350 FIRMS VIE FOR NIH 5-YEAR PROGRAM

More than 350 companies, including PR firms and web designers, are vying for parts of a $250 million five-year integrated contract advertised by the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.

PR and other communications services will be performed for all 24 institutes in the NIH. As many as two dozen companies may be hired. Current deadline for contenders is Sept. 15 but the NIH may extend it. RFPs available from Anthony Revenis at 301/402-3073 or [email protected].

New York Times Digital, the Internet division of The New York Times Co., named GCI Group as its PR firm for an estimated $500,000 account.

Also finalists in the review were Burson-Marsteller, Ruder Finn and MWW Group.

Lisa Carparelli, director of communications for NYT Digital, said, "We were very impressed by the intelligence, understanding and passion for New York Times Digital that GCI brought to the table." Properties include NYTimes.com, Abuzz.com, boston.com (Boston Globe's website), NYToday.com, WineToday.com and GolfDigest.com.

Reed Byrum, PRSA board member and nominee for treasurer, has left EDS Communications, Plano, Texas, following the sudden death of his wife, the former Diane Coffman. She had been in PR at EDS and joined Assocs. First Capital Corp. in Dallas as media relations director last October. Coffman, who had been married to Byrum less than two months, died April 22 when an embolism developed after a back operation. Byrum said he wanted to change his locale. He had previously worked 13 years in Silicon Valley, Calif... Mario Trombone, 72, and his wife, Ilse, 62, have sold Trombone Assocs., New York PR/ad agency, to Dan Starkey, president of Starkey Marketing, Minneapolis, and Joe D'Alto and Odette Fodor-Gernaert, who were employees of Trombone. Starkey will merge his firm into Trombone... Merger Communications, Houston, paid the SEC $50,000 to settle a lawsuit charging the firm with promoting 10 small dot-coms without revealing Merger's investments in them. Merger's compensation was linked to stock price gains. David Drake and Jukka Tolonen, the two owners of Merger, agreed to pay civil penalties of $10K each... BET Holdings II, parent of Black Entertainment TV, named Fleishman-Hillard as its first PR firm in its 20-year history. F-H will provide programming publicity, trade show support, community relations, etc.

IPG'S $39 STOCK PRICE WORRIES SOME

Interpublic's current stock price of $39-$40, off nearly $20 from its high of $58 last December and about where it was a year ago, has some of its investors worried.

One stockholder asked on the Aug. 17 Yahoo! bulletin board: "How about some PR for us! We're down 25% on the year on mostly good news. How about the spin doctors putting out some positive info for us investors..." (IPG at $39 is off 32% for the year while the Standard & Poor's average is up 2%).

Another message asked, "Race away from impending IPG termination?" In reply to that, a message said such "termination" warnings were from the "Maverick Trader" stock-picking service and are to be ignored.

Also on the message board was the statement that IPG is "an undervalued giant" and it's "just a matter of time" before its price goes back up.

Investor Tastes Changed, Say Analysts

Analysts said investors, following the crash of the dot-coms in April, are looking for undervalued blue chips and have grown dubious about mergers.

Proposed mergers used to send prices up but now the prices often go down, noted one analyst, who gave several examples including the proposed merger of WorldCom and Sprint, which sent both stocks down. The Government blocked the merger.

Investors are worried about stock dilution and don't always believe claims that acquisitions are "accretive" to per-share earnings, an analyst said.

IPG made its biggest acquisition of all this spring (nearly triple its previous record) in buying NFO Worldwide, a research firm that itself had grown largely by numerous acquisitions, for $675M.

IPG on June 27 opened a $750 million line of credit and has used $409M of this.

Yeshiva University, New York, is looking for a director of communications/PA via Korn/Ferry (Ann Kern at 212/687-1834)... Commtouch, outsourced e-mail and messaging services, to Manning, Selvage & Lee Global Technology. The client's e-mail services will be offered to destination websites and service providers... a group of accredited and non-APR members of PRSA are seeking to open office-holding and voting privileges to all members. A form relating to this proposed bylaw change is on the O'Dwyer website: www.odwyerpr.com.

NEW GENERATION OF PR PROS SEEN

A new generation of PR pros will replace the “fast-talking `spin doctors,’ of the ‘90s,” AT&T media relations professional Burke Stinson told a Mayo Clinic External Relations Conference that was held Aug. 3 in Rochester, Minn.

Stinson, who is retiring in December as senior PR director, said the 21st century PR pro will need to display three “vital assets: initiative, articulation and accessibility.”

Stinson also predicts the end of integrated marketing, which he said was “proposed by folks...who have a loose grip on how news is gathered, edited and presented.”

“What PR in this century will require is the hiring of proven thinkers, tested writers and individuals who are comfortable in public—on stage, not just behind the scenes,” said Stinson.

“Valuable PR people in this century will be versed in broadcast and online disciplines. These days, we cannot be afraid of microphones, cameras or keyboards,” said Stinson. “In the years ahead, the new generation of PR people will need to demonstrate more scholarship—far more than the PR brokers of the ‘90s, the marketing integrators of the ‘80s and the binder manufacturers of the ‘70s,” said Stinson.

EDITOR BLASTS DOT-COM PUBLICISTS

Janelle Brown, a senior writer who covers technology for Salon.com, is fed up with dot-com publicists who pitch her “silly story ideas.”

“In five years writing about the ‘Net, I’ve seen a lot of ridiculous endeavors—like publicists who fax over press releases and then request that, if you don’t plan to write about 'Making Merry with Shari’s Berries,’ you fax back an explanation of why you passed on that hot story tip,” wrote Brown for Salon’s tech section under the headline: “Don’t call us.”

Brown cited several examples, such as the time she was invited to observe the founders of TheMan.com getting the company logo tattooed on their bodies.

Brown said the silliest pitch came from a publicist for Freeworks, who suggested that she compose a “riff off of the voyeurism sensation brought on by ‘Survivor’ and call it ‘Dot-com Darwinism.’”

The publicist wrote: “With the success of the new TV show `Survivor’ and the cutthroat behavior on the island, I’m wondering if you’ve considered writing an article on the similarities of what is happening on the show and the dot-com industry these days? Since the 'market crash’ in March, who is going to be a survivor and who won’t is becoming more and more clear as the days go by.”

Among those who would not survive were the “young, hip wannabes” and “novice and cocky CEOs,” the publicist said. “I ignored this silly suggestion,” said Brown, who a few days later got a story idea from a different Freeworks publicist, entitled “Dot-coms in S.F. vs. the valley.”

This publicist suggested that she write about the way that San Francisco dot-coms were competing with dot-coms down the peninsula.

“There is a growing tension between the two regions for dot-com dominance,” the publicist wrote.

“Though only separated by about 50 miles, the two regions are thousands of miles apart in the business philosophies of the new Internet economy.”

If you worked for a San Francisco dot-com, she informed Brown, you were “likely young, hip, stylish, 20-something” and “your company will spend thousands of VC dollars in marketing programs often without solid business plans.”

If you’re from the valley, on the other hand, you’re “less of a conformist” and “are in the job for the long haul, wanting good work experience and company success,” and, of course, you have more of a chance at a successful IPO.

“Guess where Freeworks is based?,” asked Brown, who said she still has no idea what it is, exactly, that Freeworks does.

WESERVEHOMES.COM TO ROSENBERG

WeServeHomes.com, an Internet start-up that sells home-related services, has named The Rosenberg Group for all facets of communications, according to Ken Hooten, president and co-founder of the company, which offers home solutions and do-it-your-self information from national brands including TruGreen-ChemLawn, Terminix, Merry Maid, American Home Shield, ServiceMaster, Rescue Rooter, Furniture Media, AmeriSpec and SecurityLink.

George Rosenberg, 55, who was a managing partner at KCSA PR four years, started his agency in May.

WARSCHAWSKI WINS ADIDAS ACCOUNT

Adidas-Salomon AG, Germany, a major manufacturer of athletic footwear and sports apparel, has named Baltimore-based Warschawski PR as its corporate PR agency, replacing Hill and Knowlton.

The contract, which is renewable, runs one year, according to David Warschawski, who will lead the account team. Services will include editorial, media relations and some IR.

WPR also recently added STX, a leading manufacturer of lacrosse equipment and apparel.

LIPPE TAYLOR ACQUIRES SHOP PR

Lippe Taylor Marketing PR has acquired Shop PR, a 10-person New York-based beauty/fashion firm.

SPR was opened two years ago by Nikki Gersten, following an eight-year stint as director of global communications at Estee Lauder.

Maureen Lippe said SPR, which handles Creative Nail Design, Davies Gate, Piquet Fragrances and Dermalogica, will operate as an independent unit of LT, and remain at its 17th st. headquarters, with Gersten at the helm.

Neither Lippe nor Gersten would disclose the purchase price, but sources estimated it at between $250,000 and $500,000.

BUSINESS WEEK PLANS LUXURY SECTION

Business Week is pitching luxury advertisers for a special fashion and beauty section that will be distributed in its Dec. 18 issue.

Called "Serious Style," the section will provide an "upscale environment for showcasing men's and women's fashion, accessories, grooming products and leisure products," according to BW's consumer ad manager, Bruce Kostic.

The lifestyle-oriented section will be produced for BW by Arena Publishing (930 Fifth ave., New York. 212/472-7400), which also publishes Scene, a bimonthly movie magazine.

Anne Fell, who is Arena's publisher, plans to name two editors for the BW section, which will have interviews and profiles of "stylish top executives, who have distinguished themselves through their achievements and who have mastered the art of dressing well."

The section will feature stories on how to select appropriate attire, gift ideas, personal care and fragrances and strategies anyone can use to get ahead.

The section will be printed on 60 pound stock to attract attention and the text will appear on adsections.businessweek.com with links to the advertisers' websites.

If it proves successful, BW may do more such sections, said Kostic.

PEOPLE __________________________

Marcy Medina was named "Eye" editor for Women's Wear Daily's new West Coast edition, which debuted Aug. 21. Medina, who is based in the Los Angeles bureau, will cover the events and glamour of the entertainment industry.

John Horn, who previously covered the film industry for Premiere, is joining Newsweek Aug. 28 as a senior editor for the "Arts & Entertainment" section based in Los Angeles.

Sarah Bartlett has resigned as editor-in-chief of Geraldyne Laybourne's Oxygen Media.

George McQuade III, VP, Internet accounts, Mayo Communications, Los Angeles, and this Newsletter's West Coast correspondent, will be featured in the Fox Family Channel's series, "Hero," this fall. The show will tell how McQuade rescued a man from a burning car in 1997.

Erin Arvedlund, previously with TheStreet.com, covering options, hedge funds, and emerging markets, has joined Barron's to write "The Striking Price," a weekly column, replacing Michael Santoli, who now writes the mutual funds column.

Jim Kerstetter, previously at PC Week, joined Business Week's Silicon Valley bureau in San Mateo, as computer and high tech senior editor.

PLACEMENT TIPS ______________________

The Parsons School of Design and Linda Ellerbee's company, Lucky Duck Productions, are developing a series of TV programs featuring interviews with great designers of fashion.

The series will be taped at Parsons School of Design's fashion building in New York. Neither the interviewer nor the designers have been picked.

Ellerbee, who has produced shows for the "Intimate Portrait" biography series on Lifetime TV, wants to feature 12 designers and weave in footage and stills, as well as celebrity interviews on why they wear a particular designer. She hopes to air the series some time next year.

ComsoGirl.com, a website based on Cosmo Girl magazine, which is published by Hearst Corp., ranked as the number one site for girls between the ages of 12 and 17, according to a report from Media Metrix and Juniper Communications titled, "It's a Woman's World Wide Web."

CosmoGirl pulled in a 50.7% share of that market, which represents 5.8% of the total web population, putting it ahead of TeenPeople.com, Delias.com, Seventeen.com, Gurlmail.com, and Nsync.com.

Atoosa Rubenstein, who is editor-in-chief of Cosmo Girl, said equal importance is put on the website and the magazine.
The study also showed the 12-to-17 age group grew the fastest in the past year, by 12% to 4.42 million unique visitors from 1.95 million.

In the same study, the top five sites for college-age women were bigwords.com, collegclub.com, uh.edu, delias.com and blackplanet.com.

The top five sites for woman age 25 to 34 were babygear.com, pampers.com, walgreens.com, ibaby.com and more.com.

The Associated Press is opening a second regional news service to expand coverage through 12 southern states with a focus on stories and trends that cross state boundaries.
The AP South Wire is based in Raleigh, N.C., headed by James Martinez.

William Kronholm was named to succeed Larry Ryckman as editor of the West Wire, which is based in Helena, Mont. Ryckman will now oversee both services from Denver.

In Style, which received the Council of Fashion Designers of America special award in 1999 "for putting the spotlight on fashion and Hollywood," hired Ann Gobel, who was director of luxury goods and fashion at Worth magazine, as director of jewelry and watches.

MOVED: Art Garcia, editor and publisher of Media Mark, which publishes High-Tech Hot Wire, and several other media newsletters, has moved to P.O. Box 4406, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762-0018. 916/941-8505.

(Media news continued on next page)

ANTI-BIAS GROUP ATTACKS N.Y. PAPER

The Anti-Defamation League's national director, Abraham Foxman, said Wilbert Tatum of The Amsterdam News<D> is an anti-Semite for claiming in an editorial that the Jews have purchased Sen. Joseph Lieberman's spot on the Democratic ticket.

Tatum, who is black, is both chairman/CEO and publisher emeritus of the weekly, which covers news of interest to blacks living in New York. His daughter, Elinor Tatum, is publisher and editor-in-chief.

Foxman said Tatum's claim that Lieberman was picked as the Democrat's VP candidate because of financial considerations is "insidious and an anti-Semetic canard employed by anti-Semites, racists and conspiracy theorists through the centuries to bolster their absurd claim of Jewish control.

"His contention that Jews bought the Vice Presidency shows Bill Tatum for what he is, nothing more than an anti-Semite the likes of David Duke," said Foxman.

Tatum, in response to reporter's questions about Foxman's accusations, said Foxman has been a "race-baiter all his life."

"My wife is a Holocaust survivor," said Tatum. "My daughter is Jewish. I am not, nor have I ever been, an anti-Semite."

Tatum also responded to Foxman's accusation in the Aug. 17 edition of the Amsterdam News, which reprinted Tatum's Aug. 10 editorial, entitled "The Democratic-Jewish Connection," along with a reprint of Foxman's letter to the editor, dated Aug. 10.

Tatum said "Abraham Foxman, an avowed enemy of all persons of color in this country and a man especially harmful to Jews all over the world, has for years been allowed to run roughshod from his position of power as national director of the ADL, a once well-respected organization that gave hope to Jews, as well as persons of color, who were being abused by those who did not believe in the American system.

"That is no more, alas. Mr. Foxman has gone crazy with power."

Tatum said the first time he knew of Foxman's letter was when the paper was called by the Daily News. He said The New York Post "never called us for comment on Foxman's scurrilous letter."

"We have come to expect this kind of `dissing' from Foxman, the New York Post and Daily News and all others who masquerade as defenders of that which is best for America," said Tatum.

DECENCY GROUP WANTS TO HIDE HEADLINES

The American Decency Assn. took a full page ad in The New York Times on Aug. 7 to criticize supermarkets for displaying magazines with indecent cover lines at checkout counters.

The ad said the group of parents, grandparents and others are "fed up with supermarkets displaying, right at checkout lanes where children wait, magazines with big headlines about orgasms, sex positions, foreplay, oral sex, etc."

The ad offered several examples of what the ADA considers offending cover lines from Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Jane, Redbook and Mademoiselle.

The ad was accompanied by a petition for consumers to fill out which would be sent to 300 supermarket chains. The ADA wants supermarkets to conceal the cover lines and display the magazines in a less trafficked area of the store.

Ellis Verdi, president of DeVito/Verdi, an ad agency, said readership would decline by 40% if magazines were removed from checkout counters.

Bill Johnson, executive director of the ADA, which is based in Fremont, Mich., said he submitted the ad to several daily newspapers, which rejected it, and the Times was the first newspaper to run it.

The Magazine Publishers of America issued a statement that said: "The MPA believes in the right to freely disseminate legally protected material."

CRAMER WANTS LIVELY THESTREET.COM

James Cramer, stockmarket columnist, who is the largest single stockholder in TheStreet.com, said the financial news website, which was having money problems, needs to be more lively.

"We need to think like TV, not print," Cramer recently advised Tom Clarke, who is president/CEO of the site.

"If you are to take back that newsroom, you need the COO to be a producer/director like Roone Arledge" with people from TV backgrounds to work under him, said Cramer.

Cramer says he wants "people who are all about keeping the site lively and be an intermediary between ads sales and editorial."

"They would be assigned specifically to get page views. That would be their mantra," said Cramer, who has had a running feud with website editor-in-chief Dave Kansas, who previously was an editor at The Wall Street Journal.

Cramer complained that information on the site had not been changed since the prior day.

NEWSWEEK NAMES A&E WRITER

John Horn joins Newsweek as a senior writer for the "Arts & Entertainment" section in Los Angeles.

He replaces Corie Brown, who recently went to The Los Angeles Times as entertainment group editor. Horn will report to A&E editor Sarah Pettit.

TWO NEW EDITORS JOIN SPIN

Spin, a leading music and youth culture magazine, has named Regan Solmo as managing editor and Hans Eisenbeis as senior editor.

Solmo fills a position vacated by DeDe DeMoss.
Eisenbeis, formerly editor-in-chief of the Minn.-based music magazine Request, will edit music features and oversee technology and Internet coverage.

IPG PAYS $411M FOR UNIDENTIFIED FIRMS

Interpublic, in an Aug. 14 SEC filing, lists 21 acquisitions for which it paid $411 million in stock and/or cash between March 31 and June 30.

None of the acquisitions is identified although there is a breakout of the stock and cash paid. Eleven of the acquisitions are domestic companies ($402M total) and the rest are foreign. Some of the payments are for deals made in 1998 and 1999.

Not included in the list is the $500M in stock (and assumption of debt of $180M) that IPG will be paying for NFO Worldwide, research firm.

The biggest deal was on June 27 when an IPG unit bought 100% of a "domestic company" for $108 million in cash; $63 million in stock upon the effectiveness of a registration statement, and issued 198,000 shares valued at $9M that are held back for up to one year to satisfy any indemnification claim. The deal totaled about $180M.

Second biggest was on June 22 when IPG paid $152M in stock (IPG's value on the issue date of July 13) in connection with acquiring 100% of the stock of a "domestic company." The stock made up 51% of the equity and 86% of the voting power.

The shareholders of the acquisition got 2,116,592 IPG shares and 1,483,408 shares went to the owner of the company's debt of $60.75M.

$21.8M Paid for "Domestic Company"

No. 3 was the payment on June 29 of $15.2M in cash and $6.66M in stock when a unit of IPG acquired a "domestic company." Next largest buy, for a "domestic company," was the payment on June 30 of $14.2M in stock (328,058 shares).

On June 28, a unit of IPG acquired 30% of the "membership interests" of a "domestic company" for $1.48M in cash and $5.9M in shares to the company and $800,625 in stock to the company's members (total of $8.2M in stock and cash).

Next largest purchase was $3.1M in stock and $1.6M in cash on June 30 for the assets of a "domestic company" acquired by a unit of IPG.

A "foreign company" was acquired for $2.39M in cash and $799,631 in stock.

Other domestic purchases were for $3.65M; $2.4M; $2.02M; $760,000, and $244,674. Other foreign purchases were for $2M; $1.1M; $694,530; $526,187; $436,140; $385,500; $281,008; $236,983, and $123,000.

PR PRO RIPS TIRE RECALL

The Bridgestone/Firestone tire recall was doomed from the start, according to Richard Nicolazzo, president/CEO of Nicolazzo & Assocs., Boston.

"Give them credit for doing it voluntarily, but stop the plaudits there because the way it was done turned into a PR nightmare that may have damaged the brand for years to come," said Nicolazzo, who has been a PR practitioner for more than 25 years.

"Bridgestone should have flown in its chairman and CEO, Masatoshi Ono, and had him say to the >American public `We care and we will fix the problem.'

"Instead, the company trotted out an executive VP. Then the next day in Tokyo, it had a VP address the media in a hastily called press event. The CEO should have set the tone and let other executives handle the details. Now, it's too late." he said.

He also believes Firestone spent too much time talking about what it believed was the cause of the tire shredding.

USA Today reported Aug. 17 that Ford Motor CEO Jacques Nasser had taken a "lead role" after stories pointed to a design problem with the Explorer that caused the SUV to roll over if a tire fails.

Nasser told the paper that "We feel a responsibility to be open and to communicate."

Nasser said he was satisfied with Bridgestone's response to the issue. "I've been in touch with them on an as-needed basis day to day. There are some 200 people at our companies in teams working on different aspects of this," said Nasser.

Rhetoric about "under-inflation," "improper maintenance," and "hot road conditions" did little to calm the driving public, said Nicolazzo. "By emphasizing these points, Firestone was blaming the victim," said Nicolazzo.

Treads have peeled without warning from Firestone tires-most of them on Ford Explorers-in hundreds of cases. The tire failures, which sent the trucks out of control, are cited in 62 deaths.

"Ultimately, the reason they were recalling the tires was because there appeared to be a quality control problem. It would have been better to say `Whatever is wrong, we will make sure every customer is taken care of,'" said Nicolazzo.
"Only time will tell how much damage has been done to Firestone and Ford," said Nicolazzo.

NIRI TO OFFER COURSES AT TWO SCHOOLS

The National Investor Relations Institute/New York has partnered with two local universities to offer three continuing education courses for IR professionals this fall.

Illene Angarola, chair of Professional Development for NIRI/NY, said the courses, which will be taught by IR pros, will be offered by New York University and Long Island University/C.W. Post Campus.

Mary Beth Kissane, who is senior VP of Abernathy MacGregor Group, will lead a course on issues in corporate disclosure. The course will run for 10 weeks on Wednesdays, starting Sept. 27.

The husband-and-wife team of Ed Nebb, who is a principal at BSMG Worldwide, and June Filingeri, president of Comm-Partner, will teach an eight-week financial relations/IR course on Wednesdays, starting Sept. 27 until Nov. 22.

Both courses will be held at NYU's midtown location. Information: Renee Harris at 212/790-3212.

An introductory course on financial PR will be led by Kelly Leung, who directs the IR division at Gavin Anderson & Co. The class will be held at LIU on Wednesdays from Sept. 13-Dec. 13.

Registration info.: Abby Dress, 516/299-2984.

E-commerce is destroying neighborhood businesses and robbing states of needed sales tax revenues, say full-page ads in the New York Times and other papers. The ads see e-shopping going from $13 billion in 1998 to $108 billion in 2003 or 6% of total retail spending. States, which lost $525M in taxes alone in 1999, want e-commerce taxed but e-interests are battling such taxes. Website is www. turnpoint.org... another full-page ad in major papers asks supermarkets to mask magazines at checkout counters that tout features on orgasms, foreplay, etc. Targeted are Cosmopolitan, Redbook, Glamour, Mademoiselle and Jane. Campaign is via American Decency Assn., Fremont, Mich...pickets regularly appear in front of Young & Rubicam's offices at 285 Madison ave. (a half block from our offices) charging that Y&R and others are shooting commercials with non-union talent. They hand out pamphlets headlined: "Destruction of the Middle Class." The Screen Actors Guild and Amer. Fed. of Radio & TV Artists are negotiating with the Assn. of National Advertisers and charge the ANA "walked away from the bargaining table"...the use of the "Fortune 500" as the basis for two new publicly traded mutual funds has raised the ire of MSNBC columnist Christopher Byron. He said the launching of such funds, particularly one whose assets are picked "subjectively" by Fortune writers and editors, makes them "stock touts" and undermines the credibility of Fortune. The deal was cut by the Time Warner Fortune Group with State Street Global Advisers. msnbc.com...Interpublic's stock price, off one-third from its high and stuck at that level for some weeks, is causing visible concern among some of its investors. Brokers and analysts say credibility in growth-via-acquisitions has plummeted with stocks of both partners going down in recent months. This "game" is well known on Wall Street. A company can acquire numerous others, in each case getting the new company to pay all its bills, write-down assets, etc., and reporting a loss just before the acquisition. The books are now "teed up" for profits. Wall Streeter Dick Jenrette blasted this technique at a NIRI meeting, saying a company could "write-off" $5 billion, then show growing earnings over the next three years. But over the four-year period, the company hasn't made a nickel!...a group of PRSA members wants to end the 20-year rule of the accrediteds and is circulating a petition to other members and the board. The group has studied the bylaws of PRSA and is amazed at the stranglehold the APRs have on the Society. For instance, only APRs themselves can petition for a change in the bylaws. Another alternative, a majority vote of chapter members present at a special meeting, was called laughably impractical by one dissident. "We're lucky if we get 50 people at a meeting" (out of 400+ members), the dissident said. The APR requirement appears in eight different articles and sections of the bylaws...the APRs, who have held sway during the current unprecedented 10-year boom of the U.S. economy, have done a poor job of growing PRSA. Membership went from 14,983 in 1990 to 20,000 currently, a gain of 5,000 or 500 per year. This is not a good record in a booming economy and when there are an estimated 350,000 in PR according to the U.S. Census Bureau, say the dissidents. Furthermore, they point out, the APRs have run PRSA into apparent insolvency in the midst of this boom. PRSA meets two tests of insolvency: current liabilities exceed current assets when $1.6 million in dues are properly booked as deferred income, and PRSA wasn't paying its bills last December when payables nearly tripled to $880,000. The APRs have spent more than $2 million in Society funds in the past ten years subsidizing the creation of 2,633 new APRs. But the number of active APRs (about 4,000) is about the same as it was ten years ago instead of being 6,600 because of people quitting PRSA, retiring, dying, etc. This means, in effect, the $2M has been wasted...the worst thing, say the critics, is that PRSA has almost completely ignored the power of the web as a communications vehicle. The 2000 budget calls for $60,000 to be spent on the web and $475,000 on APR (including $240K for a new test). PRSA leaders refuse to make its 200+ Assembly delegates accessible on the web via an e-mail address that reaches all at once...the Assembly, which elected David Simon as an "at-large" rather than a district director, is the only body that can change that designation. A move by the nominating committee to do this usurps the power of the Assembly. This body is a shadow of what it once was. It sat meekly last year when chair Sam Waltz ruled New Yorker Bob Weintraub out of order for proposing a financial review committee (which the board is now creating). Assembly members sit like bumps on a log while speech after speech is read to them covering well-worn and outworn topics. Leaders think up make-work, impractical ploys (like the international initiative) to occupy the Assembly and keep it from deliberating.