DELMAN SPEAKS FOR BIG OIL.
Edelman is behind the American Petroleum Institute’s multi-million dollar campaign to polish the image of the country’s energy sector.

API’s Jim Craig said Edelman’s Blue Worldwide unit was hired mid-September. “We have run ads in the Washington Post, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Denver Post, Boston Globe and ‘inside the Beltway publications like National Journal and Roll Call.”

The ads encourage people to conserve gas by planning car trips more carefully and sealing windows (“295 million Americans working together will make a powerful difference.”)
Another ad claims that America has enough recoverable natural gas still underground to heat 125 million homes for 120 years, but much of it is “out of reach, particularly on non-park lands in the West and under the waters off our coasts where access has been prohibited or severely restricted by the government.”

Craig said radio and TV versions of those ads have run in selective markets. He said API is “pretty new” at running issues advertising in the mainstream media.

Of the budget, Craig said it is a “multi-million dollar campaign.”

The energy industry’s image has been battered by a spike in gas prices in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and charges of “obscene profits.”

CRUISE DROPS SISTER FOR R&C.
Tom Cruise has axed his sister, Lee Anne DeVette, as his publicist, shifting the job to Paul Bloch of Interpublic’s Rogers & Cowan.

Cruise’s image has been tarnished by a manic appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in which he expressed his love for actress Katie Holmes, and his public attack on Brooke Shields for using anti-depressants.

In a statement, Cruise said DeVette wanted to oversee his charitable endeavors and now will have the time to do so.

The 43-year-old actor credited his sister with doing a “wonderful job.”

Cruise turned to his sister after he ousted long-time PR rep Pat Kingsley of Interpublic’s PMK PR in 2004.

Like Kingsley, Bloch is a celebrity PR heavyweight as evidenced by a client roster that includes Sly Stallone, Bruce Willis and John Travolta, who like Cruise is a Scientologist.

Cruise is the star of “War of the Worlds,” a film that had Paramount Pictures enjoying its best quarter in years, according to Wall Street analyst Alan Gould.

IPG LOSES ANOTHER $101M.
Interpublic lost another $101M during the third-quarter as revenues sunk 5.1 percent to $1.4B as client losses took their toll, according to CEO Michael Roth.

Roth said those losses (BankAmerica, Lowe’s and General Motors’ media account) are expected to “affect our comparative results over the next few quarters.” He predicted that “organic growth” will decline for the year.

On the “upside,” the performance of IPG’s “constituent management group” (Weber Shandwick, GolinHarris, DeVries, Jack Morton and Octagon Network) stabilized during the quarter. The CMG unit recorded “flat” revenues of $226M, compared to an 11.3 percent decline to $663M for the nine-month period.

H&K PUTS PAKISTAN ON INT’L MEDIA STAGE.
Pakistan is hiring Hill & Knowlton to launch an international media campaign to increase recognition of the challenges facing the Islamic state.

The contract has not officially been finalized. H&K will rep the government’s information and broadcasting unit in Islamabad. Kelli Parsons, general manager of H&K/D.C., could not be reached for details.

President Bush met with Pakistan leader Pervez Musharraf in New York on Sept. 13 and discussed economic issues and the “war on terror.”

Bush visited Pakistan’s Washington embassy on Oct. 14 to express condolences for the nearly 75,000 people killed in the Oct. 8 earthquake. The U.S. military has provided supplies to the impacted area. The quake has forced Pakistan to delay the purchase of F-16 fighter jets.

LACK OF ‘CIVILITY’ DECRIED BY NIELSEN.
There is “a lack of civility in this country” that is “undermining every good intention, no matter what your politics. There is no common ground, no middle ground, which used to sustain our respect in institutions. The achievement of a broad consensus on anything is nearly impossible without bitter feelings.”

Willard Nielsen, retired corporate VP of Johnson & Johnson, told the Institute for PR Nov. 10 that this phenomenon is visible in politics, the courts, the media and elsewhere.

“Sadly,” he said, “the behaviors that are part of the idea of winning in the marketplace at any cost tend to make those of us in business view the competitor not as `a friendly competitor’ but as an enemy...it’s not good enough for us to win; you must lose, and so that you can never, ever become a threat to us again, you must be destroyed.”

(continued on page 7)

F-H TAKES ROCHE’S TAMIFLU.
Fleishman-Hillard is counseling Roche, which now says it is doing everything possible to meet the demand for Tamiflu, according to Michael Rinaldo, head of F-H’s health group in New York.

Roche’s reputation took a major hit when scare stories about a possible global avian flu pandemic picked up steam in October. Initially, Roche appeared more eager to protect its “monopoly” on its Tamiflu—the vaccine most effective in fighting bird flu-than preventing a worldwide avian flu pandemic.

The Switzerland-based pharmaceutical house claimed Tamiflu was too difficult to manufacture, and would require a minimum three-year learning curve for other potential producers.

Generic drug makers in India and Taiwan proved that wrong, and vowed to gear up for production of Tamiflu. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) increased the heat on Roche, calling for a temporary suspension of its Tamiflu patent on Oct. 16.

Roche has changed its tune. It is in “contact with companies that may be able to assist in manufacturing additional supplies of Tamiflu,” said George Abercrombie, CEO of Hoffman-La Roche Inc. in a Nov. 1 press release.

Roche, on Nov. 10, announced a major ramp-up on Tamiflu. It will make 55M treatments this year, and 300M in `07.

MERLIN DOES MAGIC FOR MAN.
Merlin PR guided the Man Group’s winning $325M bid for the assets of Refco Inc., the commodities and futures firm that made the fourth largest Chapter 11 filing last month. MG won the auction on Nov. 10.

U.K.-based MG, the world’s biggest publicly traded hedge fund manager, topped 75 other bids, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Merlin’s CEO Paul Downes and Paul Lockstone handled communications duties. Downes was deputy CEO of Georgeson’s U.K. operations before co-founding Merlin. Lockstone is a former PR head of NatWest bank.

Phillip Bennett, Refco’s former CEO, was indicted Nov. 10 on charges that he hid $720M in debt from investors and audits. Refco collapsed following news that a firm controlled by Bennett owed Refco $430M.

Sitrick & Co. repped Refco.

PRATT EXITS PNC FOR GNC.
GNC, the Pittsburgh-based nutritional supplement retailer in the midst of a turnaround effort, has brought in Benjamin Pratt as senior director of corporate communications.

Pratt, a financial PR veteran, departs The PNC Financial Services Group, where he was director of financial communications.

At GNC, he is responsible for investor and media relations, as well as communication with its company-owned and franchised stores. Some franchisers have been grumbling in recent months about prices the company passes down to its franchisees.

GNC has embarked on a turnaround effort to buy back struggling franchise stories and spark sales, which have slumped in the last year.

IOWA EYES PR HELP FOR SCHOOL REFORM.
Iowa’s Department of Education, which has researched and studied plans to reform the state’s well-ranked high schools since 2001, has issued an RFP for a firm to provide marketing and PR support for its reform efforts.

Iowa high schools graduate about 90 percent of students, according to the DoE, which doesn’t want to “rest on its laurels.”

The far-reaching reform effort targets everything from student-teacher ratios (14th best in the U.S.) to teacher pay (37th out of 50 states and D.C.) and professional development across the state’s 370 school districts.

The DoE issued the RFP on Nov. 7 with a closing date for bids set at Nov. 21. A contract is expected to run from Nov. 23 to June 30, 2006 with a one-year option tacked on the end. Budget parameters have not yet been set by the DoE.

Kathi Slaughter ([email protected]) is contracting officer.

GE’s IMMELT IS ‘MR. GREEN.’
General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt has been named to Rolling Stone’s list of the 25 “warriors and heroes” who are fighting to curb global warming.

He was cited in the “profiteer” category. The 49-year-old executive told RS: “Rest assured, I am not tackling climate concerns because it’s moral or trendy or good for PR. The biggest driver for me is business potential: It will accelerate economic growth.”

Earlier this year, Immelt launched a $1.5B program, doubling its R&D spending on clean technology. He kicked off GE “ecomagination” program during a Washington, D.C., presentation that was handled by Edelman.

Immelt outlined a goal to double revenues from eco-friendly products (solar panels, coal-gasification plants and energy-efficient appliances to $20B by 2010. The company also announced a push to lobby the Bush Administration on the need for utilities to step up the use of renewable energy sources.

While lauding Immelt, RS said GE is “one of the world’s biggest polluters,” but is “part of a growing push by industry to cash in on the business opportunities presented by global warming.”

GE recently committed itself to cleaning the Hudson River of its PCBs. Immelt’s predecessor, Jack Welch, fought that clean-up responsibility for years.

GAMING SITE BETS ON PR.
BetUS.com, an online gambling site, is looking to hire a PR firm to promote it as a “credible and safe gaming destination,” while “depositioning” competitors, according to its RFP.

A key function will be to develop high-value publicity platforms for BetUS.com spokesperson Jesse Ventura, the wrestler and former Minnesota Governor.

The company wants a firm with extensive media relationships and a background in guerrilla marketing. It plans to retain a firm for a three-month trial period, which could develop into a long-term relationship. Michael Engels (450-444-6342) has details.

MILLER SPLITS FROM NEW YORK TIMES.
Embattled reporter Judy Miller resigned Nov. 9 from the New York Times, ending a 28-year career following two weeks of negotiations about her future at the paper in the aftermath of ScooterGate.

Under the agreement, the Times published a letter from Miller that explains her side of the story.

Headed “Judith Miller’s Farewell,” the letter said that Miller left because she became part of the news, and “a lightning rod for public fury over the intelligence failures that helped lead our country to war.”

Miller had wanted to write an op-ed piece for the Times, but Gail Collins, editor of the editorial page, would not let her do so.

Also under the pact, Bill Keller, executive editor, released a personal letter that he wrote to Miller.

In that letter, Keller wrote that he was wrong in using the terms “entanglement” and “engagement” in describing Miller’s ties with Scooter Libby and Vice President Dick Cheney. “Those words were not intended to suggest an improper relationship,” wrote Keller.

PLANETOUT ACQUIRES GAY MAGS FOR $31M.
PlanetOut, a top online site for the gay community, is acquiring LPI Media, the publisher of the Advocate and Out magazines in a deal worth $24M in cash and the assumption of $7M in debt.

CEO Lowell Selvin says the acquisition is part of his company's plans to “aggregate the largest gay and lesbian media brands.” It also is “one gay marriage that laws allow,” he quipped.

San Francisco-based PlanetOut, which went public in ’04, says it had 5.4 million unique visitors in October. Its sites include Gay.com, PlanetOut.com, Kleptomaniac.com and OutAndAbout.com. The company sealed the deal to achieve a more balanced revenue mix among advertising, subscription and transaction services.

LPI Media is Los Angeles-headquartered. It will distribute more than eight million of its magazines this year. The Advocate keeps abreast of national news affecting gays. Out is more of a lifestyle pub, focusing on fashion/style, trends, society and the arts.

The combined entity will have revenues in the $30M range.

FOX NEWS HIT WITH SEX SUIT.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a harassment suit in New York federal court, charging Fox News with creating a hostile work environment for women because of their sex.

The suit filed on behalf of former Fox employee, Kim Weiler, alleges that Fox VP, Joe Chillemi, routinely used “gross obscenities and vulgarities” when describing women or their body parts. Chillemi also allegedly said that he would pick a man over a woman for a job any day because men can’t get pregnant.

The suit claims that women were relegated to freelance work and less secure positions within the media company.

Fox says it has investigated the complaints and found them to be baseless.

MURDOCH AIMS TO KNOCK NYT OFF PERCH.
Rupert Murdoch believes it’s sad that American journalists put the New York Times on a “pedestal” and blindly follow the lead of the so-called paper of record in an interview published in the Wall Street Journal on Nov. 5. The News Corp. CEO rapped the “tremendous smugness” of top U.S. reporters who are “taught at the Columbia School of Journalism how special they are.”

Murdoch, who publishes the New York Post, is open about his willingness to buy the WSJ because it has a “fantastic opportunity” to knock the NYT off its perch.

He understands that the WSJ is not for sale.

DAILY NEWSPAPER CIRCULATION DROPS.
The Audit Bureau of Circulations announced Nov. 6 that the nation’s weekday newspaper circulation fell 2.6 percent for the six-month period ended September.

Sunday circulation was down 3.1 percent. Nearly 800 papers provided figures. Overall circulation dropped by 1.2 million.

Eighteen of the 20 top papers suffered declines in readership. The San Francisco Chronicle led the downward spiral (off 16.6 percent to 400,906). It was followed by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (-8.7 percent to 362,426), Boston Globe (-8.3 percent to 414,225), San Diego Union-Tribune (-6.2 percent to 314,279) and Houston Chronicle (-6 percent to 521,419).

The New York Times was the sole paper in the top five to report a gain in circulation, up less than one percent to 1,126,190.

USA Today was off 0.6 percent to 2,296,335 and the Wall Street Journal slid 1.1 percent to 2,083,660. The Los Angeles Times fell 3.8 percent to 843,432, while the New York Daily News slipped 3.7 percent to 688,584.

To unveil verification service

ABC has developed a system to verify the distribution of newspaper inserts and created a new category for consumer magazine distribution.

The new verification service, slated for a January 2006 launch, is aimed to certify the estimated 87 billion inserts distributed through papers each year.

ABC president Michael Lavery said ABC members can market the accuracy of so-called FSIs, or freestanding inserts, and buyers of print media can have independent verification of ad investments.

The service was tested this fall at eight papers, including the Chicago Tribune and Washington Post.

ABC has also created a circulation category – “verified” circulation – for consumer magazines to report distribution in places like doctors’ offices, hair salons and hotels, and other copies delivered for individual use not subject to standard ABC “paid” requirements.

The new circulation category will go into effect in June 2006.

Also, ABC’s board has finalized changes to the “pink sheet” publisher’s statement, altering the format to provide ad buyers with more detail about circulation sources like most-used distribution outlets, subscription channels and sponsored copies.

A prototype of the statement is on ABC’s website.

(Media news continued on next page)

Briefs_________

The Economist has redesigned its website, www.economist.com, which was originally launched in 1995. The publication counts 2.3 million registered users.

Ziff Davis Media, through a venture with SEEC Media Group Ltd., has launched PC Magazine in the China market. The 160-page inaugural issue debuted Nov. 8. The magazine now has editions in 39 countries in 15 languages.

Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, has won the Anti-Defamation League’s “Hubert H. Humphrey First Amendment Freedom Prize” for his commentaries on foreign affairs. The group specifically praised Zakaria for writing about positive changes in the Middle East.

Zakaria is a member of the roundtable on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulous” and has his own weekly program on PBS.

Fairchild Publications, a Conde Nast unit, is launching Cookie, a parenting magazine aimed at sophisticated urban types. The magazine will have a 300K controlled circulation and wants to attract upscale advertisers that normally shun parenting titles.

Eva Dillon is Cookie’s publisher. Pilar Guzman is editor.

Studio One Networks has launched a DuPont-sponsored syndicated program called “Real Families, Real Fun” aimed at providing content for families. Julie Taylor, who has written and edited for Parents, Redbook and CosmoGirl!, is managing editor of the program.

Studio One has guided sponsored programming for Nestle, Symantec and Wal-Mart.

The Playboy Foundation is accepting nominations for its Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Awards through February 10. The awards are given for print and broadcast journalism, education, book publishing, arts and entertainment, and government/law. Info is on the foundation’s website.

People_________

Maria Bartiromo, a business anchor for CNBC and host of “Closing Bell,” has signed on to write a regular column for BusinessWeek. The column, “Face Time with Maria Bartiromo,” runs every other week starting with the publication’s Nov. 11 edition.

She has been at CNBC since 1993.

Des Kelly, former deputy editor of London’s Daily Mirror, has joined Hill & Knowlton as a media consultant to counsel consumer clients like Procter & Gamble.

He will continue penning a weekly column for the Daily Mail, and do broadcast spots for the BBC and Sky.

Connie Chung, who was dropped by CNN in ’03, will host a weekly cable program on MSNBC in January with her husband, Maury Povich. The program will review the week’s events and promises “edgy” discussions.

BET BOLSTERS NEWS UNIT IN D.C.
BET network, which targets African-Americans, has brought in three journalists to bolster its Washington, D.C.-based news and public affairs programming.

Toure, a former pop culture correspondent for CNN, joins the network as host, writer and consulting producer for BET News. He was CNN’s first pop culture reporter and hosted the MTV2 talk show “Spoke N Heard.” Toure has also been a contributing editor for Rolling Stone for 10 years and has freelanced for The New Yorker, Playboy and Tennis Magazine.

Selwyn Hinds, former editor-in-chief of The Source magazine during the 1990s, takes on the role of interim executive producer for the daily BET News Briefs, the network’s periodic news specials and its soon-to-be-launched Sunday news magazine show.
Nelson George, a writer and filmmaker, has joined the network as consulting producer for its news and PA programming. George, an author, has written for Billboard, where he was black music editor from 1982-89.

GRAPE JUICE IS NO FLU FIGHTER.
There is no research that shows grape juice is an effective bird flu fighter, according to Jim Callahan, PR director at Welch’s.

The 136-year-old juice maker posted that notice on the front page of its website after Men’s Health (November) included grape juice in its “bird flu survival kit.” That angle was picked up by Reuters and the New York Daily News, Callahan told O’Dwyer’s.

MH said concord grapes are packed with the antioxidant resveratrol that inhibits the reproduction of the flu virus by 90 percent. The magazine displayed a photo of a Welch’s grape juice bottle.

Callahan said Welch’s sent a letter to MH, Reuters and the News to say it knows of no research that proves concord grapes are weapons against avian flu. The Welch’s site says, “Decisions on how to manage conditions like the avian flu should be made in consultation with a physician.”

Welch’s does promote drinking concord grape juice as a way to reduce blood pressure and boost cardiovascular health. It partly funded laboratory tests to make those points and released the results in April.

Fleishman-Hillard does PR for Welch’s.

Placement tip_________

Freelance journalist Miki Turner writes for many African-American publications, but doesn’t want to be “boxed into that corner, because I also write independently personality profiles for mainstream media, too.

“I love to do authors, so send me your book with a short pitch. Make your pitches relevant,” she said.

Turner began her career at the Cincinnati Enquirer and has written for Oakand Tribune, Orange County Register, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, ESPN.com and is now a producer on ESPN Hollywood. She also writes for the Chicago Tribune and Upscale magazine.

Turner also does freelance products for BET and the BBC.

She prefers e-mail pitches ([email protected]) and can be reached at (323) 762-7814.

“Bill” Nielsen, retired VP of Johnson & Johnson, says PR functions “like glue or connective tissue, which when applied in a values-based culture, holds the whole enterprise together.”

This seems to say that a big job, or even the main job of PR , is within an organization, building morale, keeping all parts of an organization in touch with each other, keeping employees informed, promoting organizational values, etc.

Nielsen, in a career of more than 40 years in PR, has seen many “dramatic”changes. He now speaks of the important role PR has within organizations, but he worked 16 years at probably the most outwardly focused PR firm of all time–Carl Byoir & Assocs.

A news background was mandatory at Byoir and preferably at a major newspaper, broadcast show or the AP or UPI. Good writing was prized. Nielsen notes that many today enter PR directly from college without going through a media experience.

Byoir had 12 departments that served reporters from product and financial publicity to entertainment PR and an elaborate photo reproduction shop.

Byoir in the 1960s and 70s often hosted reporters at functions. It would take a hotel room on Election Day to serve drinks because bars were closed. A dozen of its staffers took roles in the annual “Follies” of the New York Financial Writers’ Assn., becoming friends of many financial writers.

Not far behind Byoir in trying to interface with the press were Hill & Knowlton; Edelman PR; Burson-Marsteller; Manning, Selvage & Lee; Ruder Finn; Ketchum, Fleishman-Hillard, etc.

Numerous corporate PR depts. had holiday parties and other functions to which reporters were invited.

Nielsen says he rarely sees a CEO speaking these days because of the “intimidating” Sarbanes-Oxley Act and because “no one wants to become a target.”

But this is how democracy functions. People hash things out in public.

Also rarely if ever speaking are heads of PR firms, corporate PR depts., and PR/IR trade associations.

Outspoken corporate and agency people abounded in the 1960s and 70s. H&K once published a 135-page book of speeches by dozens of its executives.

We’d like Nielsen, perhaps with the help of some academics and grad students, to explore the eerie silence that dominates PR, a field once dedicated to public discussion. The purchase of hundreds of PR firms by advertising agencies is a factor since advertising has a more private culture than PR.

One word Nielsen can’t stand is “spin,” although it’s in a half-dozen books on PR and was used in the Feb. 13, 2005 New York Times article by Timothy O’Brien–“Spinning Frenzy: PR’s Bad Press.”

O’Brien suggested the quest for profits by the ad holding companies, which have a $12 billion longterm debt, might be driving some of their PR units into questionable practices such as the Dept. of Education/Ketchum contract with Armstrong Williams. Nielsen acknowledges PR is known for “putting a good face on things” but he also says telling the truth is the “one fundamental value” of PR. He says PR pros should “never use the word spin or allow it to be used in our presence.”

The employer-orientation of PR pros these days is well known to reporters. The chatty corporate contact of yesteryear who answered his or her own phone has been replaced by an aide who grills reporters on the purpose of their calls.

PRSA PR director Janet Troy (page 7) speaks for many an organization when she says a reporter who asks PRSA for the name/phone of a PR person will be questioned on the reason for the request...if the printed members’ directory of PRSA is killed, which PRSA is trying to do without telling the general membership (it’s not on the PRSA website), reporters will be barred from finding these names on the PRSA site. We hope 2006 president Cheryl Procter-Rogers, of Time Warner, a great journalistic organization, will block this execution. It’s a decision for the 2006 board, not the 2005 board. PRSA Assembly delegates at their meeting Dec. 3 in Chicago can save the directory by passing a motion.

There already is an online directory so dropping the print version is removing a benefit. Members who use the online version say it’s difficult, slow and cumbersome. They want to see the research of treasurer Rhoda Weiss that claims members want the printed directory dropped. Two other current positions of PRSA leaders strain belief: that PRSA couldn’t operate its own website to adequately inform members about Wilma and its effect on the 2005 conference, and that as of Thursday, Oct. 20 there was “doubt” a major hurricane was going to strike Southern Florida...another strain is the admission that staff costs on a national conference are more than the $100K reported each year on the audit, but PRSA leaders don’t know what the actual figure is. Former officers tell us it’s close to $2 million...the staff-piloted runaway train of the annual conference that few attend is already planned out to 2010–Salt Lake City in 2006 and then Philadelphia, San Diego, Detroit and Washington, D.C...delegates should grill PRSA leaders who have falsely told them for many years that proxies are not allowed in the Assembly when in fact they are legal. Votes of 24 chapters were lost in the 2002 Assembly because of this false information...one governance reform needed is stopping chapters with only 10-20 members from having a full vote in the Assembly like a chapter with 100 members. The Assembly was gerrymandered in the 70s and 80s by allowing nearly 50 new small chapters, thus wresting control from the big cities. Proportional voting (one “vote” per chapter member) is needed. Current proposal is to require 20 instead of 10 PR people for a new chapter, a proposal that highlights the current unfair system.

– Jack O'Dwyer