PN REGAINS $7.4M '5 A DAY' ACCOUNT

The National Cancer Institute has awarded a three-year $7.4 million "5 A Day for Better Health Program" to Porter Novelli. Matthews Media Group, a sister Omnicom agency, had the $23 million 'NCI master account.'

Lorelei DiSogra, an NCI spokesperson, said the feeling was the "5 A Day for Better Health," which she called the largest federal health initiative, deserved to have its own PR shop. NCI, DiSogra added, is excited about the campaign because a large element of it will deal with outreach to African-Americans. PN's Mike Frisby handles that effort, while Ed Maibach is concerned with the overall health messages.

PN launched the "5 A Day for Better Program" in 1991, and worked on it through 2000. DiSogra said PN won the campaign via a spirited pitch against eight other firms-none of which she would name. "All the big players wanted the account," she said.

RUDER FINN BESTS TRIO FOR VERIFINE

Ruder Finn was tapped by Verifine Products for a high six-figure account to promote its flavored, no-calorie water Fruit20. RF beat MWW Group, Brodeur Worldwide, and Schneider & Assocs. for the account.

The firm is charged with boosting the image of the drink as an alternative to soda.

Mary Trudel, executive VP in RF's New York office, heads the account team, which is managed by Tony Mangle and Iya Davidson.

The drink, which sells for a little over a dollar a bottle, was launched in May into a budding "enhanced waters" market which is estimated to be at around $200 million in sales by the end of the year.

POLANSKY, HEIMANN GET KEY WS POSTS

Weber Shandwick promoted Andy Polansky to the president/North America slot. He had been COO of the eastern region, while Tom Tardio headed both the western region and the Rogers & Cowan entertainment PR combine.

Polansky, a former municipal reporter for the Bucks County Courier Times (Levittown, Pa.) has counseled Singapore Airlines, Ingersoll-Rand, Texaco, Hewlett Packard, Unisys and AT&T.

The Interpublic unit also upped Gail Heimann to president/New York. She has run programs for Coors Brewing and Ocean Spray. She remains co-president of the consumer marketing practice with Cathy Cal houn.

QORVIS HELPS SAUDIS ON 'KIDNAPPING'

Qorvis Communications is helping Saudi Arabia handle fallout from charges that American children born of mixed U.S./Saudi parents are being kidnapped to the Kingdom, according to CEO Michael Petruzzello.

He was subpoenaed to appear Oct. 3 before Rep. Dan Burton's panel for a day of hearings on "Americans Kidnapped to Saudi Arabia: Is the Saudi Government Responsible?"

Burton, who recently returned from Saudi Arabia, said there are "hundreds of cases" of children of U.S./Saudi mixed marriages taken to Saudi Arabia and held there against their will.

Prince Bandar, Saudi Arabia's U.S. Ambassdor, flatly denies that, but said his government is working with U.S. officials to settle a dozen custody disputes.

Petruzzello, whose firm receives $200K a month from Saudi Arabia, told the panel: "On the issue bef ore the committee today, we have helped the Embassy prepare materials and respond to information requests, such as requests for interviews of Embassy officials."

He emphasized that the "vast majority of our communications work is related to the war on terrorism and bi-lateral U.S. Saudi relations."

OMC's F-H, KETCHUM UNITS CUT STAFF

Fleishman-Hillard plans to cut about 60 people in a cost reduction plan, Dave Senay, an F-H spokesperson, told this NL. The firm is also paring salaries and travel to get costs in line with business realities.

F-H, according to Senay, continues to talk to recruiters for "strategic hires." For instance, Senay said the firm hired 44 people in August to service strong areas such as healthcare/PA. The cutbacks, representing about three percent of F-H's 2,000-member force, are designed to achieve a proper employment mix, he said.

Sister company, Ketchum, continues its people pruning. Four staffers have been cut from its Dallas office. That leaves nine staffers remaining.

Joseph Vecchione, retired corporate VP of PR for Prudential, will receive PRSA's Gold Anvil Award for 2002, for his contributions to the field for the last 40 years, the group said. Timothy Doke, VP of corporate comms. for American Airlines, will receive the Professional of the Year Award, for his role in managing the "chain of crisis" that confronted the airline in 2001.

GPHA DECRIES RIVAL'S 'SHAMELESS PR'

The Generic Pharmaceutical Assn. has blasted the prescription drug industry's main trade group over an ad campaign which says generic drugs will not cure a sick child.

GPHA CEO Kathleen Jaeger, in a letter to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said the ad "shamelessly exploits the photograph of a critically ill child and goes far beyond the bounds of common decency and the issues at hand." She called the use of a child's photo "nothing more than a shameless public relations tactic."

The ad is part of a multifaceted PhRMA campaign opposing the Greater Access to Affordable Pharmaceuticals Bill, which limits the rights of brand name drug companies to stall, challenge, or buy off generic competitors.

Defends Use of Sick Child

Responding to Jaeger's letter, PhRMA president and CEO Alan Holmer defended the ad's relevance, citing brand-name pharmaceutical companies' contributions toward innovation, and knocking generic copies which "never represent even the smallest improvements in medical care."

Holmer pointed out in a letter to Jaeger that he is "all too familiar with the plight of critically ill children" as both of his kids have cystic fibrosis.

GPHA spokesman Greg Howard, who is handling media relations while the group searches for a communications director, provided copies of the letters to this NL.

The GAAP bill's main provision is to ax a 30-month automatic stay given to brand holders who file suit against a generic challenger. The bill would have a court decide whether a case merits a stay.

PhRMA contends that a brand-name drug costs about $500 million to bring to market, while a generic version could cost as little as $1M. The $500M figure, however, was disputed by a Public Citizen report in July which placed the cost at around $100M.

JEFFREY GROUP LANDS HANDSPRING

The Jeffrey Group, Miami, has picked up a six-figure assignment to introduce Handspring Inc.'s personal communications and handheld computing products in the Latin American market.

TJG CEO Jeff Sharlach is to especially focus on the Handspring Treo, which is a communicator that combines mobile phone capability, wireless applications (e-mail and web surfing) and Palm OS organizer.

Handspring executives were responsible for the launch of Palm Computing Co. Founder & CEO Donna Dubinsky had headed Palm, while chairman and chief product officer Jeff Hawkins founded Palm and COO Ed Colligan was Palm's VP/marketing.

Handspring suffered a $91.6 million net loss on $240 million revenues for the fiscal year ended June 29.

Switzer Communications handles Handspring in the U.S.

WINNICK SHOWS 'HEART'-RUBENSTEIN

Global Crossing CEO Gary Winnick's shocker offer to contribute $25 million to cover a portion of the losses in the company's 401 (k) plan is a sign of compassion, and not a PR ploy to bolster his image, Howard Rubenstein told this NL.

Winnick made the pledge after former GC employee Lenette Crumpler told the House Energy and Commerce Committee investigations subcommittee on Oct. 1 that she lost her $86,000 retirement fund of GC stock because she trusted the bullish predictions made by top management. Winnick "was truly touched by that woman," said Rubenstein, which led to the offer that "caught lawmakers off guard," according to a front page story in the Wall Street Journal on Oct. 2.

Winnick's $25 million check breaks down to $5,000 per-plan participant. It represents about three percent of the $734 million value in GC shares sold by Winnick before the stock crashed. "Sure he made a lot of money," but he also lost a lot of money on his investments," said Rubenstein. The PR exec noted that Winnick is the first CEO of a fallen company to "look out for the people who worked there." Winnick-unlike other CEOs-"did not take the Fifth," added Rubenstein. Rubenstein expects Winnick "will be open and do press interviews." The former Drexel Burnham Lambert partner, who founded GC in 1997, has a "deep sense of justice, and will take responsibility for his action," said the New York counselor.

Rubenstein advises on the Winnick account. Marcia Horowitz, executive VP, heads the account and is assisted by Scott Tagliarino, who recently joined Rubenstein Assocs.

CF&M FIGHTS BIO-LABEL

Conkling Fiskum & McCormick is counseling a coalition of heavyweight food biotechnology companies in a push to defeat a November ballot initiative in Oregon requiring labels for genetically modified foods in that state.

The Coalition Against the Costly Labeling Law, with help from CropLife International, PepsiCo, General Mills, ConAgra Foods and others, has raised a $4.6 million war chest, according to The Wall Street Journal, to fight what is known as Measure 27 - a rule which would slap labels on foods both sold in Oregon, and those produced in the state and sold elsewhere.

CF&M partner Pat McCormick told this NL that his Portland-based firm was contracted for media and community relations work related to the campaign. CF&M has worked with the Grocery Manufacturers of America in Oregon since 1991. Earlier in his career, McCormick was chief of staff to state House Speaker Hardy Myers, who is now Oregon's attorney general.

Winner & Mandabach Campaigns of Santa Monica, is overseeing the campaign and tapped CF&M for the work, added McCormick.

COLUMNIST PRESSES FOR MORE RELEASES

Ben Silverman, who writes a web column called "PR Fuel," for ereleases.com, has stopped believing in the "magic bullet" theory, that one press release will grab the attention of journalists.

"A non-scientific study of a dozen small Internet and tech companies revealed something to me: the more press releases, the more press," said Silverman, who publishes DotcomScoop.com, a weekly newsletter digest covering the Internet, technology, telecommunications, media and finance sectors. He also contributes a weekly business news column to The New York Post.

"I always felt that putting out an abundance of press releases was like throwing money at the problem, and that rarely works. But I've written in the past that it is essential to grab the media's attention using various tactics and I'm going to add multiple press releases to that list," Silverman wrote in his Oct. 2 column.

Silverman said a company the size of Oracle puts out hundreds of press releases each year. "In fact, Oracle put out five in one day last week," he said. "Not every company has the money or resources of an Oracle, but every company has something newsworthy going on during the course of the year. With that said, I've come up with a plan to promote my own business: quarterly press releases," he said.

Although a privately held company is under no obligation to release details of its financial performance, Silverman said this does not mean it "can't beat its own chest."

He recommends putting out a press release at the end of the quarter touting new sales wins, expansion, the hiring of new executives, the release of new products and other routine business happenings. "These press releases lay the foundation of credibility in the eyes of journalists," said Silverman. "Releasing information like this is essential to keeping your company in the public's eye. A single press release announcing a deal is unlikely to grab attention."

Silverman ([email protected]) does not want to get any pitches.

PLACEMENT TIPS

"Animal Tales" is a new weekly column that will be a fixture on UPI's science wire.

Written by Alex Cukan, the column is a series of funny and interesting anecdotes about all kinds of animals-wild, domestic, working, and pets, says Amy Vogel, spokesperson for UPI.

In one of her recent columns, Cukan wrote about keeping exotic pets, smart chickens, and what to do when Fido takes your shoe.

Cukan has been writing stories and columns for UPI for eight years. She has convered a broad range of topics from Hillary Clinton's political campaign to the latest developments in science and technology.

Her work has appeared on MSNBC, in The New York Post, and in several daily newspapers and national magazines.

Cukan, who is based in Buffalo, N.Y., can be reached at 518/436-9139; [email protected].

Ruth Rosen will write a column twice a week for the opinion page of The San Francisco Chronicle, starting in November.

Rosen, who is the author of three books, including, most recently, "The World Split Open: How the Modern Women's Movement Changed America," joins Joan Ryan and Debra Saunders as regular op-ed columnists.
Rosen had been an editorial writer for The Chronicle, expressing opinions on everything from homelessness in the Bay Area to military actions in Colombia and Iraq.

David Butwin, a freelance writer rooted in Leonia, N.J., wishes more publicists would imitate counselor Jeff Blumenfeld of Rowayton, Conn.

"His are the only PR releases that inform, amuse and even titillate out of the dozens I get every week as a freelancer (mostly travel) writer," Butwin told this Newsletter.

"If there is any way to encourage his brethren (and sisters) in the biz to lighten up and reach for the less obvious phrase or angle, please do so," said Butwin, who can be reached at 201/585-2482.

Stewart Bailey-who is the New York-based supervising producer for the Comedy Channel's "The Daily Show," hosted by Jon Stewart-sends reporters to cover events with a laughable angle.

For example, in July when nine miners from Pennsylvania emerged from a water-filled mine, the show's staff discovered there was another miner who did not work that day because he had gone to Ozz-Fest, a concert known for heavy metal music.

"What he had to endure was way worse than what the miners had to," Bailey told an IABC, District 5, meeting in Topeka.

The challenge is make sure the show is "edgy enough" but also fair, he said.

BoomerCafe.com, an online magazine for Baby Boomers and those with active lifestyles, wants publicists to submit feature story material and visuals on a wide range of issues-travel and leisure, books, lifestyle, health and money.

The editors are looking for direct relevance to Boomers. Detailed submission guidelines are available online. Boomer Cafe does not accept news releases.

The magazine was started by two former network TV correspondents-David Henderson, ex-CBS News and Edelman PR, and Greg Dobbs, formerly at ABC News.
The magazine's offices are at 102 Adams ave., Alexandria, VA 22301. 703/628-6868. All correspondence should be sent to [email protected].

(Media news continued on next page)

STEWART NAMED HBR EDITOR

Thomas Stewart, 54, who is editorial director of Business 2.0, is taking over as editor of the Harvard Business Review.

He replaces Suzy Wetlaufer, who resigned earlier this year after she admitted to an "improper relationship" with former General Electric CEO Jack Welch while she was working on an interview with him for the Review.

Stewart is the author of two books: "Intellectual Capital: The New Wealth of Organizations," published in 1997, and "The Wealth of Knowledge: Intellectual Capital and the Twenty-first Century Organization," published in 2002.

He is a former editor at Farrar Straus and Giroux and Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, and VP and editor-in-chief of Atheneum Publishers, a division of Macmillan.

Stewart joined Fortune magazine in 1989 as an associate editor, where he wrote on management subjects. He went to Business 2.0, which is published by Time Inc., in 2001, and wrote a web column, "Barely Managing."

Based in Boston, HBR is a business unit of Harvard Business School of Publishing, a wholly owned, not-for-profit subsidiary of Harvard University. The magazine, which is published 12 times year, has a paid circulation of 243,000.

SCARDINO LAMBASTS BUSINESS PRESS

Marjorie Scardino, CEO of Pearson, said business journalists, including those on the Pearson-owned Financial Times, often miss important stories.

In an interview with Stefan Stern for the 150th anniversary issue of the RSA Journal, the magazine of the Royal Society of Arts, Scardino said: "If journalists were better at reading balance sheets, some of these things would be discovered sooner. We could have done a lot more digging. But business journalists often don't know a lot about business. It's a shame, but that's the case."

Scardino also questioned the tendency of business journalists to focus on the personality of chief executives.

"I think it's unfortunate but it's probably inevitable. But you know, Pearson isn't me; it's all these 30,000 people who do have a particular kind of character, particular values."

Scardino's husband is a former reporter for The New York Times. Together they published an award-winning weekly newspaper for several years in Savannah, Ga.

PEOPLE

Deborah McDermott, previously head of her own PR firm, which she opened after leaving The York (Me.) Weekly, where she was editor from 1991 to 2000, has joined Seacoast Newspapers, in New Hampshire, as news editor of the weekly Exeter News-Letter, Hampton Union and The Rockingham News. The News-Letter and Union are launching a tri-weekly format.

Efrain Hernandez Jr., who has been interim city editor of The Los Angeles Times' San Fernando Valley edition, was named director of reporting, minority editorial training program at The Tribune Co., in Chicago. He will oversee training of reporters in Los Angeles.

Thom Fladung, 42, previously managing editor The Akron Beacon Journal, is rejoining The Detroit Free Press as its managing editor, replacing Carole Hutton, who was promoted to executive editor in June.

CORRECTION: John McCorry, who was put in charge of print reporters at Bloomberg News (9/18 NL), was never a reporter at The New York Times. He is a former editor of Bond World and Bond Buyer.

MEDIA BRIEFS

Staples Business Depot, Toronto, has published the first edition of SOHO Magazine. Some 400,000 copies of the custom magazine will be available in English and French in 205 stores in Canada. It will also be distributed to a loyalty mailing list.

The magazine will focus on matters relevant to small businesses. It will profile successful entrepreneurs and have columns written by individuals who are experts in technology, franchising, finance, legal and taxes. The magazine will also have articles about health, fitness, leisure and vacations.

The Colorado Journal, which covered the local law community, published its last issue on Oct. 2. The weekly paper, which had about 300 readers, was owned by Los Angeles-based Daily Journal Corp., which also owns The Los Angeles Daily Journal, The San Francisco Daily Journal and California Lawyer magazine.

New Times L.A., and Cleveland Free Times have been shut down by New Times and Village Voice Media, a company headed by David Schneiderman. VVM publishes the Village Voice in New York.

Forbes ASAP, a magazine started 10 years ago by Forbes to cover the Internet, is closing. It was published six times a year for most of its life, and was distributed with the regular Forbes magazine.

Crain's New York Business is seeking candidates for its upcoming "40 Under 40" section, which profiles up-and-coming businesspeople under the age of 40. Candidates must work for Manhattan-based companies and be doing extraordinary work in their fields.

Pitches, along with bios, resumes and birth dates, go to Emily DeNitto, deputy managing editor, CNYB, 711 Third ave., New York, NY 10017, or fax: 212/210-0799. Her e-mail address is [email protected].

DROP APR RULE, SAY SOME PRSA CHPTS.

Some of PRSA's 117 chapters are in favor of dropping the APR requirement although most have not made up their minds, according to an e-mail poll by this NL.

Among those favoring dropping the APR rule are the New York chapter and the Assembly delegates of the Chicago chapter.

Michael Rinaldo, president of PRSA/NY, said the chapter has long been a vocal advocate of dropping the requirement while also supporting the APR program.

"We simply don't believe that APR should be a requirement for Assembly delegates," he said. The chapter will field nine delegates and all are expected to vote for decoupling. "Chapter leadership is firmly behind this amendment," said Rinaldo.

Paul Raab, president of PRSA/Chicago, said the four chapter delegates "will support the national board's proposed bylaws amendment" to decouple.
"We believe that open and inclusive leadership and decision-making are in the best interests of PRSA and the PR profession," said Raab.

The delegates are Raab, Ann Fahey-Widman, Don Kirchoffner and Kelly Womer. Raab said all strongly support APR. He noted the topic will be discussed at a board meeting Oct. 22 and will take into account "the views of our colleagues."

Dropping APR as a requirement for Assembly membership would be a retreat from the program that was begun in 1965. The pro-APR wing at PRSA has blocked the subject from even reaching the floor of the Assembly for many years.

At present, all of the 250 or so delegates and all the national officers of PRSA are required to have passed the one-day accreditation exam.

After 37 years of promoting APR to the membership, only 4,100 of the 19,000 members are APR.

Other chapter presidents who have told O'Dwyer's they favor decoupling are from the Capital Region, New York; Arizona Valley, and Reno.

The initiative was started by the 15-member section council, which voted unanimously to drop the APR requirement for Assembly membership.

Gabrial Werba, co-chair of the council, said the sections are deprived of a vote in the Assembly because not enough of the officers of the sections are APR.

Joann Killeen, PRSA president, said on July 19 that she has been hearing the same complaint for years from a number of chapters. The problem "has resulted in empty seats at the Assembly, has precluded chapters from sending current chapter leaders as delegates since they are not APR, and has forced chapters to rely on the same members as delegates," she said.

Delegates are not supposed to attend more than three years in a row.

Assembly 'Unrepresentative'

Michael Cherenson of The Cherenson Group, Livingston, N.J., president of the 300-member New Jersey chapter, said the Assembly is "unrepresentative" of the PRSA membership since the Assembly is all-APR and 80% of the membership is not.

He said he is not criticizing APR and intends to take the exam but he is against requiring APR for Assembly membership.

U.S. ON CUSP OF CHANGE-DILENSCHNEIDER

New York PR consultant Robert Dilenschneider believes the U.S. is "on the cusp of dramatic change."

Dilenschneider predicts in his new mega-trends report for 2003 that "extraordinary progress is only a short time away, reflected in revolutionary advances in chemistry, physics, biology, genetics and communications that will alter our lives radically."

Dilenschneider's predictions are based on interviews with about 100 leading bankers, economists, academics, politicians, journalists and others.

Before the U.S. can move ahead, "we must find ways to become comfortable with the challenges around us and prepared to operate within an ever-uncertain environment," said Dilenschneider, who released his annual trends report Sept. 30.

"Long term, the outlook is good," said the PR veteran, who points out the U.S. labor force has grown just over one percent a year during the past decade, but, "remarkably, economic productivity has doubled."

He said long term projections call for economic growth well in excess of three percent in the U.S. Other economies are slated to grow as well. "The robust Chinese economy, with a GDP growth of almost eight percent, will be a major factor," said Dilenschneider, who also notes the Thai economy, now at six percent, and the Singapore economy, growing at four percent, "indicate that Asia is on the rebound."

He said Japan still needs to institute structural reforms and deal with a massive bad loan issue.
Dilenschneider believes the U.S. will deepen its ties with Russia as an offset to uncertainty in the Middle East. A closer relationship, if accomplished, could lead to huge new markets and opportunities as well as more economic certainty for the U.S. and the West, he said.

"Bottom line: Despite the impact of the ongoing terrorist challenge, the overall economic outlook remains positive," said Dilenschneider.

Not All Is Rosy

On the downside, his report points to Europe's weakening bond with the U.S.; tensions between Saudi Arabia and the U.S.; instability in South America; asbestos litigation, which is threatening to overwhelm corporate America, and the mysterious "Asian Brown Cloud," a vast blanket of smog that extends over much of South Asia and the Indian Ocean, which is leading to weather changes for the whole world.

Dilenschneider's two previous reports have been on the mark. In his trends report of Jan. 2000, the PR pro singled out Osama bin Laden as a violent enemy who the U.S. should be very concerned about.

Last year's report forecast the rise of shareholder activism and warned of a forthcoming popular revolt against excessive executive pay packages.

The accreditation program of PRSA faces a test on Nov. 16 in San Francisco when 250 Assembly delegates vote on whether delegates have to be accredited, a rule in force since 1973.

Any retreat from APR has always been greeted with horror by the pro-APR wing of PRSA, which includes a large number of PR professors.

But PRSA no longer has the money it used to have for this program, which has had a loss of about $2 million in the past ten years. The net cost of each new PRSA APR member in 2000 was $1,794. It cost $441,467 after fees for 246 new PRSA APRs.

After 37 years, only 4,100 of the 19,000 members are APR, a 20% ratio that has held for years.

Less than 2% of PRSA eligibles take the test when it's given. This year, the APR board tried to raise $300,000 in gifts from members. Only $30,300 came in, according to APR chair Doug Coffey. Only a couple of thousand came from partner groups. A 1999 study by Rene Henry for the College of Fellows found virtually no interest in APR among PR recruiters or their clients.

On the chopping block, as soon as the contract runs out, is the $100K or so cost of having an outside service correct the exam. Attempts to sell this program to other PR groups have not gone far, partly because of the steep $385 price. Since 1998 only 203 members of partner groups have taken the test (95 failed). Those who passed are supposed to pay PRSA $225 a year to keep using APR after their names.

Coffey says the new exam, due in 2004, will be available throughout the year in test centers in major cities. An oral exam will still be required. It is hoped this will increase the number of APRs. The new test will cover general abilities such as planning, research and writing that are required for any PR program.

PR pros should read both The Liberty Incident by Jay Cristol and the Assault on the Liberty by James Ennes (10/2 NL) because communications (or lack of them) played such a big role in the attack on the U.S. ship on June 8, 1967.

This incident is a case study in institutional non-communication, a practice that is rampant these days. An institution says it doesn't know things that it darn well should. For instance, Omnicom CEO John Wren told the June 12 analyst teleconference he had no idea that OMC might not be totally forthcoming with the analysts and pleaded with them to ask any questions at any time. This offer was not extended to the press. Wren's statement, admitting less-than-perfect communications, ended up in many of the nearly 20 class-action lawsuits against OMC. Neither OMC, Interpublic nor WPP will provide us with anyone for discussion of their finances. E-mails and phone calls are not answered.

Massive non-communication and denial of obvious facts went on in the 1967 Liberty incident. Only sheer luck prevented all 297 sailors from being killed.

The U.S. denied that any of its ships were within 100 miles of Israel and Egypt. The U.S. insisted it was a non-participant in the war that started June 5.

The 455-ft spy ship armed only with four machine guns, was patrolling a mile just off the Gaza coast. I ts crew, which could see smoke from battles on shore, asked for a military escort. The Navy turned it down.

The two books are non-stop choruses of "We're not talking" and "We don't know." Another common refrain is: "Prove to me that I knew something."

Supposedly, the Joint Chiefs of Staff sent five messages to the Liberty to leave the area as soon as possible. It never got any of them, perhaps to give the ship "deniability." On June 5, Israel had destroyed the Egyptian air force on the ground. The Liberty messages went to naval stations in Maryland, the Philippines, Greece, Ethiopia, Morocco, Germany and London. It supposedly took hours to craft and relay them through a tortuous system aimed at ensuring secrecy while informing various levels of brass. One of the messages was so "top secret" that even the Liberty couldn't decode it.

The best defense for the Liberty could have been simply calling Israel on the phone and identifying itself. It could have sent a press release to Ha'aretz Daily and the Jerusalem Post or other papers saying it was not a military ship and was doing research (its cover story). It could have plastered itself with 100 flags or other signs of U.S. identity. Israel says the one tiny U.S. flag couldn't be seen because there was no wind. On the other hand, Israel could have sent a small boat out to the ship to talk to the crew. Liberty crewmen wonder why the Navy didn't simply call it on a radiophone.

Military-level secrecy and refusal to communicate or acknowledge communications is in force at a number of companies including the big ad conglomerates. The PR or "communications" dept. is often at the center of this "I don't know" and "I don't want to know" charade, which can have serious consequences. Both OMC and IPG now face numerous lawsuits to which they have to reply on the public record. Stockholders are getting restless with the paucity of information provided by such companies. The 10,000 IPG employees who have lost their jobs might start talking. The hallmark of the Enron, Arthur Andersen, Worldcom and other scandals is that insiders didn't talk and claimed lack of knowledge when questioned by authorities. But investigations (into Andersen, for instance), revealed that many high-level execs and staffers had to know what was going on. This proved to be fatal to AA.
--Jack O'Dwyer