning midwest hi-tech market, Click Commerce is upping its PR ante to dollars 25,000 per month.

Ripp let off hook in tech libel case

NEW YORK: A libel case involving Allan Ripp PR and a law firm it represented was dropped last week after a three-and-a-half-year passage through the courts.

Medialink unites with US Newswire

WASHINGTON, DC: Video, audio, satellite and Internet distribution giant Medialink took a big step towards broadening its service offerings last week by acquiring US Newswire, a leading ...

Petsmart.com to the MWW Group

PASADENA, CA: It’s a dog-eat-dog world nowadays for sites catering to pet lovers. Hoping to distinguish itself in a crowded market, Petsmart.com has handed its dollars 300,000 ...

News Briefs

NEW YORK: Alexander Ogilvy’s NY office has hired Sandra O’Keefe as a senior account manager in its IR division and promoted Dana Andrews to senior account manager. ...

Dallas Mavericks pro moves to NBC

DALLAS: Kevin Sullivan is trading in his high-top sneakers for an NBC blazer.

Shandwick spins off hi-tech shop

REDWOOD CITY, CA: Jumping on the bandwagon of hi-tech firms spinning off start-up specialist shops, Shandwick has announced the launch of Shandwick Emergent (SE), a separate brand ...

CART ups spending into the millions in race for sponsors, fans

DETROIT: Locked in an ongoing battle for fans, sponsors and racers with the rival Indy Racing League, Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) has decided to push its ...

Ford’s internal search for PR head continues to lag

DEARBORN, MI: Ford continues to come up empty in its search for a new head of PR - and insiders are beginning to wonder if the ...

IBM reshuffles PR deck to ’keep people energized’

ARMONK, NY: IBM, which last week reported lower-than-expected revenues and a decline in fourth-quarter earnings, has shuffled the cards within its massive corporate communications operation.

In wake of tragedy, Seton Hall turns to PR to heal charred image

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ: Following a tragic dormitory fire that killed three students and injured 62 others, Seton Hall University has turned to PR to help pick up ...

True North teams with Imada Wong

CHICAGO: Seeking to cash in on one of the country’s fastest growing and most affluent consumer markets, True North Communications has taken a 49% equity stake in ...

Tech firm Metzger delves into IR biz

BOULDER, CO: Metzger Associates, a dollars 2 million Colorado hi-tech PR shop, has delved into the world of IR with the acquisition of Trinske Communications.

International News: Brodeur claims stake in French tech shop

PARIS: Brodeur Worldwide bolstered its already formidable overseas hi-tech practice last week by acquiring a 35% stake in French hi-tech agency Sophie Renard Relations Publiques (SRRP), a ...

International News: Journalists in Latin Am use more PR fodder than in US

BUENOS AIRES: Latin American journalists - especially those based in Argentina - are using information culled from PR pros significantly more than their US counterparts. But that ...

Pillsbury gives UK work to Edelman

LONDON: Pillsbury UK has consolidated its PR after a lengthy review involving four other firms, naming Edelman to handle three major food brands and its corporate identity.

Coke China trades Gavin for Shandwick

HONG KONG: Coca-Cola has dropped Gavin Anderson as its corporate agency in Hong Kong after 14 years, bringing in Shandwick to revitalize its PR in the region.

Rann helps town get over murders

ADELAIDE: Crisis-management specialist Rann Communications has offered to help restore the image of the once-blissful Snowtown following one of Australia’s grisliest murder cases.

’Tube’ appoints an exec-level voice

LONDON: London Underground, better known as ’the tube’ has appointed its first-ever board-level director of communications.

In Brief

LONDON: Cisco has chosen Insight Marketing and Communications over Miller/Shandwick for its six-figure corporate account. Band and Brown Communications, which had previously held the business, did not re-pitch, ...

Duffey gives dollars 25k for college PR lab

ATLANTA: Duffey Communications has donated dollars 25,000 to the University of Georgia’s Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications to create a PR writing laboratory.

Coors to go with PR flow, give out dollars 500K account

GOLDEN, CO: Hammering home its newfound emphasis on PR, Coors has begun an extensive search for an agency to handle its dollars 500,000 annual account.

Web site PR no joke for Comedy Central

NEW YORK: Comedy Central is on the hunt for a PR consultant or boutique to help raise the profile of its web site.

GPC/O’Neill hires Halpin for DC post

WASHINGTON, DC: GPC/O’Neill took a big step last week toward boosting its DC profile, hiring Peter Halpin to help expand its local presence.

Stoorza brings Sanchez aboard to head up its San Diego office

SAN DIEGO: Stoorza Ziegaus Metzger (SZM), the largest of California’s few remaining independent public affairs firms, has hired Paul Sanchez to lead its San Diego office.

The Gift List puts holiday contacts together for pros

ALTADENA, CA: Hoping to spare PR pros the time-consuming task of having to assemble reams of editorial contact information, The Gift List has unveiled a comprehensive media ...

As Gore triumphs in Iowa, PR pros hail image revamp

WASHINGTON, DC: In the wake of Al Gore’s decisive win in last week’s Iowa Democratic presidential caucus, PR pros are lining up to praise him - and, ...

MD deregulation goes to High Point

ANNAPOLIS, MD: Maryland last week became the latest state to dish out big bucks to a PR firm for an education campaign about utilities deregulation.

AllBusiness bags FH, joins Connors

SAN FRANCISCO: AllBusiness.com, a site offering services and content for entrepreneurs, has shifted its PR account from Fleishman-Hillard to Connors Communications.

Healthcare lags behind in customer satisfaction, PR

WASHINGTON, DC: Championing customer satisfaction is the best way for companies in the healthcare sector to resuscitate their blemished reputations.

Editorial - PR: from Jesus to Lincoln to Gandhi

It wasn’t hard to find the Greatest Communicator of All Time (see feature p18). Even if two billion followers weren’t enough evidence in their own right, our ...

The Big Pitch - What public figure is overdue for an image revamp, and what would you do?

Peter Shankman

ANALYSIS - Crisis PR - Cruise lines weather storm of bad publicity - The smooth sailing cruise industry suddenly hit the rocks in 1998 and 1999, after a string of high-profile mishaps begat negative media reports everywhere. The troubles initially overwhe

The cruise industry has always had its problems with reporters, but until recently, most were due to the exorbitant demands of freelancers on press junkets. Scribes would ...

THINKPIECE - Can mass distribution of press releases over the Internet substitute for real company news?

A story in The Wall Street Journal has convinced me that the stuff I’ve been doing to pay my rent all these years really works. ’Stop ...

INSIDE THE BELTWAY - Bush had no realistic rival in Iowa - and made a killing. Now he’s trying to stack the deck in NY

George W. Bush emerged relatively unscathed from the Iowa caucuses - anyone whose main challengers were Steve Forbes and Alan Keyes had to be pleased with his ...

ANALYSIS - Client Profile - The Nasdaq PR team learns to ride the bull - With Nasdaq reaching new heights seemingly every day, one would think that handling communications for the index would be a PR pro’s dream. But as Craig McGuire reports, chan

When the AP reported last fall that a group calling itself the ’United Loan Gunmen’ had infiltrated the computer system running the web sites for Nasdaq and ...

ANALYSIS - Profile - John Brodeur: a nice guy far from finished - First it was Brodeur, then Brodeur/Martin, then Brodeur & Partners, then Brodeur Porter Novelli, and now it’s Brodeur once again - but worldwide The name has changed, but the

They say nice guys finish last, but John Brodeur is one of those nice guys who gets ahead. Ask him why his agency is so successful, ...

ANALYSIS - Weekly Web Watch - Dot-coms push the envelope (and raise the bar) on PR stunts

There is a way to launch a dot-com company without having to spend millions on Super Bowl advertising, or (if you’re a bit short on cash) by ...

MEDIA - Bloomberg in a box (radio, that is) - Bloomberg Radio is mostly business most of the time. Though it airs in the New York area, as Claire Atkinson reports, the station’s syndicated packages make it a pitching prospect for pros nationwide

Michael Bloomberg founded his eponymously named company in 1981 with a handful of computer terminals and a good relationship with a former Dow Jones reporter. Today his ...

MEDIA - Media Watch - Mr. Jordan is set to work magic on Wizards and DC

Seldom does a woeful sporting franchise take the media spotlight away from the politicians and the ongoing campaign trail. However, that is exactly what the NBA’s Washington ...