B-M, Y&R HANDLE $175M ACCENTURE INTRO.

Burson-Marsteller and Young & Rubicam will handle Andersen Consulting's $175 million marketing communications campaign to introduce the company's new name, Accenture, to the public. The new moniker goes into effect Jan. 1.

AC must change its name as part of an arbitration agreement that allowed it to split from its parent Andersen Worldwide, and sister company Arthur Andersen, accounting firm.

The firm considered more than 2,700 names offered by employees. An AC consultant in Norway came up with Accenture, winning him a vacation to Australia.

Jim Murphy is AC's global managing director-marketing & communications. He was chairman/CEO of B-M/New York from 1991-1993.

BRODEUR GETS $5M C&WG LAUNCH

Brodeur Worldwide is handling PR for Cable & Wireless Global, an account that will bill at a $5 million annual rate once C&WG reaches its critical mass next year, said Zanku Armenian, who co-manages the business from BW's Washington, D.C., office.

U.K.-based Cable & Wireless, a $14 billion telecommunications giant, established C&WG on May 31.
The goal of C&WG, which has $6 billion in annual revenues, is to position itself as a leading IP (Internet Protocol) provider and market an array of data services to businesses.

BW handles PR in the U.S., U.K., Europe and Japan. Carmela Salisbury, who is based in BW's London office, co-manages the account with Armenian.

Gavin Anderson, BW's Omnicom sister firm, will tackle IR duties for C&WG in Japan.

NORTHWEST AIR HIRES ESTEE'S LINDER

Northwest Airlines, the world's No. 4 airline, has named Mary Carroll Linder, senior VP-global communications at Estee Lauder Cos., its senior VP-corporate communications. She takes the Minneapolis-based job in January.

Before joining New York-based Estee in 1996, Linder was a top PR person at Grand Metropolitan (now Diageo) in London. She also was stationed in Minneapolis for Grand Met, serving as its VP-external affairs for U.S. operations. Linder also held PR posts at Intercontinental Hotels and Hilton Int'l.

Sally Susman replaced Linder at Estee in September.

IPG CLAIMS NON-EXISTING EARNINGS

Interpublic Group of COs., continuing its practice of highlighting "earnings" that exclude restructuring charges, claimed in a press release headline Oct. 25 that third quarter "net income rises 17%" and that earnings per share were "up 18%" to 26 cents.

Bloomberg reported the story with the headline, "Interpublic 3rd quarter profit rises 17% on higher sales," and Reuters had the headline "Interpublic profit rises 16%."

The real third quarter net of IPG, after restructuring charges, was $61.8M, or 20 cents a diluted share, vs. $67.7M, or 22 cents a diluted share in the same 1999 quarter. Without $27.3M in restructuring charges, the "net" would have been $79.0M. The term "net" normally means after all costs and charges.

Third quarter revenues rose to $1.3 billion from $1.15B and domestic revenues were up 24% to $744M.

The method of stating earnings is a change over previous IPG earnings releases in that the claim of earnings growth in the first sentence of the release acknowledges that the earnings are "before restructuring charges."

In the previous two quarters, the first sentence in the IPG earnings releases had given the earnings without a clause saying that restructuring charges were left out.
IPG has just hired Susan Watson as its first IR pro since the firm went public in 1971.

Stanton Crenshaw Comms., New York, was hired by CNBC.com to handle its PR/mktg. comms. campaign worth $250K+...Heidi Sinclair has rejoined Burson-Marsteller as chairperson of the firm's U.S. technology practice. Sinclair, who will split her time between California and New York, has replaced Kay Hart, who ran the practice on an interim basis for the past six months. Sinclair left B-M in 1996 to join International Creative Management as managing director overseeing the talent agency's new media and corporate divisions...Gary Thompson, Shandwick International president and chief reputation officer, has moved to Schwartz Comms., a high-tech PR firm based in Waltham, Mass., as an EVP. He'll manage the firm's 55-person San Francisco office with Cecilia Roach. Thompson's move comes as Shandwick parent, Interpublic Group, plans to merge the unit with Weber PR.

SEC WARNS PR PROS TO VERIFY RELEASES

Kelly Bowers, assistant regional director, office of enforcement, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, told an Oct. 17 PRSA/LA workshop that it is the PR pro's responsibility to "critically analyze information that is given to them, before disseminating it to the media and public," in order to avoid false or misleading statements being released.

That warning was made in the aftermath of the Emulex phony press release sent via Internet Wire.

Panelists at the workshop discussed what went wrong in the Emulex disaster, and offered ways to reduce the chances of the event from reoccurring.

"Make sure it makes sense before you send [a release] out," said Bowers, who added that the media should have checked out the story.

IW CEO Michael Terpin said the company does not have a large staff for the overnight shift. He said it is "the company representatives' duty to check the facts.

Reporters usually check their sources too," he said. "We only verify that your company sent us the news release and you are who you say you are."

Many PR pros and panelists at the workshop said that it is the journalist's responsibility to check the source and facts before running a story.

"It's not the first time this has happened, and it certainly won't be the last time a false or misleading news release and story hits the wire," Terpin said.

FIRM RECOMMENDED FOR CONN. TOURISM

The PR selection committee for the Connecticut Dept. of Economic & Community Development-Office of Tourism will be asked to approve a new PR firm at its next scheduled meeting, Nov. 6, to handle national PR services for the next 21 months.

Barbara Cieplak, who is assistant director of the Office of Tourism, would not disclose the name of the finalist, which had been recommended as the winner of its recent review.

She said five firms, including Patrice Tanaka & Co., New York, which had handled PR on a sub?contract basis for the now?defunct O'Neal & Prelle ad agency, had submitted bids in response to an RFP that was sent Aug. 4. The deadline for receiving proposals was Sept. 19.

About $400,000 has been budgeted for out-of-state PR.

Advertising and PR Are Separate

The new contract represents a departure from the previous way the state's tourism campaign has been handled. Under the old contract, which had been in effect since 1992, O&P was paid to oversee both advertising and PR. The new contract will assign PR and advertising to separate firms that specialize in one of those disciplines.

Cieplak said the RFP for PR did not instruct firms to "build the publicity campaign around Governor John Rowland's wife, Patricia."

Bidders were provided copies of the state's 1999?2000 strategic marketing plan, which gave examples of the First Lady's participation in past tourism campaigns. The new "RFP does not reference the Governor or First Lady at all," said Cieplak.

NO ANONYMITY ON THE `NET, RULES COURT

A South Florida appellate court has let stand a lower court's ruling that people posting messages on the Internet have no right to anonymity.

The appellate court refused to review Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Eleanor Schockett's decision that ordered Yahoo! and AOL to reveal the identity of a person, who allegedly used an anonymous name to make defamatory statements about Erik Hvide, a former CEO of Hvide Marine in Ft. Lauderdale.

Hvide alleges the anonymous "John Doe" postings caused the company's stock price to drop, and persuaded the board of directors to fire him.

Although more than 100 John Doe anonymity cases are working their way through the courts, the Hvide case is prominent because the ACLU selected it to make a stand about freedom on the Internet. The ACLU had asked the three?judge panel of the 3rd District Court of Appeals to overturn Judge Schockett's decision.

SEC FINES FORMER EDELMAN CLIENT

Edelman PR Worldwide has ordered its Atlanta office not to give out any information or discuss the Securities and Exchange Commission's censureship of an online brokerage firm, which had been a client, for illegal sales of two initial public offerings that were sold last year.

John Walker, a senior A/S in Edelman's Atlanta office who handled E-Invest, said he was ordered to withhold comment. He would not identify the person who issued the order.
E?Invest had been the agency's client from May to the end of September this year.

PR STILL LACKS LEGITIMACY

Stephen Banks, a professor of communications at the University of Iowa, Moscow, has updated his book, "Multicultural Public Relations: A Social?Interpretive Approach," which was first published in 1995, but not his view that "PR has a long way to go to achieve legitimacy."

Banks added a new chapter devoted to the influence of new technologies in multicultural PR.

While several changes have occurred in the PR field in the past half decade, much more in the PR world has remained the same, the author writes in the new preface.

"It continues to be the case that PR overwhelmingly is negatively portrayed in the news media," writes Banks, who said PR has "a long way to go to achieve legitimacy" in his 1995 book.

The book is published by Iowa State University Press, and sells for $40.

HISPANIC BUYING POWER SKYROCKETS

People En Espanol magazine's second annual Hispanic Opinion Tracker (HOT Study) shows a substantial increase in Hispanic purchasing power indicating that Latinos are becoming the new middle class in the U.S.

The national research study, which was conducted by NuStats International for the monthly Spanish-language magazine, also reveals the most effective way to reach this market is through the use of Spanish-language media.

NuStats surveyed Hispanics all across the U.S., interviewing more than 1,400 self-identified Hispanics ages 18 and over, by telephone. Of those respondents,nearly 500 submitted a followup written survey.

People En Espanol, which is a spin-off of People Weekly, has an estimated three million readers.

The U.S. Hispanic population has increased 47% to 33.1 million over the last 10 years and remains the fastest-growing minority group in the country. The median age of adult Latinos is 36.

Hispanic buying power has also skyrocketed, increasing 118% to $452.4 million, up from $207.5 million in 1990.

The majority (70%) of Hispanics read Spanish-language magazines.

PLACEMENT TIPS ________________________

Randy Coppersmith, a founder of Rainmaker Interactive, a Reston, Va.-based high-tech marketing firm, recently advised members of the IABC/D.C. chapter to think about releasing news in formats with audio and video files, as well as with databases of information or statistics.

Our Town and West Side Spirit, which cover neighborhood news in Manhattan, have begun providing news and cultural listings to EdificeRex.com, a website that offers news and building services guides to residents of about 250 luxury apartment buildings in the city.

Tom Allon is editor and publisher of both weekly papers, which are owned by News Communications.

Peter Price, the CEO of EdificeRex.com, said RexOffice.com, a similar website owned by Edifice-Rex for commercial buildings, plans to join with Crain's New York Business for business-oriented local news within a month.

MBA Jungle, a new magazine, offers tips to business school students on how to use their money, handle job interviews, and conduct themselves.

The premier September issue featured a cover story on "The Secrets of Successful Learning Teams"; an interview with Jon Corzine, a former CEO of Goldman Sachs who is running for the Senate, and an article, entitled "Where's the Next Silicon Valley?".

Bill Shapiro, a former executive editor of both Details and Maxim, is editor-in-chief.

A.J. Jacobs, who had been overseeing Entertainment Weekly's "News and Notes" section, is joining Esquire on Nov. 1 as a senior editor of the magazine's front-of-the-book "Man at His Best" section.

Bob Woods, formerly of Newsbytes.com news service, was named editor of the new Washtech.com website, which was started by three Washington Post companies (NL, Oct. 25). Jill Dutt, the Post's assistant business managing editor, will oversee the Washtech feature that runs every weekday in the business section.

INT'L HERALD TRIBUNE GETS NEW M.E.

Robert McCartney, 46, who is foreign editor of The Washington Post, will become managing editor of the International Herald Tribune in Paris.

The Herald Tribune is jointly owned by the Post and The New York Times.

McCartney will replace Walter Wells, who is leaving the paper after 20 years.

(Media news continued on next page)

WEATHERMAN SEEKS EVENT ASSIGNMENTS

Publicists have been getting clients more hits on TV weather segments as more and more producers let their weathercasters do live reports outside of the studio.

Los Angeles TV weatherman Danny Romero is one such weathercaster who says he doesn't stand in front of the weather maps in-studio, if he can help it.

Romero, who is the evening weatherman for KVOP-TV, told a PRSA/Los Angeles Chapter breakfast meeting on Oct. 24 that he likes to do his weather reports live at events, such as a Save the Whales benefit, a Disney movie premier, or a party at the Playboy mansion.

He urged the publicists to pitch him information about upcoming events, and if he likes what he hears, he will push the assignment desk to schedule it for his weather segment.

He only goes to events that take place during the 10 p.m. hour because his live report airs around 10:30 p.m., and he has to have some activity going on around him.

Before his segment comes on, he does about three or four teasers, and for every hit during the hour, he likes to be in a different spot, with a different background or visual.

For daytime events, Romero said camera crews will shoot B-roll to support his live shot.

Pitch, Then Fax

Romero said it is best to pitch him first and then fax the information to the assignment desk. He can be reached at 323/883-9831; fax: 851-4187 (same fax number for assignment desk).

On most days, Romero is in the office from 3 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. If he is not available, PR people can call his producer Scott Zedeker at 323/851-1000 ext. 361.

TWO SEATTLE BUSINESS PAPERS MERGE

American City Business Journals, the largest publisher of local business newspapers, is merging the weekly Bellevue, Wash.-based Eastside Business Journal into the weekly Puget Sound Business Journal, which is based in Seattle.

Ray Shaw, chairman/CEO of ACBJ, said the expanded PSBJ will include all current employees of the two papers. EBJ currently employs 18 people; PSBJ employs 42.

Shaw said the combined staff of 22 journalists will continue to operate out of both offices, and it will be the largest business news department in the Northwest.

PSBJ, which this year is celebrating its 20th anniversary, has a paid circulation of 21,121, while EBJ, which began in 1996 as a monthly written by the staff of the PSBJ, has a requestor-subscriber base of 10,400.

YAHOO! INTERNET LIFE NAMES NEW EDITORS

Yahoo! Internet Life, a monthly magazine covering the Internet, has named David Thomas as executive editor and Don Willmott as technology editor.

Thomas was previously at Deja.com, where he was features producer and editor of POZ magazine.

Willmott spent the last 14 years at PC Magazine.

Ziff Davis Media started Internet Life in 1996 with 100,000 circulation. The magazine's rate based will be increased to 1.1 million in January 2001.

INSIDE MAG NAMES M.E., OTHERS

Richard Balestrino, who was previously with Business Week for 17 years, has been named managing editor of Inside magazine, which will publish its first issue on Dec. 5.

Richard Siklos, who was media editor at Business Week, is editor-in-chief of the new biweekly, which will cover the technological transformation of all the entertainment and information industries.

The magazine is a partnership between Inside.com and Standard Media International, publisher of The Industry Standard.

Other editorial hirings include Andrew Hindes, a former film editor of Variety and Daily Variety, who was named senior film correspondent; Chris Allbritton, previously a technology writer for The New York Daily News, was named digital reporter, and Staci Kramer, who is a freelance writer focusing on cable, newspapers, and the interactive side of established media, was named a contributing editor.

Hindes, Allbritton and Kramer, like all Inside writers, will contribute to the new magazine as well as to Inside.com.

MEDIA TRENDS _________________________

A study by the Center for Media and Public Affairs shows the average sound bite length for the presidential candidates on the network nightly news has dropped to 7.3 seconds, a 26% decline since 1988 (9.8 seconds) and an 83% drop from the 1968 presidential election.

A researcher at the University of Missouri-Columbia found local news broadcasters have a high rate of marital problems.

Vernon Stone, professor emeritus of journalism at the university, found two-thirds of the 2,100+ news professionals surveyed at commercial TV and radio stations were married or had been married at least once. Of those, two of every five said their jobs had caused marital problems. Most of these journalists blamed odd hours and on-call duties as the main causes.

Both in radio and TV, the study found three of every 10 news people who had been married had also been divorced. The survey's highest rate was posted by TV news anchors, divorced in 41% of the cases, and the lowest by TV sportscasters (only 13%).

FELTON CHARGES "ELITE" RULES PRSA

Jack Felton, who headed a special PRSA committee on the nomination process, told the Assembly Oct. 21 that the nine board members who publicly supported Joann Killeen for chair-elect acted in defiance of PRSA bylaws and tradition and in defiance of his own special committee.

"We did not advocate the kind of participation [in the election] that the sitting board had this year," said Felton, whose remarks got so pointed that chair-elect Kathy Lewton charged they violated the rule against personal attacks.

"I didn't attack you," said Felton as chair Steve Pisinski banged the gavel and called for order.

Felton, president of PRSA in 1986-87, said "a PR mafia" used to "sit around in Chicago or in New York and parcel out the assignments...a nice little elite group that ran the Society their own way."

Bylaws Bar Board Participation

But the membership got tired of the "elitist approach," he added. "This is the reason the bylaws say the officers and board are elected by the Assembly...why the bylaws say selection is to be by the nominating committee which represents all chapters and districts...just recently the Assembly voted to increase this representation" [expanding the committee to 20 members]. He noted the immediate past chair of PRSA sits on the committee but has no vote. "This makes it as clear as can be that the intent is to have the board separate from the nominating process and the board is not to elect its own officers," he added.

But "two or three [board members] were unhappy with the choices" this year, he said. "What they did comes pretty close to what I would call conspiracy. They decided to elect their own candidates..."

At this point, Lewton interrupted Felton and said, "Steve, I'm sorry, we cannot put up with attacks on individual members." "I didn't attack you," said Felton as Pisinski banged the gavel.

Lewton interjected, "Conspiracy?"

Felton said the directors, "in a grab for power, began to collectively campaign for the board's choice...in order to keep their own little elite group in power..." He also said the nominating committee knew PRSA had a "serious" financial situation although it did not have "every single detail."

Lewton Sees "No Crime"

Lewton, undaunted by Felton's criticisms, said the nine board members who openly supported Killeen "are to be commended for having the guts because they've suffered a lot for doing it and they've stayed the course. She also asked how Felton knew about the financial problems of PRSA for fiscal 2000 when she, herself, did not get the report until Aug. 3.

Lewton blasted Felton for saying that "some sort of elitist group" is running PRSA (prompting Pisinski to ask her to avoid making personal remarks).

She said she respected the integrity of every member of the board and is "proud" to serve with them.

"The decision they made was in the best of conscience...they violated no policy. If we had strong feelings, we had the guts to put our money where our mouth is...they did not sit in a back room but went on the record and gave this body information they felt it should have. And if this is a crime to do it publicly rather than sneaking around behind the scenes, I don't see how that's a crime."

Board member Tom Bartikoski, who publicly supported Killeen for chair-elect, said "every board in every election has been involved in campaigning for people who can best serve the Society." He called Felton's remarks "either silly or partisan...if this is a conspiracy, we are certainly among the worst conspirators in the world because we did it in the open." He added that the nominating committee only spent a few hours with Killeen and opponent Art Stevens whereas the board has spent many hours with them. "I have served thousands of hours with Killeen," he said.

Attendance Is Record 3,505

Attendance at the PRSA national conference in Chicago, helped by members of the International PR Assn. and the fact that PRSA had its first exhibit hall since 1994, soared to 3,505, at least 900 above the previous record.
The exhibit hall, closed in 1995 when PRSA sought a single overall sponsor, had 71 exhibits, about 25 more than PRSA used to draw. About $200,000 was raised from the exhibits and local sponsors via a committee headed by Ronald Culp of Sears, Roebuck.

Attendees had 125 general and specialized sessions from which to choose. PRSA sold $10,000 worth of books, monographs, audiotapes, etc. The press room, which in some recent years has been locked, unstaffed, far from the main area, or all three at the same time, was a beehive of activity. Numerous materials were available and reporters had four computers for writing and Internet connection.

Burson, Edelman & Golin on One Panel

Three deans of PR, Harold Burson, Daniel Edelman and Al Golin, were on one of the panels.

They recalled their early years in PR. Burson noted he unwittingly had the first "business-to-business, high-tech agency" back in the 1950's, when many staffers were graduate engineers. "It's one of the reasons we were separate from the pack," he said.

Edelman traced PR's roots back hundreds of years, noting the American Revolution would not have been possible without events like the "Boston Tea Party" that awakened public opinion.

Golin, quoting Abraham Lincoln, said, "Without public sentiment nothing can succeed and with it, nothing can fail." He noted his long relationship with McDonald's founder Ray Kroc and said PR cannot succeed without being close to the CEO. About 30% of a CEO's time should be on PR, he said.

All three expressed concern that PR is becoming a mostly female occupation. Women comprise 70% of B-M's staff and even the senior women there "don't want PR to be a woman's job," Burson said.

Now that PRSA COO Ray Gaulke's term is ending, it's time to look at what happened since his arrival in 1993. Gaulke, who had a career in advertising and publishing, was initially paid $150K. He also got a signing bonus of $25K; two years' pension ($14K); four weeks' paid vacation, and was promised bonuses (via a formula that was never revealed) based on revenue and membership increases.

PRSA is paying $27,936 towards his pension this year (8% of the first $62,700 and 13.7% of the difference to $230K, his 2000 pay). Gaulke reported $49K in expenses on a recent PRSA tax return.

His tour was marked by bold, even flamboyant strokes. How many of them were his or the board's is a matter of conjecture.

"PR for PR" activities virtually ceased while PRSA concentrated on publishing. The monthly PR Journal was killed in its 50th anniversary year in 1994 and replaced by two new publications, the monthly tabloid PR Tactics and the quarterly glossy PR Strategist. A vast non-PRSA audience predicted for Tactics never materialized. The annual Red Book of PR firms and Green Book of PR suppliers were created.

In early 1995, Gaulke told a shocked PR Services Council (formed to get more attention for exhibits during national conferences) that the exhibit hall was being closed. Regional exhibits were promised but never took place. The Council, its main reason for being having been eliminated, closed. Service firms said PRSA members would be the losers. Gaulke responded that PRSA lost money on the exhibits and that he would seek high-tech giants like IBM or Intel to sponsor a "technology conference" at the 1995 conference in Seattle.

A major juggling of PRSA's books took place in the mid-1990s and beyond.

Many of the expenses of starting T&S were deferred while incoming dues were counted sooner. The deferred dues account was pulled down from $904,767 in 1991 to $169,530 in 1995 on rising membership. Members got misleading annual financial reports showing income roughly equaled expenses. The net expense of T&S was $1.18 million in 1995 and $996,767 in 1996, far above the usual loss of $500K yearly on PR Journal. The reports got later and more obtuse. Members were not finding out until August or September what the previous year's financial results were. They were told T&S were making money when they were not.

"War" Waged vs. O'Dwyer NL

A virtual war was declared on the O'Dwyer NL. In 1994, TJFR Publishing sued the O'Dwyer Co. for $20 million for allegedly violating its copyright and other charges (all of them dismissed) after the NL reported on a speech TJFR's Dean Rotbart gave to the 1993 PRSA conference. The NL was credentialed by PRSA to cover the speech and PRSA had the copyright to it but took a hands-off approach, neither filing an "amicus" brief nor commenting on it in any way. Hal Warner, Joe Vecchione and John Beardsley, the 1993-95 presidents, were mute, as was Gaulke.

Also in 1994, the O'Dwyer NL discovered that PRSA was copying hundreds of its own and other authors' articles thousands of times yearly for sale in "information packets." Eleven other authors, shown what PRSA was doing, sought payment. PRSA, while apologizing for copying without permission, refused. A three-year battle pitting PRSA against the writers and publishers took place before the statute of limitations ran out. PRSA's legal bills were $70K.

Beardsley and Gaulke visited Ad Age offering support for a new national weekly covering PR. Turned down, they went to London to urge Haymarket to start PR Week/U.S. Open support was given to PRW/U.S. by PRSA, which U.S. PR publishers felt was a case of gross interference in the marketplace.

Finally, a year-long boycott of the O'Dwyer publications was led in 1999 by chair Sam Waltz. That, too, failed and the next board cancelled it.

What happened this year was that the mis-reporting and non-reporting of PRSA's finances by h.q. staff, including failure to report the dive in membership renewals to 72%, finally got under the skin of the leaders. Another factor was the costly two-year h.q. iMIS computer debacle. The "elite group" of APR leaders that runs PRSA (see Jack Felton's remarks on previous page), having seen their hawkish policies toward the press in ruins and suffering from non-communication and ineptitude at h.q., switched Gaulke to fund raising. The APRs remain in firm control, even tightening their grip by winning three-year instead of two-year board terms (even though the National Capital Chapter warned it just dropped three-year terms because it made it harder to find volunteers). The move to have PRSA headed by PR pros from large organizations (the reason Kathy Lewton was picked and Stevens was nominated), was stopped dead in its tracks with the defeat of Stevens by sole practitioner Joann Killeen. The leaders are spending $359K on APR this year while virtually ignoring PRSA's website. Only 200 candidates took the fall APR test, the usual miserable turnout. "I never go to PRSA's site," Orange County delegate Susan van Barneveld told the Assembly. She offered help last year, handing out a "bunch of cards" to PRSA leaders, but no one ever called her. Many websites now offer free PR news and professional development and are competition for PRSA (and its new dues rate of $215).