GRUBMAN HIRES KLORES

Celebrity PR pro Lizzie Grubman, who backed her Mercedes SUV into 16 people at a Hamptons nightspot more than a year ago, has hired Dan Klores Communications, New York, for PR. Joe DePlasco, a DKC executive VP, says he and Dan Klores are handling the case.

A sobbing Grubman apologized before a throng of reporters on July 18 outside a Riverhead, N.Y. courthouse to the "innocent people" that she injured outside the Conscience Point Inn on July 7, 2001.

New York tabloids slapped unflattering photos of Grubman on their front pages. The Daily News speculated the sobs were orchestrated by DKC as an effort to soften her image. Grubman had turned to Howard Rubenstein, CEO of Rubenstein Assocs., immediately following her crisis, but an RA spokesperson said "We don't represent her anymore."

Grubman pleaded 'not guilty' to the 26-count indictment related to that night. She faces up to eight years in jail. A trial date will be set on Aug. 16.

PWC GETS INTO PA GAME

PricewaterhouseCoopers is providing government relations services to Uzbekistan, the Central Asian country that is a prime ally in President Bush's "War on Terror."

It is giving "strategic advice and assistance" to Uzbekistan about dealing with the U.S. Congress and Executive Branch on economic and trade relations, according to PWC's "engagement letter." The firm is receiving $300K a year for its counsel.

Former Congressman Bill Archer is heading the work. The Texas Republican had chaired the powerful House Ways and Means Committee before joining PWC as a senior policy analyst in January 2001. Archer is based in PWC's National Tax Services practice in Washington, D.C.

Uzbekistan, which has neither a free press nor a democracy, is viewed by the State Dept. as a "stable, moderate force in a turbulent region."

The country agreed to the Defense Dept.'s request for access to its military bases promptly after 9/11. Uzbekistan received $100 million from the U.S. in January for its role in overthrowing the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan.

President Bush met with Uzbek leader Islam Karimov in March.

QORVIS JOINS WILLIAMS' TEAM

Qorvis Communications partner Judy Smith is providing crisis PR work for former New Jersey Nets basketball star Jayson Williams, who faces manslaughter charges and a potential 45 years in prison.

Williams has been charged in the Valentine's Day shooting death of limousine driver Costas Christofi at the athlete's New Jersey estate. The 34-year-old forward claims Chistofi's death was an accident, and has entered a non-guilty charge. He is free on $270,000 bond.

Smith has represented ex-Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Berry in his drug charge, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas during the confirmation hearings, Monica Lewinsky and the Clinton impeachment case, and the family of Chandra Levy. She also works on Qorvis' Saudi Arabia account.

Smith worked in the first Bush White House, was a senior VP-corporate communications at NBC, and ran JAS Communications before joining Qorvis, which is affiliated with Patton Boggs.

MAGNET LANDS ALLIED DOMECQ BIZ

Magnet Communications has been tapped to handle a "lucrative" six-figure account for Allied Domecq Wines USA, ADW's PR director, George Rose, told this NL.

Magnet's San Francisco office will provide media relations, events support and PR for AD's champagne lines Perrier Jouet and Champagne Mumm, along with sparkling wine maker Mumm Cuvee Napa.

Rose said ADW "zeroed in on MC" rather than hearing a series of pitches for the work. He said MC was "well-versed in the world of wine" and singled out senior VP Kimberly Charles for being "well-known in the world of wine."

Other MC clients include Fetzer Vineyards, Remy Martin and The Macallan.

PRSA IN HISTORIC DEBATE ABOUT APR

The Assembly of PR Society of America, all of whose members are accredited, will debate in November whether or not APR should be removed as a requirement for membership in the group, which makes bylaws for PRSA, elects officers, and sets dues.

National officers and directors would still have to be APR. The Assembly has about 250 members including one for each 100 of its 19,000 members

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PR SPENDING TRIES TO CATCH UP

U.S. PR revenues are expected to show modest growth this year, compared to a disastrous 2001 when spending came to a screeching halt following the Sept. 11 attack, said participants at a Council of PR Firms press conference on July 18.

The Council released its initial Economic Annual Report that forecasts PR revenues to rise from four to six percent this year. That compares to a seven percent drop to $2.9 billion for 2001. The EAR projects spending to rise from eight to 10 percent during 2003.

Kathy Cripps, Council President, said the EAR is designed to bolster the profile of PR on Wall Street and in the media. PR firms, said Cripps, are currently operating in "unusual times." Clients are slow to commit to PR budgets, while the intense focus on corporate scandals has crimped PR spending, she said.

Looking For The 'Sweet Spot'

PR merger and acquisition activity 'hit the wall' following 9/11, but Abe Jones, founder of AdMedia Partners, said he is experiencing a pickup in inquiries, and requests for valuation work from principals at firms. Deals must hit the sweet spot. They must be a more "strategic need to have, rather than nice to have" transactions," he said.

Jones noted that it is taking longer to hammer out an acquisition. For instance, he spent 18 months with Maura FitzGerald advising her on the sale of her Boston firm to Omnicom's Brodeur Worldwide. AdMedia has been working on a pending deal for two and a half years.

Of changes in deal structures, Jones said valuation multiples have plummeted to four-to-six times pretax profits (he had sold a company for a 12-13x multiple), closing payments are smaller, more cash than stock is involved (Jones said ad holding companies view their shares as undervalued), earnouts are stretched from three to five years, and non-compete clauses are much tougher.

The aggressive accounting used by serial acquirers such as Omnicom is a wildcard in the acquisition game. Jones said investors must be confident that accounting for acquisitions is fully transparent.

He predicted the rise of two new players on the acquisition trail: U.K.'s Chime Comms., which acquired Boston's LNS Communications in 2001, and Huntsworth Marketing Communication, the shop of Shandwick founder Peter (Chadlington) Gummer.

KC BUILDS GRASSROOT SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL

Kessler Communications is organizing and promoting a 72-hour "whirlwind tour" from the U.S. to Jerusalem in August, part of a grassroots effort to rally support for Israel's citizens. KC's Robert Miller told this NL the "Rally for Israel" tour is a "Herculean task," noting that via its website (rallyinisrael.org) the group has received 3,000 inquiries from 22 countries.

Miller said KC has been in contact with Rubenstein Assocs. to coordinate the rally with the Israeli government, and with the country's tourism department.

WEPR FOUNDATION HONORS OSTROWSKI

Helen Ostrowski, who earlier this year was named CEO of Porter Novelli International, was honored by the Foundation of Women Executives in PR July 15 for being the first woman to head a top ten PR operation.

More than 130 members and guests attended the dinner at the 3 West Club, New York, raising $17,000 for the Foundation.

Harold Burson, founder of Burson-Marsteller, who was among the speakers, said he expected more women to follow her lead to the top of a major PR firm.

He recalled that there were few women in PR when B-M was founded in 1953. The firm added 30 women employees in 1970 when it acquired the Theodore Sills Co., which specialized in food PR.

Ostrowski, who joined PNI in 1993 to head the healthcare division, recalled that as a newcomer to PR she applied for a job at B-M but did not obtain one.

B-M had asked her to write a press release on the introduction of a paper clip as a test of her creativity.

She said that she never thought that being female was any hindrance to her getting ahead in the field.

She said she was helped early in her career by groups such as WEPR, Women in Communications and the Healthcare Businesswoman's Assn.

"There were few of us in professional positions," she recalled, "let alone in managerial or leadership roles. Not only did we have to work harder to prove ourselves, but we also wasted huge amounts of emotional energy figuring out how to act like men, as that appeared to be the way to get ahead. We were even expected to dress like men, although I admit, I never looked particularly well in a suit and tie."

She feels that the "different viewpoints, approaches and styles (of men and women) are what make for more vibrant workplaces."

Ostrowski would like the senior leadership of the PR industry to be more reflective of the population overall.

"Think how much richer we can be through the diversity of opinions, viewpoints and styles of people of different color, creed and race," she added, and said the PR industry "still has much to do on this front."

PD WINS $3M PEAK 'BRANDING' JOB

Peak Wines International awarded its $3 million ad/PR account to Publicis Dialog because of the firm's "integrated approach to brand building," says Stephen Brauer, VP at the winery.

Peak markets premium California wines such as Geyser Peak, Geyser Peak Reserve, Canyon Road and Barwang wines. It is owned by a joint venture between Jim Beam Brands and Absolut Spirits Co.
PD's San Francisco office, which is headed by Stacey Paynter, is responsible for the Peak business.

CELEBRITY COVERS ARE LOSING ALLURE

Publicists may find it a tougher sell to get editors to put their celebrity clients on magazine covers.

"After years of chasing celebrities up and down the red carpet, magazine editors have been left wondering whether the sexy, familiar faces are losing some of their newsstand magnetism," according to David Carr, who covers the magazine beat for The New York Times.

Carr said publicists are another reason celebrity articles have lost allure. Celebrity agents control not only access to their client, but frequently input into the pictures and articles about them, he said.

"The process results in a generally bland ritual, in which the star gives up nothing vaguely personal while the reporter does fawning psychoanalysis based on a 15-minute interview over cappuccino," Carr wrote in his article that was published in the July 15 edition of the newspaper.

Five Cruise Covers

"Ubiquity"-as in the case of the multiple Tom Cruise covers-is part of the problem, too, said Carr, who reveals Pat Kingsley, CEO of PMK/HBH, got Cruise on one magazine cover in May (Esquire) and four more in June (Premiere, W, Time, and Entertainment Weekly).
While the "all-Tom, all-the-time blitzkreig seemed to help Cruise," whose new film, "Minority Report" broke the $100 million box-office barrier three weeks after it opened, the benefits for magazine editors were less clear, said Carr.

According to Source Interlink Cover Analyzer, a program that samples magazine sales, Carr said Cruise gave Esquire a boost in May but by the time the four new covers rolled around in June, only Premiere magazine experienced a significant bump from his presence.

"The alternatives to the celebrity chase are not that exciting," said Carr. "Both men's and women's magazines can return to running 'how to' advice and lifestyle information, or choose people who are great-looking but not household names."

He said many magazines, especially young men's magazines like Maxim, Stuff and FHM, have had success using photos of scantily clad women who are not yet famous, but might be on their way.

"Other editors have decided that it is mega-movies, not megastars that will set their magazine apart," said Carr.

James Kelly, the managing editor of Time magazine, said the industry's increased emphasis on franchise films, like Star Wars, that are bigger than any one star, have been a boon to his magazine.

PLACEMENT TIPS

Freelance writing jobs are listed on the Editorial Freelancers Assn.'s website (www.the-efa.org/ and click on "Need a Freelancer").

The service, started in 1985, is available to PR firms and corporate communications departments.

The National Academy Press, based in Washington, D.C., recently posted the 3,000th job for a writer to create an eight-page consumer-oriented informational booklet.

Sheila Buff is chair of the EFAJobList. She can be reached at EFA's headquarters in New York at 71 W. 23rd st. 212/929-5400.

AARP Bulletin, a monthly newspaper, has been changed to focus on more useful news for its readers, who are members of the Washington, D.C.-based senior citizens lobbying group.

"We didn't want to create an ornament for the coffee table," said Elliot Carlson, who has been editor of the monthly paper for the past 15 years. "We wanted a paper you could use to make your life better," he said.

Focus group interviews found Bulletin readers are not interested in celebrities or soft features, nor are they interested in inspiration or an uplift of any kind. Readers are looking for something that would make them better off at the end of the day.

There are regular departments, including "News & Trends," "Your Health," and "Your Money," plus new columns such as "Scam Alert" and "Congressional Box Score."

Carlson said the paper will let "readers know there's a sea change happening in American politics and make them feel the same passion we do about these issues. Then maybe we can stir them into action."

7th on Sixth, the New York-based production company that handles press registrations for the two Mercedes-Benz-sponsored Fashion Weeks that are held each September and February in New York, is selling its press list.

Each book, which lists all of the press people whose registration applications have been accepted, will sell for $650 for one season, and $1,100 for both.

The books are divided into five sections: national print; national magazine; broadcast; freelance, and foreign.
The directory is edited by Margaux DelCollo, who oversees press registrations. She can be reached at 212/253-2692 for more information, or at www.mbfwnyc.com.

"The Larry Elder Show," on KABC-AM in Los Angeles since 1994, is going national.

Starting Aug. 12, Elder's show will be syndicated through ABC Radio Networks, broadcasting live from 6 to 9 p.m. (ET).

A self-described "fiscally conservative libertarian," Elder discusses current events with guests and listener call-ins.

Lifetime, a new magazine that is being spun off from the cable channel owned by Hearst Corp. and Walt Disney, will begin publishing in March 2003.

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SALVATORE REPLACES BLYTH AT LHJ

Diane Salvatore took over as editor of the Ladies Home Journal July 22, replacing Myrna Blyth.
Salvatore, who had been director of editorial operations for all 15 Hearst magazines, has also been editor of YM, executive director of Marie Claire, executive editor of Good Housekeeping and senior editor of Redbook.

Blyth, who has edited LHJ for more than 20 years, will continue as editorial director of More magazine, a title aimed at women over 40, and oversee the development of new products, including Living Room, a new shelter magazine, which is in development, for women between the ages of 25 and 35.

'MEET THE PRESS' GETS NEW PRODUCER

"Meet the Press" senior producer Betsy Fischer has been promoted to executive producer of NBC's Sunday morning news show.

Fischer, who started this week, replaces Nancy Nathan, who is leaving to become executive producer of Chris Matthew's new weekend news program syndicated by NBC and starting in the fall.

Nathan has been with Meet the Press since 1997, when she joined as senior producer.

Fischer began her career at MTP as a college intern before becoming the show's political researcher in 1992. She was named senior producer in 1998.

This fall, the Tim Russert-hosted program, which has placed first for the past 19 quarters among Sunday morning news shows, will face a revamped "This Week" on ABC, hosted by George Stephanopoulos. Russert was a press secretary to ex-Gov. Cuomo (D-N.Y.) and Stephanopoulos was a press aide to former President Clinton.

TECH TV EXPANDS TIES WITH ABC

Tech TV, a 24-hour cable TV network, will provide technology-related content for ABC's overnight show, "World News Now."

Leo Laporte, who is co-host of Tech TV's daily live variety show, "The Screen Savers," will appear regularly on World News Now, which airs weekdays from 2 a.m. to 3:30 a.m.

Laporte will provide feature segments on the latest developments in the world of technology, from product reviews to biotech to the latest in digital music.

Sharon Newman is executive producer of WNN.
Tech TV segments featured on WNN can be viewed online at www.techtv.com/aboutus/story/ 0,23350,3388849.00.html.

MEDIA PRO LEADS INTEL BOYCOTT

Columnist/Internet/radio broadcaster Andy Martin is mounting a world boycott of Intel products because of Intel's alleged links to war crimes in Israel.

"Intel built a fabrication plant in Israel, on land stolen by Israel from Palestinians after express, written guarantees by Israel that it would protect the Palestinians and respect their property. Israel then violated its agreement, stole the land, and later sold it to Intel," Martin said at a July 16 news conference.

"I am announcing a world boycott of Intel products. When Intel is hit in the pocketbook it will think twice about dealing with nations that have manifested contempt for human life such as Israel. Computer consumers can boycott Intel," said Martin, who is host of "Andy Martin's America," and a columnist for Out2.com.

COVERAGE OF NATIVE AMERICANS CRITICIZED

The Native American Journalists Assn., headquartered in Minneapolis, said a study of coverage shows a need for "more in-depth, balanced, and broader stories about Indian country."

"The Reading Report" examined news coverage of Native Americans by nine of the largest newspapers in the U.S. (The Chicago Sun-Times, Houston Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News, Newsday, The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post).

Mary Annette Pember, who is president of the NAJA, said the report cites more than 1,000 articles published during the past three years. As expected, a number of stories were focused on Indian gaming and Native American mascots.

The N.Y. Times published 519 stories on Native Americans during this time period, while the Wall Street Journal published 43 articles.

PEOPLE

Jim Watkins was named executive producer for "The Mike Gallagher Show," a nationally syndicated radio show, based in Irving, Tex., with an estimated audience of 2.75 million listeners.

Watkins had been producer of "The Michael Savage Show" as well as operations manager for Talk Radio Network.

Stedman Graham, a Chicago-based PR consultant and close friend of Oprah Winfrey, has joined Peter Montoya's Personal Branding magazine as senior editor. He will write a column called "The Cult of Celebrity," which will look at some of the methods famous individuals use to build personal brands.

Montoya, who runs a Santa Ana-based ad agency, can be pitched at 866/288-9300; e-mail: [email protected], or www.petermontoya.com.

Michael Gross will write a new column covering entertainment, fashion, and media for The New York Daily News.

Susan Toepfer, previously deputy managing editor at People, is replacing Cathy Cavender as editor of Rosie: The Magazine.

Sarah Meikle has joined Seventeen as sr. fashion editor; Nicole Vecchiarelli-sr. editor, entertainment, and Suzanne D'Amato-fashion news editor.

PRSA DEBATES APR

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and nearly 50 members from the national board or who are heads of the sections and districts.

A memo July 17 from Joann Killeen, PRSA president, said chapters and sections have been complaining for years that not enough of their members are APR and they are being denied representation in the Assembly.

The problem "has resulted in empty seats at the Assembly, has precluded chapters from sending current chapter leaders as delegates (because they are not APR), or has forced chapters to rely on the same members as delegates," said Killeen.

Board Committed to APR

Killeen said the 2002 board is "fully committed to the APR program."

Past boards have blocked attempts even to bring the issue of "decoupling" (APR from office-holding) to the floor of the Assembly, which will meet this year on Nov. 16 in San Francisco.

PRSA cut the subsidy to the APR program from $441,467 in 2000 to $135,511 in 2001. The program has lost more than $2 million in the past 11 years. The subsidy per new PRSA APR reached $1,800 in recent years before the budget chop in 2001.

Educators are expected to put up a fierce fight to save the APR rule.

They regard any retreat from APR as hurtful to attempts to establish PR as a profession like law, medicine and accounting, and support requiring practitioners to take a specific set of courses in college and graduate school.

The APR/Assembly rule has resulted in charges that PRSA is undemocratic since less than 20% of its members are APR, a percentage that has been declining in recent years.

Less than two percent of eligible members show up for the APR test, which is given twice a year.

Hard to Communicate

Although PRSA has had a website for many years, it provides no easy way for a member to send an e-mail to all 250 Assembly members.

A member wishing to do so would have to send 250 separate e-mails. There is no Yahoo!-type bulletin board on its website where members can post their opinions anonymously.

Prospective members face paying $225 in dues, a $65 application fee, and $285 more for the APR test if they wish to join the Assembly or hold national office.

The Society is in a financial crunch. It lost $1.1 million in 1999-2000 but broke even in 2001. It had cash and investments of $1,517,193 as of Dec. 31, 2001. Projected expenses in 2002 were $9M +. It once supplied quarterly financial statements to members but the current board refuses to do this.

Hosea Martin, who handled media relations for IABC and was associate VP of United Way, has written a murder mystery novel, The Wrong Place to Die. $17 from Publishamerica.com.

OMC, IPG, WPP CALLED RIPE FOR BREAKUP

Omnicom, Interpublic and WPP may face shareholder pressure to break themselves up because their conglomerate-style business model is driving down their stock prices, according to a "Comment & Analysis" piece written by Richard Tomkins for a recent issue of Financial Times.

Tomkins notes that Saatchi & Saatchi created the idea of one-stop shopping for communications services during the late `80s, which survived until the recession of the early `90s exposed its weak financial underpinnings.

While the current Big Three are much stronger than S&S ever was, Wall Street is in a deconsolidation mood, and investors are putting the accounting practices by "voracious acquirers" under close scrutiny, wrote Tomkins.

The Big Three rely on "serial acquisitions" to spur growth. WPP, during the past two years, spent $6 billion for 77 acquisitions, IPG made 116 deals for $3.4B, and OMC acquired 73 companies for $1.7B.

The supergroups could slow their acquisition pace, but that would hurt revenue growth. Tomkins doesn't expect much pickup in the growth of the ad market. Advertising enjoyed an "extraordinary upsurge" in the `90s that was triggered by liberalization of global trade, privatization, deregulation, technology growth and a booming U.S.

Myth of Integration

Tomkins downplays the Big Three argument that they must offer a full array of services to global clients. The biggest problem: who will do the integrating? The parent companies are little more than financial shells with "no relevant skills," according to Tomkins. If the individual agency is given the task,it will award itself the biggest chunk of the budget.

Tomkins quotes Stephen Jones, Coca-Cola's chief marketing officer, who says Interpublic understands its needs, but hasn't yet figured out how to put together an integrated plan for the soft drink marketer.

WPP's Martin Sorrell told Tomkins as long as operating companies retain separate identities, "They cannot all be absorbed into one single uni-branded, full-service agency called WPP."

USA GOES WITH WS

Interpublic's Weber Shandwick is handling the United Seniors Assn., a 1.5 million member grassroots group, that has lined up behind the prescription drug bill that was passed by the House on June 28.

That bill is backed by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which has made "educational grants" to USA. PhRMA supports the House measure because it bans the government from setting prices for prescription drugs. It is against a more expansive drug plan that is being introduced in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

Tim Ryan, a former PhRMA staffer, is the WS executive in charge of the USA account. He said WS created ads in support of the House measure, but would not go into detail about overall strategy.

What should PR's role be in the stockmarket slide and possible double-dip recession?

The press is having a field day writing about corporate scandals--blasting CEOs, CFOs, CPAs, the SEC, security analysts and investment bankers, among others. There seems to be a definite edge to the stories of business reporters as they rail against hype, obfuscation and exaggeration.

A seminar sponsored by the National IR Institute a couple of years ago found that editors from top business media such as Bloomberg and the wire services felt they were getting the short end of the stick as far as information goes. Analysts, they complained, were getting much better information. IR pros, it was said, did not deal with the reporters. Corporate PR, on the other hand, knew little of what was going on in the company, especially its finances. Ex-NIRI chair Tim Cost famously told a NIRI conference that "corporate PR experiences a press call as a drive-by shooting."

Letting IR people take over financial communications has been a disaster for companies. Analysts who had lost their jobs in the 1970s when fixed commissions ended flooded into IR and set up a culture in which companies mainly talked to Wall Street. The press was frozen out as IR pushed pro forma earnings, EBITDA, a host of "exceptionals" impacting earnings and many other reporting abuses. Working analysts readily consumed this garbage since they had turned into shills for their investment banking owners.

NIRI, dominated by companies and allowing only two or three agencies on its board, became virulently pro-corporate. Almost all its board members, including its elected chair, put out the misleading "pro forma" reports which NIRI itself has condemned.

PR people must take back the financial reporting function from IR. Companies, surveying the current disaster, may be ripe for this proposal. Corporate communications depts., a euphemism for integrated marketing, must revert to PR, meaning relations with the public. PR people can show the way in communicating financials in language the public can understand. They can ask their bosses to regularly face presidential-type press conferences. They can ask that insider trades be immediately announced. They can promote a culture of openness rather than the current press-averse, jargon-laden, and secretive culture. Only if these and other things happen will investor confidence return. Corporate PR has been short-changed for too many years. Rarely is there a helpful voice at major companies when a reporter calls the PR unit. In many cases, you get a recorded message or an "aide" will pick up the phone and submit the reporter to a series of questions attempting to divine (A) if the reporter is important enough to deal with, and (B) whether the reporter knows anything that is new and important.

We see almost no PR spokespeople on TV talk shows preaching a gospel of candor and openness. The only ones who ever appear are author Fraser Seitel and Washington, D.C., agency head Vic Kamber. No one shows up from the big PR firms, corporate PR units, or trade associations.

It has taken two British publications, the Economist and the Financial Times, to make an assault on the very nature of the ad/PR giants. Calling Omnicom, Interpublic and WPP "among the world's most voracious acquirers," the FT on July 15 said the conglomerates work when it comes to buying ad space and time in bulk (knocking down media rates) but not when it comes to creativity. "Corporate bureaucracy" can have a "stifling effect" on "independent-minded creative businesses," it said. FT also doubts there is much "integration" of services going on as is claimed by the giants. Saddled by debt and facing a poor ad climate, the giants are under heavy pressure, says FT. The Economist on June 20 said the behemoths are good at obtaining lower media rates but it is "less clear" there are benefits on the creative side. Almost no U.S. media, except for the Wall Street Journal, have dared to take up this topic.

News item: PRSA may allow non-accredited Assembly members. The Society must be in dire financial straits to do this. It only had cash and investments of $1.5 million on Dec. 31, 2001 and faced costs of $9.9 million in 2002. It slashed the APR loss last year to $135,511 after losing $441,467 on this sacred cow in the previous year. Attempts to have APRs themselves fund the program must have failed. The renewal rate has been running at 70%, meaning the loss of up to 6,000 members in a year. The current membership figure is given as 19,373 but this is false. It includes members who are three-months past their renewal date. The true membership is probably around 17,000. The Society claimed 19,623 members in 1998, meaning there has been no growth for at least four years. New members face $225 in dues, a $65 initiation fee, and payment of $285 more (not to mention loss of a day's work) to take an APR test in order to be able to vote or hold national office. As with the famous companies whose phony financials have now been outed, there are plenty of red flags flying at PRSA. No. 1 is that the Society will not allow members to work at h.q. Only three of the current 48 staffers are members. Second red flag is that PRSA refuses to provide any current financials. No. 3 is that it does not have a CPA on staff as it once promised always to have.
--Jack O'Dwyer