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PR Quarterly, which is in its 50th year of publication,
has published some issues late recently and some contributing
editors said they have not received all issues.
Elaine Newman, widow of Howard Hudson, PRQ founder who died
in January and who became executive editor, said PRQ "is
going strong" and that Hudson had created a "transition
plan."
Hudson also "established a tight circle of colleagues
and partners who have kindly been offering advice and support
to the company during the transition," she said. PRQ
is now concentrating on its 50th anniversary Winter issue,
Newman added.
Trade pubs PR Reporter,
Reputation Management, both defunct, and PR Quarterly. |
Edgar Hopper, ad director for 11 years, said the last issue
he received was Summer 2004. He said he is due commissions
for a four-issue ad schedule he sold to NAPS in the summer
of 2004. The rate was $735 for the inside cover. NAPS is PRQ's
only consistent advertiser.
Hopper, who said his status with PRQ is uncertain, said he
had a conversation recently with Nicole LaPierre, niece of
Hudson. He said LaPierre told him of a new deal with him but
he has yet to receive details. The Summer 2005 issue of PRQ
lists Hopper as ad director.
Concerning advertising, Newman said PRQ is not reliant on
ads for success but on its “loyal subscribers who have
come to rely on PRQ over the years.” Thomas Gilgut, PRQ
copy editor, said all issues have been printed and that he
is currently working on the Fall 2005 issue.
Four
PR Publications Fold
At least four PR publications have discontinued publication
in recent years.
Reputation Management, monthly magazine published
by Paul Holmes, ceased publication in 2000. PR Reporter,
a weekly published since 1958, was purchased by Ragan Communications
in August 2002 after owner Otto Lerbinger said costs exceeded
income. It was changed to a monthly in January 2004 and folded
in August 2004.
PR Journal, a bi-monthly of Ragan, and its monthly
PR Intelligence Report were discontinued earlier.
Holmes announced in July he will return to London where he
will cover the U.K. and Europe while keeping The Holmes Report
e-newsletter. He will no longer write a column for PR Week.
Paul Swift, former managing editor of PRQ for 20 years, said
he and Hudson "went through at least four ad directors"
in attempts to sell to the big PR firms.
"They told us, 'Why advertise to other PR people?'"
he said. "But meanwhile," he said, "they were
advertising in other PR trade publications."
Swift said PRQ had about 2,500 in circulation when he was
ME and is a "journal of independent thought."Contributors
are academics as well as PR professionals.
"Our big mistake was not offering awards to PR firms
and PR pros," said Swift.
The only award Hudson would give out, he noted, was to students
(The Bernays Cup for good writing, named after PR pioneer
Edward Bernays).
Big PR
Firms Pay Heavily to CPRF
A major expense of the big ad agency-owned PR firms since
2000 is their $50,000 membership dues in the Council of PR
Firms. Firms with U.S. fees of more than $85 million (at least
ten members) pay the maximum dues of $50K annually.
A study of ads in PR Week since last November found 51 ads
by big PR firms, virtually all of them full pages. One time
rate for a page is $6,980.
Biggest advertiser was Weber Shandwick with eight ads followed
by Manning, Selvage & Lee, six; Porter Novelli and Ogilvy
PR, five each, and Golin Harris and Ketchum with four each.
The ad agency-owned PR firms took 27 tables at the PRW awards
dinner March 3 at $3,000 a table ($81K).
A typical issue of Reputation Management had full page color
ads by APCO; Brodeur; Burson-Marsteller; Chandler Chicco;
Edelman PR Worldwide; GCI; Golin/Harris; Hill & Knowlton;
Ketchum PR; Manning, Selvage & Lee; MCS; Ogilvy PR Worldwide;
Porter Novelli; Rowland; Shandwick, and Schwartz Communications.
Ketchum was the biggest regular advertiser, taking a two-
page ad (inside front cover and page one) in virtually every
issue.
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