N.J. SEEKS FIRM TO PITCH ‘DMV’ REFORM.
New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle Commission, which was created in 2003 to shore up potential security lapses and revamp the maligned state institution, is collecting proposals from PR and advertising firms through the end of July for a public awareness campaign to highlight the reform effort and distance itself from the beleaguered Dept. of Motor Vehicles.

A budget of $5 million has been set for the first fiscal year of the two-year contract.

New York-based Bandujo Donker & Bros. has been the main firm for the automobile agency since 2003.

Then-Gov. James McGreevey initiated the institution’s overhaul in January ’03, noting its obsolete technology and security for issuing driver’s licenses post 9/11 and crumbling customer service reputation.

The MVC wants to convey the message that it is no longer the “DMV,” the oft-used acronym for the motor vehicle services agency, and inform the state’s residents that it is working to improve service and security.

It also wants a campaign to “mitigate potential negativity” resulting from the overhaul, using communications disciplines from news placements and crisis management plans to advertising and minority outreach.

Overseeing the RFP is buyer Jonathan Wallace ([email protected]). Proposals are being accepted through July 27.

POLLACE NAMED EDELMAN HI-TECH CHIEF.
Pam Pollace, an 18-year veteran of Intel, has joined Edelman as global head of its technology practice.

Pollace was Intel’s VP-corporate communications. Prior to that post, she was VP-corporate marketing in charge of Intel’s branding, press relations, marketing research and advertising.

Edelman has more than 200 high-tech people. They serve Microsoft, Samsung, Avaya, Taiwan Semiconductor, Scientific Atlanta and Veritas.

Pollace, who worked at Burson-Marsteller before joining Intel, reports to Edelman vice chairman Leslie Dach, who is based in Washington, D.C. She will be based in Edelman’s Silicon Valley office.

Luca Penati is GM of Edelman’s Silicon Valley operation, which has more than 40 staffers.

“I Love New York” campaign chairman Charles Gargano is seeking a firm to develop a new tourism website promoting the state’s attractions and events. An RFP appeared in the July 4 edition of the New York State Contract Reporter. Proposals are due Aug. 15. Contact: Christopher Russo ([email protected]).

O’DWYER CORP. DIR. HAS NEW INDEX.
A 55-page cross-index to more than 7,500 listed PR and IR executives is part of the 30th annual edition of O’Dwyer’s Directory of Corporate Communications that was published this week.

Locating an individual PR person at one of the more than 5,000 companies and 2,000 associations in the directory is now easy, said Jack O’Dwyer, publisher.

The directory indexes companies by 35 different types of industries, helping PR execs to contact each other on common problems. It’s also used as a new business tool by PR firms and by PR pros seeking employment. More than 350 Federal Government bureaus and departments are listed.

An index to companies by state and city is part of the 550-page directory. Cost is $130. Copies are available at odwyerpr.com and the O’Dwyer N.Y. office.

IPG STRUGGLES WITH BOOKS.
Interpublic is “hiring or replacing hundreds of temporary and permanent accountants and internal control specialists” in the bid to get its financial house in order, according to an 8-K filing with the SEC made June 28.

The company aims to complete the financial review by Sept. 30, but cannot assure that it “will complete these filings in time to meet this target because extensive work remains to be done.”

The review includes “examining the accounting for more than 400 acquisitions, leases at approximately 370 entities, approximately 10,000 account reconciliations and analyses, and over 300,000 intercompany transactions,” and a review of its client contracts. The ad/PR conglom warns that it may once again be forced to restate prior earnings.

Meanwhile, Bob Thompson, who succeeded Chris Coughlin as CFO last June, is stepping down. CEO Michael Roth says he has found a replacement for Thompson but cannot reveal who it is until the second half of this month because of the person’s “current professional situation.” The new CFO starts in August.

‘BUSINESS WILL RISE ABOVE TERRORISTS.’
The business world including PR and marketing will rise above attempts to rattle it by terrorist acts such as the London bombings, PR industry leaders said.

They do not see a downturn in the advertising and PR businesses such as followed the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.

Richard Edelman, president and CEO of Edelman, said the bombings were tragic but that the British people

(continued on page 2)

IRAQ’S KURDS RETAIN RM+R.
The Kurdistan Regional Government has hired Sacramento, Calif.-based Republican lobbying firm Russo Marsh + Rogers to get “free media” to promote the interests of the Kurds in the post-Hussein Iraq.

The Kurds, who account for 20 percent of the population, have put the return of Kirkuk on the top of their priority list.

The city, which is perched on a vast oil field, had been “Arabized” by Hussein to cement his grip on the region’s energy riches.

Reuters, on June 30, reported that “ethnic rage” over Kirkuk will sure test President Bush’s bid to restore peace to Iraq.

RM+R was in the news last year, leading the campaign against Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” on behalf of MoveAmericaForward.com.

FWV TO OPEN BORDERS FOR RETAILERS.
French/West/Vaughan has edged two other firms to handle PR for Canada Post Borderfree, the for-profit venture of Canada’s postal service aimed at expanding cross-border retail sales with the U.S. and Europe.

FWV’s Raleigh, N.C., headquarters and New York office will handle the account. A budget has not yet been approved because the number of international markets has not been set, but the firm told O’Dwyer’s it is expected to be “substantial” and among FWV’s largest.

Toronto-based CPB reviewed the credentials of 10-12 firms initially, before pruning that list down to between 6-8 multinational firms, which pitched for the business.

Included in the work is media outreach, trade show support, retail communications and analyst relations.

FWV president Rick French and SVP/partner Jessica Blue lead the account team.

OHIO PENSION FUND NEEDS PR.
The Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund, which has $9.6 billion in assets under management, is looking to hire a PR firm to conduct outreach to editorial boards across the state.

Edward Howard & Co., Paul Werth Assocs., Landau PR, Northlich Communications and Fahlgren Mortine are among the 19 Ohio-based firms to receive a copy of the RFP.

Monitoring news coverage and raising awareness of the service that the Fund provides to more than 50,000 active/retired and family members of Buckeye State police and firefighters are among “deliverables.”

The pact is for one year, but may be renewed for an additional two. Proposals are due July 22 to Janeane Mayesky, purchasing manager of the Fund.

EXELON SEEKS VP-CC.
Exelon Corp., Chicago, which is engaged in a controversial merger with PSEG, Trenton, N.J., that is to be completed next year, is looking for a VP-CC to succeed Don Kirchoffner, five-year veteran who plans to leave Exelon when the deal is completed.

Exelon, with $14 billion in revenues last year, would be the acquirer of PSEG, formerly known as Public Service Enterprise Group.

EXECS SEE RESILIENCY (cont'd from page 1)
are not allowing their lives to be disrupted. “Neither the British nor Americans can be intimidated by such acts of terrorism,” he said, adding he doesn’t believe PR and marketing will be impacted the way they were after 9/11.

Execs See Resiliency

Larry Moskowitz, CEO, chairman and president of Medialink, said people around the world have shown resiliency in the wake of terrorist attacks such as those in Spain and Moscow that caused major loss of life.

“The tubes (subways) are open in London and the buses are operating,” he added.

Moskowitz said his staff in London was at work the next day and he flew there on July 10.

Maury Tobin, head of radio PR company Tobin Communications, said: “We can’t get into the mind-set as a country or as an economy that we need to shut down every time something happens.”

Tobin said that because the attack was overseas there is a sense of detachment in the U.S. public and media. “But there’s no question it makes people feel vulnerable here,” he said.

Edelman said that organizations need to have crisis plans in place on a worldwide basis to handle any terrorist acts. The firm’s office in London was closed the day after the attacks but reopened on Monday.

Dave Armon, COO of PR Newsire, said the company’s 100 staffers in London were “terrified” but are all safe and that the office remained up and running.

PRN ran over 60 news releases from organizations in London and elsewhere related to the bombings, from news that a flower show was cancelled to a release discussing the attacks’ impact on the travel industry. News from companies directly affected by the attacks was transmitted at no cost, the second time PRN has offered this service – the first was 9/11.

D S Simon Productions, New York, had a satellite media tour scheduled for 7/9 with 21 stations booked. Company president Doug Simon said five stations cancelled because of the London bombings, a rate, he said, could have been much worse, especially if the attacks came in the U.S. He stressed sensitivity in dealing with media in the wake of such an event.

“With [the SMT], we weren’t just calling up stations and saying, ‘Ok, here we go, we’re ready for your piece,’” said Simon. “We called ahead to let them know that we understand [bombing coverage] is going on and said, ‘Do you have everything you need? Do you need to adjust the time?’”

Back Karen Hughes–Dilenschneider

Robert Dilenschneider, chairman of The Dilenschneider Group, said the PR and business communities should back Karen Hughes, incoming Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy, in her efforts to mobilize the great majority of Muslims who are peace-loving.

“We must show that the terrorists are a small part of this community,” he said. “Muslims, just like everyone else, want their children to grow up in a safe world.”

He feels the business world will be impacted by the London bombings, noting it will be more difficult to do business in the Middle East and “very hard for Middle East companies to do business in the west,” he said, concluding: “We have to face down the bullies.”

FT TOPS WSJ AS ‘BEST NEWSPAPER.’
The Financial Times topped the Wall Street Journal as the “world’s best newspaper” in a survey of executives, politicians, university lecturers, journalists and ad pros from 50 countries conducted by Internationale Medienhilfe.

Among 1,000 respondents from 50 countries, 19.4% chose the London-based FT as the best paper, according to the Zurich-based consultant. The Journal took second place with 17%, followed by Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in third with 16.2%.

The New York Times dropped from first place in the 2003 survey to sixth, its score fell to 8.1% from 21.3%.

The Paris-based International Herald Tribune, which is owned by The New York Times Co., finished in seventh place.

“The results show the Times is suffering because of past scandals, while German-language publications remain highly respected internationally,” the firm said in a statement.

Asahi Shimbun of Japan and Italy’s Corriere della Sera appeared in the top 10 for the first time, in eighth and 10th place, respectively.

Following are the results of the survey. Figures in brackets show 2003 survey results: Position, Publication, country mentions (pct)

1. Financial Times (U.K.) 19.4 (20.7)
2. Wall Street Journal (U.S.) 17.0 (7.5)
3. Frankfurter Allgemeine (Ger.) 16.2 (10.9)
4. Le Monde (Fr.) 12.5 (2.1)
5. Neue Zuercher Zeitung (Switz.) 12.1 (15.0)
6. New York Times (U.S.) 8.1 (21.3)
7. Int’l Herald Tribune (Fr.) 5.2 (11.3)
8. Asahi Shimbun (Jap.) 2.6 (0.4)
9. El Pais (Sp.) 1.9 (4.8)
10. Corriere della Sera (It.) 1.3 (0.7)

JOURNAL COLUMN TO MAKE U.S. DEBUT.
The Wall Street Journal will publish the popular “breakingviews” column in its new Weekend edition, which is set to begin publishing on Sept. 17.

Since its founding in 1999 in London by Hugo Dixon, breakingviews has become an influential commentator in international financial markets with a subscriber base of more than 400 clients drawn from leading investment banks, hedge funds and institutional investors as well as many corporations and PR firms, according to Rob Cox, who is the U.S. editor of the column, which will make its U.S. debut in the “Money & Investing” section of the WSJ’s new Saturday edition.

The column features punchy, financially sophisticated opinions on topical issues. Dixon, who is editor-in-chief, will continue to edit the column in London.

PR pros can reach Cox at 212/416-4952.

BIG SETTLEMENTS LEAVE TAMER AIRWAVES.
After a record 2004, the Federal Communications Commission has yet to issue a fine for indecent broadcasting this year, the longest pause in activity since 2001, according to records gathered by the Center for Public Integrity.

The last fine issued was Dec. 22, 2004, capping off a record year in broadcast indecency enforcement in every major category.

The CPI said the pause is no doubt related to regime change and two vacancies on the FCC.
“But a far more likely cause is the impact of record settlement agreements reached in 2004 between the FCC and two giant media companies,” CPI said. “The agreements promise dire consequences for on-air talent and other employees who participate in the airing of any future indecent broadcasts,” CPI said in its report.

MEDIA BRIEFS_______

The New York Times Co. is planning to start its first black newspaper, a weekly tabloid in Gainesville, Fla. The Gainesville Guardian will be sold on newsstands starting Aug. 24. Charlotte Roy is editor.

Luxe: The Colorado Home Redefined, published in Highlands Ranch, Colo., with Sandow Media Corp, headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla., will make its debut as a quarterly on newsstands and in select homes and businesses across Colorado on July 12.

PEOPLE_______

J.R. Wu, 30, was appointed the Dow Jones Newswires’ bureau chief for China, based in Beijing. She replaces Owen Brown, who has moved to Sydney as deputy chief for Australia.
Jane Lee, 33, who is based in Shanghai, will replaced Wu as deputy bureau chief.

Michele McNally, director of photography at the New York Times, and associate managing editor for resources and planning, William Schmidt, were promoted to the rank of assistant managing editor.

Joe Bargmann and Tamara Glenny were named executive editors of Life & Style magazine by Sheryl Berk, who is editor-in-chief of the Englewood Cliffs, N.J.-based weekly celebrity lifestyle magazine.

Robert Safian, previously executive editor at Time, became executive editor of Fortune on July 6.
Also joining Fortune as senior writers are Jon Birger, previously a senior writer at Money, and Marica Vickers, who was a senior writer at Business Week. Vickers begins July 25.

Jay DeFoore, former news editor at Photo District News, was named Editor & Publisher’s online editor, replacing Jesse Oxfeld, who has moved to Gawker.

Margarita Simonyan, 25, was named editor-in-chief of Russia Today, a 24-hour English-language satellite news channel funded by Russian state.

Carole Feldman, a news editor for The Associated Press for two decades, was promoted to assistant bureau chief in Washington, D.C.

(Media news continued on next page)

CAN YOU PASS THIS MEDIA TEST?
William Lessard, who is president/creative director of PRwithBrains, created this media test when he launched a website for his new agency.

Are you up to the challenge?

—Which channel is referred to as “The Tiffany Network?” A. NBC; B. E!; C. CBS; D. Home Shopping Network
—What is the standard lead time for a calendar listing in a weekly publication?
A. Five days; B. One week; C. Two weeks; D. Three weeks
—Which is the best outlet to break a story about the acquisition of a premium spirits brand by a publicly-traded conglomerate? A. New York Times; B. Wall Street Journal; C. USA Today; D. Beverage Industry News
—What is the standard lead time for a monthly magazine? A. One month; B. Two months; C. Three months; D. Four months
—Who is the best person to pitch at a national cable news show? A. The senior producer; B. The assignment editor; C. The news editor; D. The executive producer
—When is the best time to pitch a morning news show? A. Early morning, around 7 a.m.; B. Mid-morning, around 10 p.m.; C. Early afternoon, around 1 p.m.; D. Late afternoon, around 4 p.m.
—How do you get your client in “Page Six?”
A. E-mail Richard Johnson a press release; B. Tell Richard Johnson you have something “Rush & Molloy” is considering; C. E-mail and fax a release, then follow-up with a phone call; D. Write a camera-ready item, then fax it and follow-up
—What is a “news peg?” A. The status of a story in the editorial process; B. The editorial calendar of a particular publication; C. The relevance of what you’re pitching to a current news trend; D. A brief news item, listed in the left column of a news section.

Test takers can e-mail their answers to [email protected], and “we’ll get back to you with your score,” said Lessard.

ALSCHULER’S TIPS FOR SOLID COVERAGE.
To ensure accurate media coverage, no matter what the other side is saying, Steven Alschuler, president of Linden Alschuler & Kaplan, a New York-based PR firm, recommends:

1. Anticipate what the media are likely to cover.
2. Be proactive in telling your own story.
3. Spend the time necessary to inform and, if necessary, educate reporters and editors.
4. Make media relations part of a strategy.

EDITOR FROWNS ON PUBLICITY PITCHES.
Bee Magazine, a new business magazine for women, which will debut in October, will be a tough sell for publicists.

Ana Maria Castronovo, editor-in-chief of the Dallas-based magazine, said Bee will cover issues that “have not been created in a publicist’s office.”

Castronova said the magazine will discuss issues like “how we can achieve our goals of being financially secure; finding a job that we love; learning more about the global world we live in; and discussing our lifestyles (the way we live, not the way we decorate!).”

“As workers, but above all as mothers and daughters, as friends, and as wives and girlfriends, women like to spend as much of our free time as possible with loved ones and on fulfilling endeavors,” she said.

“When we do find time to glimpse at the issues of the day, the last thing we want is to sift through spin,” said Catronovo, who joined Bee from Dallas-based lifestyle publications The Advocate/Home & Heritage magazine.”

Lori Rosen, whose New York-based PR firm—The Rosen Group—is handling publicity for Bee, has described the magazine as “a blend of Smart Money, Newsweek and Marie Claire.

“Bee will cover everything that women with packed agendas seek: personal finance, politics, lifestyle and beauty,” said Rosen.

Bee is the brainchild of Celine Gumbiner, a 24-year-old native of Monaco, who graduated from Southern Methodist Univ. in Dallas.

Gumbiner said she searched unsuccessfully for a magazine that spoke to her as a young, female professional.

“Newsstands are devoid of magazines addressing topics necessary for women in a modern world,” said Gumbiner, now CEO of Bee’s publisher, Femme Publications LLP.

“Today women have very different interests encompassing all areas of life—Bee is for the busy, curious, fun and savvy woman,” said Gumbiner.

The projected Bee reader will be an active woman—either at home or in the office—between the ages of 25-45. She has a college degree and earns about $55,000.

The magazine will sell for $5.95 at major retailers around the U.S. Total circulation is 100,000, increasing to 200,000 by the end of year four. The frequency will be quarterly initially, with plans to become bimonthly in 2006 and monthly in 2007.

Regular contributors include Lynnette Khalfani, author of “Zero Debt: The Ultimate Guide to Financial Freedom”; Laura Shin, a contributer to the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, and Ann Marlowe, a lifestyle writer and author of “How to Stop Time: Heroin from A to Z.”

Bee’s offices are located at 3710 Rawlins ave., suite 1500, Dallas, Tex. 75219. 214/528-5588.

Media numbers_______

32—The number of magazines that publish at least four times a year started in the second quarter of ‘05, according to the Magazine Publishers of America.

Through the year’s first half, publishers have unveiled 107 magazines, including eight titles aimed at the Hispanic market. In 2004, the MPA counted 156 new magazine titles.

1.7 milion—The number of copies that Cooking Light magazine now sells monthly, making it the largest circulation among the top monthly food magazines.

PR leaders (page one) are expressing faith in the ability of citizens to carry on their normal lives in the face of possible death by terrorist acts.

The bombs that went off in London might as well have gone off in New York based on the anxiety level here and to a lesser extent in other U.S. cities.

Business leaders are hoping the economy will not be damaged the way it was after 9/11.

If security operations can make such attacks rare there will be a lessening of anxiety.

Besides being on the defensive, Americans must go on the offensive and convince the vast majority of Muslims who are peace-loving to reject the terrorist elements who are in their midst.

As Robert Dilenschneider points out, this is what Karen Hughes, President Bush’s aide, will try to do.

Previous attempts by the Administration to do this via propaganda chief Charlotte Beers, formerly at J. Walter Thompson, were too advertising-oriented.

Arab countries refused to show some of the video news releases her team prepared. The Bush Administration should give PR a greater hand in this.

Another major story last week was the jailing of New York Times reporter Judith Miller because she refused to testify in the case involving the outing of Valerie Plame as a CIA operative.

Everyone we talked to supports Miller and the NYT in fighting for confidential news sources. Robert Novak, who outed Plame but who is unscathed, is being condemned by journalists for his silence.

Also faulted is Time Warner for turning over the notes of Time reporter Matthew Cooper to the court.

This is the same Time Warner that didn’t object when PRSA and COO Catherine Bolton sought the identity of an e-mailer who criticized Bolton via a TW service. As is its practice, TW didn’t even show up in court. It should have.

This was not a case of a teenager violating a music copyright.

No. It was PRSA, whose president-elect is one of TW’s own employees, Cheryl Procter-Rogers.

The filing by PRSA law firm Moses & Singer was “threadbare,” a two-page, one-paragraph document with typographical errors accompanied by the offending e-mail, said Quarto Dunning, law firm for the e-mailer, known as “John Doe.”

TW executives should have called Procter-Rogers (or she, them) to explore the PR and legal angles of an action embarrassing to all concerned.

Procter-Rogers, like all others on the PRSA board, is blindly following the oath of silence directors take.

This is one time when board dissidents must speak up for the good of PRSA and PR.

The board will meet in New York July 21-23. First order of business should be the canning of Moses & Singer, an action long overdue.

PRSA needs outside counsel all right–outside PR counsel.

Responsibility for the “Doe” debacle rests with the 2004 board which should have throttled any possibility of legal steps vs. the whistleblower. Wiser was the 2003 board which, when asked about hiring a detective to identify “leaks” at h.q., dismissed this because news of a detective being hired would swamp whatever “good” the detective would do.

Also in the dock is the 2005 board which should have cancelled the 2004 board’s action before it hit the New York Law Journal. Silence, inaction, dependence on legal advice, and subservience to h.q. staff have characterized PRSA boards for too long.

Elected leaders and PRSA staff bar senior New York PR pros from working at h.q. because the New Yorkers would see what’s going on and would have a major impact on policy. The non-New Yorkers don’t want to give up any power no matter how questionable some of the h.q./board actions may be (such as the move downtown).

Some PRSA leaders sought a New Yorker for the 2006 board to blunt criticism that the board lacks anyone from the Big Apple. But no one was interested.

Who wants to be on a board where they’re an outcast from day one, surrounded by 16 others with a grudge against New York? Donning a muzzle for three years, paying obeisance to APR, belittling media relations, etc., are not things New Yorkers want to be involved in... Phair, in her address to the CIPR in London June 14 (page 7) twice said PR pros do more than “media relations.” If she substituted “public discussion” for “media relations” those remarks could not have been made...an example of PRSA’s attitude toward the rich New York market is the chapter’s teeny share of the $580,000 in profits made from the conference here last October: $10,000 (part of the funds raised via sponsors)... should PRSA file defamation charges against “Doe,” it would have to provide legal counsel to any or all of the 50+ employees of PRSA who might be deposed under oath (since PRSA is paying all the legal bills of employee Bolton)... the true nature of the “leadership rally” of 100+ PRSA chapter presidents in New York June 10-11 (Fri./Sat.) was evident when only about half of them showed up for the Sat. morning session.

No doubt they had fun spending their $500 in “walking around” money each got from national, which put the cost of the “weekend in New York”at $100,000.

Among things not on the PRSA website (including the July 21-23 board meeting) was the trip Phair, Bolton and John Paluszek made to Trieste, Italy, June 28-30 for the second annual “World PR Festival,” organized by the Italian PR Federation and Global Alliance and spearheaded by Italian PR pro Toni Muzi . Attendance was 584 from 34 countries (worldprfestival.org).

– Jack O'Dwyer