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May 13, 2002 Issue of PRWeek

Agencies weather storm, suffer only 7% dip in 2001

NEW YORK - The dot-com collapse, economic malaise, and September 11 conspired to turn 2001 into what Brodeur CEO Andy Carney called 'the perfect storm', ...

Agencies weather storm, suffer only 7% dip in 2001

NEW YORK: The dot-com collapse, economic malaise, and September 11 conspired to turn 2001 into what Brodeur CEO Andy Carney called "the perfect storm,

NEWS IN BRIEF: Appointment at Morton's Restaurant Group

CHICAGO: The Morton's Restaurant Group has grabbed Rick Weber, former director of PR at KFC, as the new VP of marketing and sales for Morton's of Chicago ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Appointment at DreamWorks

LOS ANGELES: Michael Jimenez has been hired by DreamWorks to handle government and community relations in the studio's corporate affairs department. Jimenez was the VP of community ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Appointment at Public Strategies

AUSTIN, TX: Public Strategies has appointed Terry McDevitt, a veteran of the publicity departments at Fortune, GQ, Texas Monthly, and ABC News, as managing director of its ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Ackerman PR wins PR contract for airport

DALLAS: Ackermann Public Relations beat out 18 competitors for Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport's PR contract, worth $480,000 over two years. Public affairs VP Ken Capps strongly ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: MWW Group wins education program assignment

CHICAGO: The MWW Group has grabbed a $350,000 assignment from the Illinois Commerce Commission to handle an ongoing consumer education program on electric utility deregulation. MWW has ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Northlich opens office in state capital

COLUMBUS, OH: Northlich, buoyed by its win last year of a major Ohio anti-smoking campaign, is opening an office in the state capital. The new Columbus office ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Weber Shandwick Worldwide launches biotech practice

BOSTON: Weber Shandwick Worldwide has launched a biotech practice in Boston. Although the agency has been working with biotech clients for some time, it officially labeled the ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Promotion at Hill & Knowlton

VANCOUVER: Hill & Knowlton has promoted former VP Theresa Kennedy to serve in the newly created position of director of the agency's North American Life Sciences practice.

NEWS IN BRIEF: Pierpont Communications signs new clients

AUSTIN, TX: Pierpont Communications' Austin office has signed up two new clients: Chippery, an Austin-based cookie company, and San Antonio's SecureInfo, which provides data security services for enterprise ...

BellSouth reputation hit by racial discrimination class-action suit

ATLANTA: BellSouth, the nation's third-largest local telephone company, has been hit with a class-action lawsuit charging racial discrimination against African-American employees. The suit was filed on behalf of ...

Giuliani Partners seeks Klores' aid to clarify mission

NEW YORK: In the past few weeks, Rudy Giuliani's four-month-old consultancy, Giuliani Partners, has been retained by Merrill Lynch, Nextel, and a private finance shop called Leeds ...

Notre Dame seeks director for its new comms operation

SOUTH BEND, IN: The University of Notre Dame is searching for someone to lead its newly formed marketing communications department.

RNC's radio show looks to drum up Hispanic support

WASHINGTON: The Republican National Committee (RNC) will begin airing a Spanish-language radio program later this month as part of its ongoing effort to lure Hispanic voters.

Equal healthcare quality pushed by Pfizer and WBGH

NEW YORK: Pfizer has joined forces with the Washington Business Group on Health (WBGH) for an initiative addressing healthcare disparities in the workplace.

New leaders abound in SF tech scene

SAN FRANCISCO: Agency leadership restructurings have dominated the news in San Francisco recently, with GCI Group, Burson-Marsteller, and Edelman all bringing in new senior management in the ...

Corporate PR puts its faith in competitive intelligence

ST. LOUIS: Corporate PR people are becoming increasingly involved in looking at the competitive landscape for their companies and trying to anticipate future business trends, according to ...

Courtovich drops Ketchum for post at National Media

WASHINGTON: Jim Courtovich, Ketchum's VP/group manager of public affairs, has left the agency world behind for a position with Republican ad shop National Media, which is eagerly ...

COMMENT: Thought Leader - An audience won't get any substance from material they lose interest in

The attention span of today's audiences is more limited than ever. Channel surfing is a cliche by now, and most of us have seen audience members leave ...

EDITORIAL: Telling half-truths is twice the headache

It's hard to remember the days before one heard the word "Enron" within an hour of waking up. On Tuesday, the day this column went to press, ...

ANALYSIS: Product Placement - PR firms vie for Hollywood product placement power

Corporations long to marry their marketing efforts with Hollywood. And PR firms are now fighting the talent-agency giants for the job. Anita Chabria reports.

Indifference over the Nike decision shows a lack of leadership throughout the industry

Is the PR industry entirely without leadership?

Falcona tapped to lead PR as Phillips joins with Conoco

HOUSTON: Phillips Petroleum's corporate affairs manager Sam Falcona has emerged as PR top dog in the firm's upcoming merger with Conoco.

ANALYSIS: Corporate Case Study - From product to pitch, Salesforce puts its customers first

The suffix ".com

ANALYSIS: Media Watch - WorldCom puts up brave front, but media skeptical of its future

Bernard Ebbers, WorldCom's founder, president, and CEO, resigned earlier this month, a casualty of his company's financial and image woes. Among the problems cited by the media ...

MEDIA CAREERS & RECRUITMENT: Media Roundup - Media working more diligently to assist your career

The workplace has long provided a bevy of stories for reporters. But with layoffs and personal concerns permeating all sectors, including media, David Ward finds those who ...

MEDIA CAREERS & RECRUITMENT: Media Profile - GQ may be both magazine and adjective, but the face must fit

One editor-in-chief in 19 years and an open, but shifting stance on acceptable PR pitches - such stability and flexibility has helped GQ withstand all rivals, old ...

PROFILE: Honesty is always in fashion for well-traveled Wilmot

Fashion PR mogul Paul Wilmot calls it like he sees it, and it has won over the likes of Calvin Klein and P. Diddy. Claire Atkinson ...

MARKET FOCUS: Corporate Social Responsibility - Conscientious objectives

With CSR already making such a positive impact on the world stage, the whole PR industry will be hoping that Badler is right. This could be just ...

PR TECHNIQUE: Recruitment - Getting a head: how to tap a top-level pro. Filling a company's top PR post is a matter of sticking to certain basics while being open to new sources, says Thom Weidlich

If you think the down economy has made it any easier for companies to recruit a head of communications, or other high-level PR spot, think again. It's ...

CAMPAIGNS: Public Affairs - AMA calls out NBC over poor ad taste

CAMPAIGNS: Public Affairs - McKinney eludes Burn-related heat

CAMPAIGNS: Event PR - Red Robin contest beefs up its image

Nike ruling implications trouble PR pros

BEAVERTON, OR: Nike is preparing its response to a decision by the California Supreme Court concerning statements made about its business practices.

CAREERS: Pandora's Problem Page

Q: Three months ago I lost my job with a major consumer company, and I have been job-hunting ever since. Nothing very good turned up. I was ...

CAREERS: My Big Break

Six words epitomize my big break: "It's a small world after all."

CAREERS: Where I Work - David Splivalo, SAE, McGrath/Power PR & Communications

How long have you been in your job? Two years and counting.

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS: Teena Touch

She's an ex-journalist who's more than qualified to manage PR for a successful dot-com - though she'd fit just as well at Playboy Enterprises (and that's not ...

TALES FROM TINSELTOWN: Nameless LA restaurants have media eating out of their hands

Unlike the rest of the world, Hollywood residents don't go to restaurants for the purpose of dining. Certainly not. They go to be seen dining. And to ...

LAST CALL: Fans look to save Once and Again, again and again

Once and Again, the ABC show starring Sela Ward and Billy Campbell, seems to create a lot more controversy off screen than on.

LAST CALL: Ryan rains on the rumors of DC job

Whenever a high-profile person leaves a high-profile position, rumors will abound. Just look at Bill Clinton's chat show. Or not.

LAST CALL: Nevadans have license to be angry

Drivers in the US can buy license plates professing affection for just about anything - manatees, young lawyers, even the Shag (that's the South Carolina state dance, ...

LAST CALL: Party book not yet much to celebrate

Though we at PRWeek fancy ourselves a swinging bunch, we had to delve deep into our brains to determine if we'd ever hosted - or even attended ...

LAST CALL: Bayou priest isn't a man of the cloth

Even if the Catholic priesthood wasn't battling a sex abuse scandal, it probably still wouldn't be smart PR for one of its members to go shirtless in ...

Troubled Firestone's Indy 500 deal is 'best PR effort'

NASHVILLE: In a move designed to deliver a major PR boost after several troubled years, Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire has signed a deal with the Indianapolis 500 ...

AGENCY RANKINGS 2002: Looking back, moving forward

Over the last decade, the public relations industry has experienced tremendous growth, increasing an estimated 220% to over $6 billion worldwide.

AGENCY RANKINGS 2002: Leaner, fitter, stronger - After enduring last year's layoffs, budget cuts and closures, PR agencies have emerged healthy and wise - and the recovery has just begun. Jonah Bloom reports

Like an athlete who casts aside the steroids and goes back to the fundamentals of working out and eating well, the industry has emerged from 2001 fitter, ...

AGENCY RANKINGS 2002: Mergers & acquisitions

A whopping 68% of the $3 billion in revenues generated by the firms measured in this year's rankings were from the top 20, meaning nearly 7% of ...

AGENCY RANKINGS 2002: It's a small world after all

"(GM CEO) Rick Waggoner said to me, 'We need consistent help in crafting the platform messages for a variety of constituencies whose opinions we need to influence.' ...