H-P LOOKS TO 'RATIONALIZE' PR SPENDING

Hewlett-Packard is looking to rationalize its PR spending in the aftermath of its acquisition of Compaq Computer, according to Tim Marklein, H-P's director of corporate media relations.

The high-tech giant has sent out an RFP to a "short list of top industry PR firms," said Marklein, who recently joined H-P from Applied Communications. The goal is to "improve the quality, speed and competitiveness of H-P's global PR effort."

Marklein added that the consolidation effort is also designed to reduce PR spending by increasing efficiencies and eliminating redundancies.

Porter Novelli is H-P's lead agency. Edelman PR Worldwide, Golin/Harris International, Applied, Publicis Dialog and The Hoffman Agency are also used.

Hill and Knowlton is Compaq's PR firm.

REDPOINT ACES OGILVY FOR LOEWS BIZ

Redpoint Marketing PR beat Ogilvy PR Worldwide for a national brand awareness program for Loews Hotels, Vickie Feldman de Falco, co-founder of the start-up firm, told this NL. Susan Magrino Agency, M. Silver Assocs. and PR 21, which is owned by Daniel J. Edelman Inc., also pitched.

DeFalco, who was KWE president, started the firm with Christina Miranda, who was senior VP at KWE. She has handled clients such as Visa USA, Hyatt Resorts, Royal Caribbean International, and the American Society of Travel Agents.

Emily Kanders, Loews director of PR, cited the pair's ten-year PR partnership serving hospitality clients as one of the reasons for picking RMPR.

O'BRIEN JOINS GCI

Robinson Lerer & Montgomery's Jim O'Brien is now executive VP and director of GCI Group's New York corporate practice. "I wanted to work in a broader field," O'Brien told this NL about why he joined the Grey Global unit. O'Brien, as senior VP at RL&M, handled image campaigns, crisis management, mergers/acquisitions and IR for clients, such as Pfizer.

He spent a decade at Hill and Knowlton, dealing with "special situations" (restructurings, white collar crime, litigation support and earnings restatements).

He also worked for Manning, Selvage & Lee (Delta Air Lines, Eastern Chemical and Principal Financial Group) and Broadgate Consultants.

ADELPHIA TAPS RL&M FOR CRISIS

Adelphia Communications is using Robinson Lerer & Montgomery, a Young & Rubicam unit, for crisis PR in the aftermath of its June 26 Chapter 11 filing and arrest of former founder 77-year-old John Rigas and sons for allegedly using the company as their personal piggybanks.

RL&M's mission is to reassure cable subscribers that the company has a future once its reorganization is completed. Erland Kailbourne, Adelphia's chairman and interim CEO, is the star of an ad campaign urging cable subscribers to "stick with us." His message is that Coudersport, Pa.-based Adelphia has "recently embarked on a reorganization effort to rebuild the company and restore its integrity."

The SEC filed a suit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of NY on July 24 against Adelphia; Rigas and sons Timothy (Adelphia's CFO), Michael (executive VP) and James (executive VP); James Brown (VP) and Michael Mulcahey charging them with fraudulently excluding $2.3 billion in debt from the company's balance sheet.

SAUDI ARABIA SPENT $2.7M AT B-M

Burson-Marsteller has received $2.7 million in fees/expenses from Saudi Arabia for placing ads pitching the Kingdom as a staunch U.S. ally in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Its Marsteller Advertising unit placed the ads on Sept. 16 and 19. B-M was officially terminated by the Saudis on Nov. 11, according to federal documents.

The PR firm also retained Public Opinions Strategies, a polling outfit, on behalf of the Saudis, and made a $25,000 contribution to the Mosaic Foundation.

The Foundation, founded in 1998 by the spouses of the 17 Arab Ambassadors in Washington, D.C., contributed on Oct. 6 to the Washington Family Relief Fund set up by Riggs Bank for families of 9/11 victims.

The group is chaired by Princess Haifa Al-Faisal, the wife of Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz.

Fifteen of the 19 Sept. 11 murderers were Saudis.

Alison Taunton-Rigby has joined Weber Shandwick as a senior consultant in its biotechnology practice. She had headed Forester Biotech, and serves on the board of the Biotechnology Industry Org. Queen Elizabeth will make her an Officer of the Order of the British Empire later this year. Taunton-Rigby will work out of the IPG units Cambridge, Mass., office.

HERSHEY TRUST HIRES RKSC

The Hershey Trust Co. is using issues management firm Robinson Kelly Strategic Communications to handle media inquiries dealing with its blockbuster decision to explore the sale of its Hershey Foods Corp. holdings, Rick Kelly told this NL. The move by the Milton Hershey School Trust, which owns 77 percent of the voting power in HFC, has sent shock waves through the company town known as the "sweetest place on Earth."

Kelly, whose firm is based in Harrisburg, Pa., has been "camped out" at the Trust's headquarters since the Wall Street Journal broke the story on July 25. He said he is coordinating communications activities with HTC's "merger and acquisition advisors." Morgan Stanley and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom are the Trust's financial and legal advisors.

HFC CEO Richard Lenny, who has spearheaded a cost-cutting drive, said the chocolate company prefers to remain independent. John Long, VP-corporate communications at HFC, has not yet been reached.

SURFERS MORE WILLING TO PAY FOR NEWS

More than 12.4 million consumers are paying for online content, up from seven million in the first-quarter of 2001, according to a survey by the Online Publishers Assn.

Real Networks, a distributor of audio and video material, derives the most revenue, followed by Wall Street Journal Online, according to the findings of the group which includes New York Times Digital, Wall Street Journal Online, MSNBC.com, ESPN.com and CBS Marketwatch.

In general, the survey found that of the 1,700 sites charging for content, the 100 with the most revenue drew 97% of all revenue and the top 50 sites drew 85% of the revenue. The survey did not include payments made to pornography sites.

Not surprisingly, the survey shows business and financial news sites got the biggest chunk of the spending, racking up $214.3 million in revenue in 2001 from selling content, mainly through monthly and annual subscriptions.

Several media companies have recently introduced for-pay packages on their websites. ABC.com said on July 31 that it will begin charging $4.95 per month for "ABC News On Demand," which includes news clips and day-after replays of "World News Tonight" and "Nightline," as well as 30 days of the programs' archives. CNN.com began charging for access to video on its site earlier this year.

The Wall Street Journal, which has 650,000 subscribers, dominates subscription revenue in the online financial category.

All Media Sites Will Charge by `04

Clare Hart, CEO of Factiva, believes consumers will start paying for all online media content by 2004.

Since the dot-com boom collapsed, it has become increasingly clear to publishers that online advertising is not going to supply sufficient revenue.

KLORES HOSTS NFL'S TAILGATE PARTY

Dan Klores Communications is coordinating publicity for the National Football League's "world's largest tailgate party" set for Times Square on Sept. 5, according to Brian McCarthy, an NFL spokesperson.

The event, which headlines the band Bon Jovi, is set to begin five hours before the New York Giants open their season against the San Francisco 49ers in the League's first Thursday season kick-off.

McCarthy said the NFL is "tapping" into DKC's expertise, and plans to announce more acts for the Party that is designed to show support for NYC as the Sept. 11 anniversary of the terror attacks draws near.

Dan Klores, DKC partner Chris Widmaier, and senior VP Nathalie Moar are handling the event for the PR firm.

PR CALLED TO PITCH PROPAGANDA

U.S. propaganda overseas efforts will get a "far more bang for the buck if there is a much expanded role for the private sector," according to a critique of the government's "public diplomacy" efforts prepared by the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

While the Council wants the State Dept. budget for propaganda dramatically increased, it notes that U.S. government officials are somewhat limited in communicating with non-governmental groups overseas.

Federal officials, notes the Report, must observe "diplomatic protocols in communicating with their counterparts," while "independent messengers can be more fluid in their ability to target and engage varied audiences."

The Council believes the use of a PR firm intermediary could provide Uncle Sam a "heat shield" that could be useful "when tackling controversial issues that might have negative political or diplomatic repercussions." The Council also feels that private messengers "can engage in controversial critiques and debates that the U.S. Government might often shrink from for fear of political backlash."

PR members of the Council's Independent Task Force, which authored the Report, include Kathy Bloomgarden, CEO of Ruder Finn Inc.; Jack Leslie, Weber Shandwick chairman; Scott Miller, founder of Sawyer/Miller Group; Richard Plepler, executive VP-corporate communications at Home Box Office; Nancy Nielsen, senior director-domestic and international alliances at Pfizer and former VP-corporate communications at the New York Times Co., and Jill Schuker, senior VP at The Kamber Group.

APCO, GLOBAL COMMS. GET BOLIVIA

Bolivia's Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment has given a nine-month promotion contract to Grey Global's APCO unit, Global Communicators and BG Consulting.

The contract is worth $300K, and is targeted at the American timber and textile companies.

Barry Schumacher, APCO senior VP, Jim Harff, GC's chairman and Ruder Finn alumnus, and Luis Soto of BG handle the account.

NEW MAGAZINE EYES LUXURY MARKET

Cachet Magazine will make its debut as a lifestyle magazine when it is delivered as a weekly insert in the Friday editions of some 70 daily newspapers on Oct. 18.

Susan Wyland, who was launch editor of Time Inc.'s Real Simple magazine, is working as an editorial consultant for Cachet, and Susan Slesin, who was editor-in-chief of the now-defunct Homestyle magazine, is managing editor.

The magazine, which will be distributed by papers with an audited circulation, will start with a guaranteed rate base of 1 million, according to Peter Hagan, a former investment banker with no previous publishing experience, who is chairman/CEO of the New York-based publication. CM is headquartered at Union sq. West (212/675-6699).

Top 25 Markets

Hagan said Cachet, which will have no urban distribution, will be targeted at newspaper readers in wealthy suburbs that surround the top 25 Designated Market Areas (DMA), which include Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Denver.

Even then, not every newspaper customer will get Cachet. Instead, it will be delivered to those who are deemed to have high end demographics, Hagan said.

Newsday will distribute Cachet to its readers on Long Island, but the magazine will have no distribution in Westchester County, N.Y., which is one of the most affluent suburbs in the U.S.

In New Jersey, The Bergen Record may distribute Cachet as an insert in its string of weekly community papers, said Hagan, who resides in Bernardsville, N.J.

As part of its attempt to attract luxury advertisers, Cachet will be printed on high grade paper in a 9 x 10 7/8 inch size. Parade and USA Weekend are tabloid-size and printed on newsprint.

Hagan said interviews conducted after the three test issues were published found readers "extremely receptive" to the magazine's editorial content.

He said 93% of the respondents in the last survey indicated they were looking forward to reading the next issue, said Hagan.

Brendan Banahan, who was the first ad director of Martha Stewart Living magazine, is Cachet's president/publisher.

Hagan said Wyland and Slesin are working out of a different building, but he declined to give their address or phone number.

MOVED: Publishers Weekly's new offices are located at 360 Park ave. South, New York, NY 10010. 646/746-6400; fax: 764-6631.

RADIO SHOW WILL COVER BUSINESS NEWS

The Wall Street Journal Radio Network will start a nationally syndicated business news show in late September. The hour-long program, called "The Wall Street Journal This Morning," will air from the company's new broadcast facilities that were built at Dow Jones' production plant in Princeton, N.J.

The show will offer content from each day's Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Journal Online, the Dow Jones Newswires, and The Wall Street Journal Sunday.

The show will complement the business news updates heard throughout the day on more than 180 affiliates of the Wall Street Journal Radio Network.

Each show will preview the Journal's take on what to watch for later that day in the worlds of business, money, the markets, travel and technology, marketing and media, careers, e-commerce and more.

Ron Kilgore, who is finishing a 3.5-year stint as anchor/reporter for the KFWB-Los Angeles Times Noon Business Hour, will host the new show.

Chuck Fishman, currently editor of CNET Radio's morning show and producer of its "Anchor Desk with David Coursey" program, will join as producer.

Fishman will handle guest bookings. Publicists can pitch him at a temporary fax number: 609/520-7773.

The Los Angeles Times has assigned David Shaw, who has been the paper's media critic since 1974, to write a media column for the new Sunday "Calendar" section and a food and wine column for the revamped "Food" section.

DWJ Television's media director, Deborah Nettune, a former host of morning shows in Chattanooga and Dallas, said she regarded PR people as "somewhat naive" when she was in TV.

"I really felt they had no clue what I needed to do to put together a story," said Nettune, who is based in Ridgewood, N.J. "A lot of people don't do their homework."

One of the worst things a PR pro can do when pitching is to "sound like a salesperson or have a pitch that's really not conversational," said Nettune. "You have to tell the story as if you're telling it to a friend. And if you exude confidence and interest in the story, that will rub off," she added.

Collegiate Presswire's survey of more than 775 college newspaper editors shows they are particularly interested in two topics.

Some 75% of those surveyed prefer arts and entertainment-related press releases, while 65% choose career-related news and press materials as their favorite.

Esquire's editor David Granger has assembled a panel of leaders in science, business, society and culture to suggest candidates for a special issue on 'Best and Brightest" people in the U.S.

(Media news continued on next page)

MORROW NAMED PROJECTS EDITOR

Mark Morrow was named deputy managing editor/projects at The Boston Globe, replacing Ben Bradlee Jr., who is leaving to write a book on baseball great Ted Williams.

Fiona Luis, who is currently editor of the Globe's "Living" section, will replace Morrow as assistant managing editor for features, overseeing the paper's "Living/Arts," "Life at Home," "Calendar," "Food," and "Books" sections.

The changes became effective Aug. 5.

SIKOWITZ JOINS BUDGET TRAVEL

Peter Sikowitz was named executive editor of Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel magazine.

His appointment coincides with a jump in frequency from six to 10 issues annually starting with the Sept. 2002 issue.

Sikowitz was previously with the custom publishing division of Time Inc. where, as assistant managing editor, he edited publications for Sony, Jaguar and Royal Caribbean.

He will work with Frommer to plan the magazine's content, assign articles and manager the staff. The magazine features coverage of low-cost vacation destinations.

CROW LANDS AT PRIMEDIA

Elizabeth Crow was named EVP/editorial director of Primedia's consumer magazines and media group, which consists of more than 150 magazines, including New York, Seventeen, Motor Trend, and Automobile.

Crow, who had been editorial director of the women's health group at Rodale, has worked for several publishers since beginning her career as an editorial assistant at The New Yorker.

ROBERTS IS NY TIMES NAT'L EDITOR

Jim Roberts, 46, was promoted to national editor of The New York Times. He was named deputy national editor last year, and will oversee the Times' 25-member reporting staff throughout the U.S. outside of Washington, D.C.

He succeeds Katherine Roberts, 50, who was named to replace Susan Chira as editor of the "Week in Review" section. (The two Roberts are not related.)

Chira, 44, was named editorial director of book development, overseeing the creation of books that arise from the newspapers' journalism. She replaces Mitchel Levitas, 72, who plans to retire.

Kathleen McElroy, 43, a deputy sports editor, was appointed associate managing editor for weekends, in charge of news coverage for the Sunday and Monday editions.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL GOES HOME

The Wall Street Journal's editors and reporters are returning to cleaned and refurnished offices at the paper's headquarters at 1 World Financial Center.

The Journal's offices, which occupied seven floors of the 40-story building, were evacuated Sept. 11 after the second plane struck the Twin Towers.

Since the attacks, about 400 editorial staffers have been working from the company's New Jersey offices and in rented space in SoHo and other parts of Manhattan.

Steve Goldstein, VP/communications for Dow Jones, the Journal's parent company, said not everyone is happy about the move back. He said some want to make sure their own safety is not compromised, citing concerns of contamination.

MEDIA BRIEFS

South African Airways, in Johannesburg, is publishing a new mini-sized newspaper for distribution to passengers of its late afternoon and night flights.

Called Business Day PM, the content will be primarily business driven, but it will also include general news, a page of late breaking sports, science & technology and business travel news.

Peter Bruce, who is editor of the paper, can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].

The Tribune Co., Chicago, will buy Chicago Magazine from Primedia for $35 million in cash.

The buyer, which also publishes The Chicago Tribune, said the magazine will be operated as an independent publication and continue to maintain its own editorial staff, headed by Richard Babcock, editor.

Founded in 1952, Chicago is a monthly magazine with news and features covering personalities, politics, businesses, trends, restaurants, and culture & lifestyle issues of interest in the Chicago area.

Vogue's "Fall Preview" number closed last week with 574 ad pages, up from 565 in 2001.

The September issue is Vogue's biggest issue since 1989 when it published 598 ad pages, according to Media Industry Newsletter.

Also setting new records are The New York Times' "Fashions of the Times," which has 144 ad pages, the largest since 1996's 150, and New York magazine's "Fall Fashion" double-issue, which closed with 115 ad pages.

Min's report shows Harper's Bazaar, InStyle, Marie Claire, Elle and W all closed with fewer ad pages than last year.

Fox News Channel finished as the highest ranked cable news network in July, with an average of 640,000 viewers at any time, according to Nielsen Media Research.

CNN finished second with an average audience of 537,999, and MSNBC finished the month with an average audience of 277,000.

While Phil Donahue has improved MSNBC's numbers, he has not caught up to Connie Chung on CNN and Bill O'Reilly on Fox News.

THOMSON SUED BY BIZ PARTNER

CCBN, Boston, which offers web-based investor relations products and services, has sued its business partner, the Thomson Corp., and its Thomson Financial unit, on charges that they used confidential information from CCBN board meetings to compete against CCBN.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, Mass., says Thomson engaged in unfair trade and business practices; misrepresentation; breach of contract; and monopolization in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

CCBN was founded in 1997 by Jeffrey Parker, former chairman and CEO of Thomson Financial, and Robert Adler.

Parker developed the First Call financial advisory service and sold it to Thomson Financial in 1986. He left Thomson Financial in 1991 and took his former employer on as an investor and partner shortly after CCBN was founded.

Thomson (NYSE: TOC) is based in Toronto and has $7.4 billion in sales and 44,000 employees. It recently sold its more than 50 newspapers in the U.S. and has been concentrating on adding to its Wall Street financial reporting services.

Thomson is said to have "received the most sensitive business information" about CCBN and then used "everything it learned...to create a directly competitive business." Thomson allegedly broke into password protected sites to do this.

Baseless Claim

Thomson president and CEO Richard Harrington said in a statement that the company "categorically denies the allegations included in the CCBN.com lawsuit and intends to vigorously defend itself" against the "baseless claim."

He said the complaint resulted from CCBN.com's disappointment over ongoing negotiations with Thomson, noting that he was surprised to read of the suit.

Harrington added that the suit is an "exploitative attempt by CCBN.com to discredit Thomson among its customers and investors after they failed to achieve their desired outcome." The complaint is at www.ccbn.com/complaint.

Nike Inc. will petition the U.S. Supreme Court to review a California Supreme Court 4-3 ruling that it says effectively eliminates First Amendment protection for businesses or organizations that speak out on public issues related to their business.

Nike has retained Harvard University professor Laurence Tribe and Walter Dellinger of O'Melveny & Myers to lead its appeal.

The court held that Nike statements about alleged workplace conditions in Asian factories, in the form of letters to the editor, are to be treated like ordinary product advertising.

Dellinger said the case is "potentially the most important free speech case since NY Times v. Sullivan, the landmark Supreme Court decision protecting the press against ruinous libel suits for reporting on public issues."

MONDAY, MONDAY CAN'T TRUST THAT NAME

PwC Consulting, which had planned to change its name to 'Monday' to reflect the split from parent PricewaterhouseCoopers, has scotched that plan following news that it will be acquired by IBM in a $3.5 billion deal. The unit, with $4.9 in annual revenues, is to become part of IBM Global Services.

PwC had purchased the right to use the Monday name from U.K.'s OneMonday Group, owners of Text 100 and Bite Communications in the U.S. It closed on that $5 million deal on July 29.

OMG CEO Tim Dyson said of the transaction, "It is amusing to see a brand of this magnitude get created and then rolled back-especially when one of your largest clients makes this happen by buying it out." Text 100 was named one of IBM's PR firms in Big Blue's consolidation of its $40 million PR account last year. Dyson feels it "somewhat ironic" that the deal with PwC closed on a Monday. OMG expects to come up with a new name within a few weeks, according to spokesperson Somill Hwang.

PwC spokesperson Sehra Eusufzai did not return a call for comment.

'KENNY BOY' LAY LOOKED FOR CRISIS PLAN

Former Enron CEO "Kenny Boy" Lay turned to marketing executive Elizabeth Tilney to draw up a crisis plan after he was informed by whistle-blower Sherron Watkins of shady financial doings. Elizabeth is the wife of Schuyler Tilney, the Merrill Lynch investment banker who invoked his Fifth Amendment right on July 30 during a Senate committee probe of Merrill's work for Enron.

After Watkins wrote to Lay complaining about CFO Andrew Fastow's off-balance sheet partnerships last August, Lay suggested Watkins and Tilney coordinate their PR efforts. "Ken thinks it would be a good idea for me to work for you in our P.R. and I.R. efforts re: our current crisis," Watkins wrote in an e-mail according to The New York Times, which notes that Elizabeth's resignation from Enron came two days after Lay's. Lay, according to the Times, had Tilney sit in on important meetings and serve as a close advisor.

She is credited with unveiling the company's now-infamous "crooked E" logo in 1997, and earned $800,000 from Enron last year.

Schuyler was the lead investment banker for ML's Enron business and is said to have vacationed, along with his wife, with Fastow and his wife, Lea.

The Times said Schuyler was one of 96 ML executives who invested $16 million of their own money in one of Fastow's partnerships called LJM2. Burson-Marsteller has a long-term relationship with Merrill, but it is not clear if the firm is involved in providing counsel on the Enron matter.

John Lovallo, who left Ogilvy PR Worldwide in May, 2001 for an executive VP-corporate and investor relations post at IPG?s Weber Shandwick, is back at the WPP Group unit as SVP/director of investor relations. Lovallo departed WS last November.

Two lawsuits point up the dangers of companies getting involved in "strategic partnerships."

Such deals are the rage since they seem like a quick, cheap way of boosting power and getting publicity.

A number of these link-ups go nowhere or bust up after one party decides it's being taken advantage of.

Orbis Broadcast Group sued PR Newswire in May, claiming that PRN used a partnership to learn all about OBG's business practices and people and then proceeded to raid both. PRN denied the charges but the suit continues.

CCBN, which provides IR web services, has sued the Thomson Corp., its business partner, claiming Thomson, for its own reasons, blocked CCBN's efforts to expand . PRN, part of $3 billion+ United Business Media, and Thomson ($7B), are giants compared to partners Orbis and CCBN.

Earlier this year, IABC worried that partner Ragan Communications was getting the better end of the relationship. PRSA, after years of partnering with PR Week, decided PRW was a competitor and could no longer use PRSA's mailing lists (4/10 NL).

Ralph Nader (Time, Aug. 5) put his finger on the silence that has enveloped the business world.

He's amazed that none of the thousands of people who knew about Enron and other scandals ever said anything. "Would a despotic dictatorship have been more efficient in silencing them?...the system is so efficient that there's total silence. The Soviet Union had enough dissidents to fill Gulags," he told Time.

What companies are doing is taking the equivalent of the Fifth Amendment with the press. If they answer any questions, they fear they will be liable for answering more questions. So they remain silent.

We'd like to know how Hill and Knowlton gets double the fees per staffer that other firms get; the intricacies of Merrill Lynch's zero-coupon bond offerings for Omnicom, and why at least one NASDAQ company (WPP) does not follow NASDAQ's pledge of clarity in financial reports. No one from the above three wants to talk about such topics. This repressive atmosphere, coupled with the weak economy, is hurtful both to PR and advertising. PR was the worst performing sector at OMC, IPG and WPP in the first quarter. WPP has now said PR is down 11% in the first five months.

Lehman Brothers says it "assumes" the holders of OMC's $1.75B in zero-bonds will demand their money back next year and OMC will refinance at 4.5%, cutting 18 cents from EPS in 2003.

One contributor to the OMC message board on Yahoo! thinks the crisis atmosphere at OMC units is hurting creativity.

Firings and uncertainty have made the workers in one West Coast office "very, very depressed," message #2907 says. Creative people "freak out and freeze" in such an atmosphere and clients "get exasperated...and having no ads they like, they don't spend..." says the writer. There's certainly some logic to that. The posting also knocks claims of "synergy" between OMC units, saying, "no one helps another group...it is truly every man for himself." Also interesting, among the deluge of 3,000+ messages posted since the Wall Street Journal article on OMC June 12, are messages #3726 (worker morale in New York is "very low" with many employees fearing they will be fired in the near future) and #2905 (18 issues facing OMC). Creatives will think twice before selling out to financiers in the future.

For an indication of the tight security enforced by OMC, visit 437 Madison Ave. (49th st.) where OMC (including its DDB unit) is the major tenant. A large red sign in the lobby tells visitors, "You are warned you may be video and audiotaped by as many as 40 or more surveillance cameras as you enter this building." Visitors must stand before a camera and state their name and destinations. Our info is that this has nothing to do with 9/11.

People who are hogtied and frustrated in one area, will find ways to express themselves in others. IR execs at the annual National IR Institute conference are guarded in their comments, even in the hallways. They are careful about any references to their companies. But at night, the most popular activity is Karaoke, where members sing their hearts out. CEO Lou Thompson is an avid participant.

PRSA held some teleconferences with leaders last week but no financial information was released except the statement that ad revenues were down. The spring issue of PR Strategist had 2.5 ad pages among a total of 44. The Society is mute on the national topic of financial misreporting and non-reporting because it refuses to supply current financials to its own members. Chapter Assembly delegates were elected prior to last Dec. 1 under PRSA bylaws but h.q. has made no attempt to gather these names and make it easy for members to communicate with them. Ten nit-picking bylaw changes will be put to the Assembly as busywork lest this body take up serious subjects. The apathy even among the leadership was evident in the conference calls since only 34 of 1,000+ eligible leaders turned up on one. Only four spoke. Counselor Gabriel Werba urged that non-APRs be allowed in the Assembly. Another indication of apathy is that Del Galloway and Judith Phair are running unopposed for president-elect and treasurer, respectively. Art Stevens bested Carole Gorney, Vivian Hamilton and Dean Kruckeberg for secretary.
-- Jack O'Dwyer