A black-tie crowd of 1,100 Wall Streeters, financial press and PR people had a night of fun and elbow-rubbing Friday at the Financial Writers' "Follies." This is one of about ten such posh events that dot the calendar.
 Ibarguen, Amanpour |
The apex of them all takes place tomorrow night in the grand ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria when more than $1 million will be raised at a black-tie dinner of the Committee to Protect Journalists.
About 1,000 attendees, including many from PR and publishing, will pay $1,000 each to attend the program honoring journalists hosted by Christiane Amanpour, anchor and chief international correspondent, CNN and a CPJ director. Albert Ibarguen, president of the Knight Foundation and former publisher of the Miami Herald, is chair of the event.
CPJ, which is mostly focused on violence and interference with reporters in countries outside the U.S., will add to net assets that were $14.8 million as of Dec. 31, 2013. This included investments of $12.8M and pledges of $2.3M.
Pearlstine, Steiger Active in CPJ, ProPublica
Leaders of CPJ include Norman Pearlstine and Paul Steiger, both ex-Wall Street Journal, who are also active in another well-funded J organization -- ProPublica.
Last year Pearlstine, who also served as executive VP and chief content officer of Time Inc., presented Steiger with the Burton Benjamin Memorial Award for lifetime commitment to press freedom. Steiger was the founding editor-in-chief of ProPublica and former managing editor, WSJ.
ProPublica had revenues of $13,765,467 in 2013 which included contributions and grants of $13,678,241. Net assets were $7,843,023.
Biggest contribution by far was the $4 million from the Sandler Foundation. Herbert and Marion Sandler, former CEOs of Golden West Financial, sold the bank to Wachovia in 2006 for $25 billion, netting $2.4B for themselves. They committed up to $10 million yearly to ProPublica, hiring Steiger. They donated $4M in 2012 and $5M in 2011, according to IRS Form 990 which lists 82 contributors.
Also large contributors are the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, $2M, Ford Foundation, $1.1M, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, $1M.
Biggest funders of CPJ include Knight Endowment, $5M; Ford Foundation, $1.5M and Annenberg Endowment, $1M. Almost all of the $14.8M in net assets is in "permanently restricted" funds.
NYFWA, OPC In Different League
 NYFWA scholarship winners Caelainn Barr, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism; Brian Cheung, Syracuse University; Patrick Gillespie, CUNY Graduate School of Journalism; Nina Glinski, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism; Sharanya Haridas, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism; Micah Luxen, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism; Antonia Massa, CUNY Graduate School of Journalism; Brianna McGurren, CUNY Graduate School of Journalism; Carl O'Donnell, New York University, and Sterling Wong, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. |
NYFWA and some of the other organizations hosting events that raise funds and/or honor people are in another financial league.
NYFWA grossed $364,635 from its 2013 "Follies" and netted $100,761 after expenses of $263,874. Dues income was $7,635. Members pay $50 and students, $10. Net assets were $588,642. Ten scholarships worth $3,000 each were awarded in 2014.
The Overseas Press Club of America celebrated its 75th anniversary dinner April 24 at the Mandarin Hotel, New York.
Its Form 990 for 2012 showed total revenues of $306,016, a gain from $216,162 in the previous year, and net assets of $108,249, up from $68,193. Dues income was $92,034.
OPC in the 1960s had membership of 3,700 including more than 1,000 PR people. It was unable to afford its 12-story building on 40th st. across from Bryant Park and moved to several locations. It has been at 40 W. 45th st. for many years.
Big PR Firms Support Many Events
Many of the biggest PR firms, both independent and conglomerate-owned, had one or more of the 100 tables at the "Follies." More than 10 people were at some tables which accounts for the 1,100 total.
Other events the firms support, with costs running at $4,000+ per table for the dinner alone, include the PR Council (formerly the Council of PR Firms); Arthur W. Page Society spring dinner; Institute for PR dinner at the Yale Club; Foundation of PRSA annual Paladin dinner; New York Women in Communications Hall of Fame banquet at the Waldorf each April; Adrian Awards Gala of Hospitality Sales & Marketing Int'l; the PR Week/U.S. awards dinner in March and the PRW/U.S. "Hall of Fame" dinner in December, and the prnewsonline awards luncheon Dec. 9 at the National Press Club honoring "rising stars" under 30 years of age and which also will induct seven veterans into its "Hall of Fame." Tickets are $475.
The PR Foundation's dinner joined the circuit in 2009 when John Graham, with Fleishman-Hillard since 1966, became the first "Paladin."
The Paladins were 12 knights attached to the court of King Charlemagne (742-814) who ruled the Frankish kingdom in Central Europe. A Paladin, a defined by the Foundation, is a "knightly or heroic champion, a determined advocate or defender of a noble cause."
The latest arrival on the circuit is the PRW/U.S. "Hall of Fame" dinner which made its debut last year by honoring Harold Burson, Al Golin, Jon Iwata, Marilyn Laurie, Charlotte Otto and Marcia Silverman. To be honored Dec. 8 are Dan Edelman, Bill Nielsen, Ofield Dukes, Margery Kraus and Marina Maher. Individual tickets are $449.
One of the oldest awards programs is the Silver Anvil/Bronze Anvil contest staged each spring by PR Society of America. For many years the Society gave 30 Silver Anvils and hosted a sit-down dinner. Award categories have proliferated in recent years and this year 134 Silver Anvil winners and Awards of Excellence were distributed plus 126 Bronze winners and Awards of Exellence for a total of 260. A cocktail reception has replaced the dinner.
Also a major program is the SABRE Awards of The Holmes Report which are in five geographical areas--Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe/MiddleEast, North America and Southeast Asia. The North American banquet drew 1,000 May 6, 2014 to Cipriani, New York.
Two Dozen PR Groups Disappear
At least two dozen New York PR groups that used to meet in the 1970s and 80s have disappeared. One of the last to close was PR Society: New York, which ended meetings in the summer of 2013 after more than 50 years.
A highlight in the 1960s and 70s was the monthly lunch for nearly 300 at the Waldorf-Astoria staged by the PR Society's New York chapter. Top speakers were featured. The Society's national president addressed the last lunch in June. National Investor Relations Institute had a similar monthly lunch. Publicity Club of New York hosted a meeting every Thursday night.
An attempt to close the gap is being made by meetup.com which helps bring together people with similar occupations.
It claims to have 1,013 members in its "New York Journalism & Media" group; 150 in "Professional Journalists of New York," and 259 members of Investigative Reporters and Editors in New York.
Meetings are mostly in midtown restaurants including the Beer Authority, Eighth ave and 40th st., where IRE/New York held a meeting May 22, 2014.
The Meetup website says there are 86,407 meetups happening this week throughout its system.
Sherrie Mazur will join the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation as managing director, of communications on Feb. 14. 
Independent Diplomat, the nonprofit that promotes democracy by organizing opposition movements and activists, has trained its sights on Venezuela.
Robert Tappan has joined the International BioMetrics + Identity Assoc., the trade group for the identity technology industry.
Tiffany Haverly, who was at Finsbury Glover Hering, has joined the Internet Association as director of communications.
BGR Government Affairs represents the American Chamber of Commerce in South China as economic and political tensions between the two countries escalate.
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