CALIF. PLANS FIRE EDUCATION CAMPAIGN.

A public-private consortium in California’s San Bernardino County is planning a wide-ranging public education effort to curb fire dangers in the region’s tinderbox forests.

Under the umbrella of the Mountain Area Safety Taskforce, or MAST, the groups – including entities like the U.S. Forest Service, Southern California Edison, and San Bernardino County Fire Dept. on down to the local level – want to educate landowners, businesses, schools and legislators about dead and dying trees which pose fire risks in the area east of Los Angeles.

The county has issued an RFP for a competitive review to tap a PR firm to bolster the efforts over two years with a potential option year.

The work would include PR, media relations, a web revamp of Calmast.org, and production of newsletters, posters and other tools.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in San Bernardino County last week.

A large fire, dubbed the Sawtooth Complex fire, has destroyed 50,000 acres in the state as firefighters are trying to prevent it from hitting the San Bernardino forest, where a smaller (8,200-acre) fire is raging.

Drought, pollution, and an explosion of tree-killing bark beetles have all contributed to a glut of dead or dying trees in the region.

The PR effort is expected to kick off in September upon approval of a firm. Proposals are due Aug. 3 (questions by July 28). Terri Martinez ([email protected]) is heading the search.

WAL-MART GETS DACH.

Wal-Mart Stores, in its latest move to embellish its image, has hired Edelman vice chairman Leslie Dach as executive VP/corporate affairs & government relations. He begins next month and reports to CEO Lee Scott.

Scott called Dach's hiring “part of Wal-Mart’s transformation over the last year.”

Dach had been running the Wal-Mart account at Edelman. He has strong credentials in the Democratic party gained from work for the Presidential campaigns of Jimmy Carter, Ted Kennedy and Michael Dukakis. Dach also served as director of scheduling and advance for former Vice Presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro.

Edleman paired Dach in D.C. with former aide to President Ronald Reagan Michael Deaver for a one-two Democrat and Republican punch.

Deaver was upped to chairman/D.C. from vice chairman with Dach's departure. Bob Rehg was appointed president.

SENAY SUCCEEDS GRAHAM AT F-H.

Fleishman-Hillard has appointed Dave Senay, 50, CEO to succeed 68-year-old John Graham, who will lead the new office of the chairman.

Paul Johnson, who is regional president for mid-Atlantic and Latin America, has been tapped vice chairman/worldwide growth and president of the Omnicom unit’s public affairs operation.

Senay has served as general manager of F-H’s headquarters office in St. Louis and regional president for three units: central U.S., Canada and Europe/Middle East and Africa.

Joining Graham, Senay and Johnson in the office of the chairman are vice chairmen-operations Bill Anderson and Kurt Wehrsten, chief talent officer Agnes Gioconda, president-client relations Jack Modzelewski, chief financial officer Fred Rohlfing and regional president/managing director of Communications Consulting Worldwide Peter Verrengia.

PENTAGON TRIMS LINCOLN GROUP’S WORK.

The Pentagon has dropped one of the Lincoln Group’s PR contracts in Iraq, according to the firm’s spokesman Bill Dixon.

LG gained notoriety with news that it was distributing pro-U.S. stories in the Iraqi media. It was one of three firms working on a contract in Iraq that may be worth $300M over the next five years.

The Pentagon decided to consolidate the work with a single contractor, SYColeman. Science Applications International also was dropped.

Dixon said Lincoln Group remains active in other “transitional areas” of the world. He said the firm has government contracts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Jordan, United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh.

JEFFERY TAKES VP POST AT RAYTHEON.

Mac Jeffery, senior VP of global PR for Samsung Group, has moved on to Raytheon as VP of global PR.

The 51-year-old executive takes the reins as top spokesperson for Waltham, Mass.-based Raytheon, reporting to Pam Wickham, a former GE PR exec and VP of corporate affairs and communications who joined the company last year.

Jeffery was director of PR for IBM’s Asia-Pacific operations, based in Tokyo, in a 17-year career with Big Blue. Earlier, he was senior comms. director at satellite maker Loral Space & Comms. and its satellite phone unit Globalstar.

He also held posts with Hill & Knowlton in Hong Kong and PepsiCo.

TOPPS TAKES HIT.

Topps Co. has told shareholders to reject the recommendation of Institutional Shareholder Services, the independent proxy advisory board, that they vote their shares for a dissident slate of directors running for election at the July 28 annual meeting.

ISS noted that the “presence of the dissidents on the Topps board would likely prove beneficial to long-term shareholder value.” The dissidents, who want to either split Topps up or sell it, have the “skill sets” needed to shake up the company, according to ISS.

The dissident faction called the Topps Full Value Committee is an entity of hedge funds Pembridge Capital Management and Crescendo Partners. The Committee claims the venerable New York-based trading card company is mismanaged, and pays “outrageous” salaries and bonuses to staffers.

Topps, which uses Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher and Mackenzie Partners, for financial PR says ISS overlooked the fact that the dissident nominees "have no relevant experience in sports and entertainment, media and advertising, or banking and finance that would bring value to the board." It claims that its strategic plan is just starting to bear fruit."

Topps’ first-quarter net jumped to $1.6 million from $897K.

MACKEY LEAVES H&K FOR LAZARD.

Judi Mackey, who was senior VP in Hill & Knowlton's corporate and financial practice, has joined Lazard as senior VP/director of communications. She joined H&K in ’04, taking over the financial duties from Ron Hartwig.

Prior to H&K, Mackey chaired Burson-Marsteller's corporate & financial practice and headed Edelman's global reputation management group.

She will work closely with Richard Silverman, director of global communications (New York), and Richard Creswell, deputy director of global communications (London).

Lazard, which was founded in 1848 in New Orleans, provides mergers & acquisitions counsel, asset management and restructuring work in 16 countries.

BG&R REPS LEBANESE PARTY.

Barbour Griffith & Rogers has a $50K a-month contract with the National Dialogue Party of Lebanon through mid-October.

NDPL was formed in `75 to promote a “sense of belonging” and patriotism among the diverse population of Lebanon.

The party is headed by businessman and CEO of Future Management Holdings Fouad Makhzoumi. His Makhzoumi Foundation has provided vocational training and healthcare to more than 100,000 Lebanese based on a “need not creed” philosophy. Makhzoumi also served on the international advisory board of the Council on Foreign Relations.

BG&R’s role is to facilitate communications between its client and the U.S. foreign policy-making apparatus.

The Interpublic unit will receive a $10K a-month pay hike if the contract is extended beyond October.

SEITEL, SCOBLE HEAD RAGAN PROGRAM.

Fraser Seitel, author of The Practice of PR and a columnist for odwyerpr.com, and Robert Scoble, former Microsoft blogger and author of Naked Conversations, are among speakers at the tenth annual Ragan Strategic PR Conference Sept. 20-22 at the Knickerbocker Hotel, Chicago.

The conference will cover a wide range of topics including the new "social media"–blogs, podcasts, wikis and other tools that "help build relationships with audiences."

Wikis is a web function that allows many participants to voice their opinions on a subject.

Seitel will highlight "the best and the worst" in communications in addressing the annual luncheon.

Scoble, who left Microsoft last month for startup PodTech.net, will keynote the conference in explaining how social media are changing the way companies talk to customers, journalists and other audiences.

Ragan has started a wiki for the conference at www.ragan.com/prwiki. The object is to get people to contribute opinions in advance of the conference so they can be discussed at the meeting.

Registration for the event is $895 until July 21 and $995 after that. (Info: www.ragan.com/pr2006.)

PR and PR service executives will be present from Delahaye, Hitachi Data Systems, Humana, KD Paine & Partners, Microsoft, Northwestern University, PR Newswire, RDM Communications, Society for New Communications Research, v-Fluence, Crescenzo Communications, and Watermark Communications.

The main areas being covered by the conference are PR fundamentals, social media, media relations and nonprofit PR.

ICG TAPS GAMM FOR IR/PR

International Coal Group, owner of the Sago Mine in West Virginia, has brought in an executive to develop and handle its communications with investors and the press.

Ira Gamm, an IR consultant who serves as president of NIRI's Cleveland/Northern Ohio Chapter, has taken on the role of VP of IR and PR for ICG.

The coal producer endured widespread scrutiny as the media fixated on 14 miners trapped in the Sago mine in January. One miner survived the ordeal. Dix & Eaton helped ICG with communications during the accident and its aftermath.

Ben Hatfield, ICG's CEO, said Gamm will play an important role in communicating the company's progress to its constituents.

ICG was set up in 2004 by an investor group. It has 12 mining complexes across Kentucky, Maryland, and West Virginia, and a single operation in Illinois.

Gamm held IR posts with NACCO Industries, which owns North American Coal Corp., and Figgie International. He has worked in PR for Figgie, United Airlines and Walgreen Co.

PRSA hired Spencer Stuart as the search firm for a COO to replace Catherine Bolton, who leaves Dec. 31. Korn/Ferry International handled the last search in 1993 that resulted in the hiring of Ray Gaulke.

WSJ TO SELL FRONT PAGE ADS.

The Wall Street Journal will begin selling ads on its front page starting in September. The “jewel box” ad space will appear in the lower right hand corner of the page.

“The front page of The Wall Street Journal will provide the greatest opportunity available anywhere, in any medium, for advertisers seeking to reach a large, affluent and influential audience,” said publisher Gordon Crovitz in announcing the move.

The Journal began putting ads on the front page of the “Money & Investing” section last September. It started placing front page ads on the European and Asian sections the following month.

DENIRO DROPS BID FOR OBSERVER.

A group headed by actor Robert DeNiro has ended negotiations to purchase the New York Observer.

“Unfortunately, we could not come to mutually acceptable terms,” Craig Hatkoff, a partner in DeNiro's Tribeca Enterprises, said in a statement.

Observer publisher Arthur Carter has met with nearly two dozen potential buyers during the past several months, according to the New York Times. The Observer loses about $2M a year.

SITRICK MAKES CASE FOR DISA RECORDS.

Sitrick and Co. is guiding PR for top Mexican music label Disa Records as the company has sued half-owner Univision Communications, the Spanish-language media giant.

Disa is alleging Univision has employed “heavy-handed legal tactics” to block a 2001 agreement under which Univision acquired half of Disa with the apparent obligation to eventually buy the entire label.

Disa is controlled by the Chavez family of Monterey, Mexico, under the company name Empresas Chavez II B.V. The company says it is in good financial health on the strength of platinum-selling artist Group Montez de Durango.

Univision has declined to comment on the suit.

Sitrick's Los Angeles headquarters handles Disa.

BOSTON BIZ JOURNAL VET JOINS CASTLE.

Bill Lane, managing editor of the Boston Business Journal since ’01, has joined the Castle Group in Boston. As VP/PR, Lane is charged with helping clients with media strategies.

Lane also was business editor of MetroWest Daily News and responsible for six bureaus for dBusiness.com.

Castle's clients are Genzyme, MFS Investment Management, Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University, CircleLending, Stacy's Pita Chips, Symantec and Eons.

MOSS NAMED AKRON BEACON LEADER.

Edward Moss assumes the publisher post at the Akron Beacon Journal on Aug. 7. He succeeds James Crutchfield, who had that position since ’01.

Black Press Ltd. is expected to complete its acquisition of the Beacon Journal from Knight Ridder at the end of this month.

Moss is VP-sales and marketing at Media General in Richmond, Va. Crutchfield plans to stay at the Beacon Journal for about two months to help with the transition.

MTV LOOKS FOR ‘SWEET 16’ BASHES.

Viacom's MTV Networks unit is asking entertainment PR firms if they have any clients that could be showcased on its “My Super Sweet 16” program.

The documentary-style show features behind-the-scenes footage that goes into planning “over-the-top” Sweet 16 parties, coming outs, debuts and Quinceaneras.

MTV wants to "capture every aspect of the party process from invitations, to food, to gowns, to entertainment and beyond," according to a note from Helene Sherr (212.654.7343 or [email protected]).

She reckons a suitable event for MTV would cost in the $100K range.

SURVEY: CABLE NEWS’ PARTISAN DIVIDE.

Nearly three-quarters of Fox News Channel viewers identify themselves as Republicans, according to a study of California cable news watchers by the Survey and Policy Research Institute in San Jose, Calif.

That viewership compares with a slight majority (51 percent) of CNN and MSNBC viewers who say they are Democrats.

Only 20 percent of Fox watchers call themselves Dems.

The party affiliation is also stoking views of current events. Nearly 60 percent of Fox viewers approve of the job President Bush is doing, according to the SPRI survey, compared with national polls which place the president's overall approval in the high 30s. Among non-Fox viewers, only 25 percent approve of the president's job performance.

The ongoing war in Iraq struck similar tones. Fifty-four percent of Fox viewers say invading Iraq was worth it, compared to 33 percent who say it was not. But only 25 percent of non-Fox viewers say it was worth it, and a whopping 69 percent say it was not.

SPRI polled 891 Californians over 18 years old in late June for the study.

MEDIA, POLITICOS COOK UP HOTSOUP.

A handful of prominent media and political figures have formed Hotsoup.com, an online community portal focused on "opinion drivers" aimed at capitalizing on the social networking craze.

The site is slated for a fall launch.

Ron Fournier, former chief political writer for the Associated Press; Mark McKinnon, adman for George W. Bush, and former Bill Clinton press secretary Joe Lockhart, now a partner in the Glover Park Group PR shop, are among the 10 co-founders.

Fournier said the portal is the "next big thing in modern communications and community." He noted the site will allow every member of the community to sound off on the same level of the "opinion drivers."

Louder Than Words is handling PR.

(Media news continued on next page)

FAIR KNOCKS FEMA.

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting issued an “action alert” on July 24 to protest the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s policy of banning victims of Hurricane Katrina from talking to the press unless they are accompanied by a FEMA PR official.

The Baton Rouge Advocate broke the story after its reporter interviewed former New Orleans residents living in two FEMA trailer parks.

FEMA spokesperson, Rachel Rodi, told the Advocate that if a resident invites the media to a trailer that person must be escorted by a FEMA rep.

In another instant, Amy Goodman of “Democracy Now” was told to turn off her tape machine when she was talking to a Katrina victim who was not with a FEMA minder.

FAIR notes that FEMA’s website urges people to report “allegations of civil liberties or civil rights abuses.”

It wants people to contact Dept. of Homeland Security director, Richard Skinner, to protest FEMA’s policy of “interviews only with a minder policy.”

STUDENTS’ MEDIA HABITS MEASURED.

Only one percent of college students say they read magazines or newspapers, while 43 percent spend 10 or more hours on the Internet, according to job/career services company Experience Inc.'s annual "Media Perception" study.

Of that Internet activity, 22 percent of college students write blogs and one-fourth create or listen to podcasts. On viewing content, the numbers are even higher. Nearly half (47 percent) say they read articles posted on websites and create or view online videos, and 34 percent read blogs.

In contrast, only six percent of the 350 students polled said they listen to the radio.

The most widely visited online media included Google, Yahoo! and MySpace, while "offline" media cited were CNN, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

Asked about advertising, 40 percent said they'd most likely respond to a humorous ad and 50 percent said they are more likely to respond if an ad appears across two or more mediums. Only 28 percent said they prefer fact-based ads.

Briefs ____________________

O’Reilly Media, Sebastolopol, Calif., is set to launch a quarterly magazine for do-it-yourself arts and craft hobbyists called Craft.

Its first issue will include 20 projects like making a felted iPod cocoon and embroidering a skateboard. The publisher said it will incorporate technology, creative recycling and unique materials into the $14 billion a year craft industry.

The magazine will be available at newsstands and bookstores in October with a cover price of $14.99.

Washington, D.C.-based law/lobbying firm Patton Boggs has launched a semi-annual magazine called Capital Thinking. The cover story for its inaugural edition covers the healthcare crisis, while inside topics range from Shari’ah finance to the top 10 things a company should do when facing an SEC investigation.

A PDF copy can be downloaded from capitalthinkingmagazine.com.

The New England Journal of Medicine and Journal Watch have collaborated on Physician's First Watch, a free daily e-mail covering updates on medical news relevant to practicing physicians and patients. The e-letter is e-mailed by 7:30 a.m. and covers the previous 24 hours of medical news.

Quepasa.com, which claims to be the largest online community for Latinos, has revamped its look and added content features.

Newly added is Quepasa Radio - three channels of Spanish-language artists - and the site's most popular feature, "Cool People," has been updated to let users further personalize their profiles.

Placement Tip ________________

TheStreet.com, which is expanding its video capabilities, said PR executives or firms can arrange for a fund manager or CEO to stop by the media company's Wall Street studio for a quick interview. The site claims four million unique users per month and is syndicated via Yahoo! Finance. Gregg Greenberg, personal finance reporter ([email protected]), is point of contact.

People ___________________

Charles Bucher, nation and world editor for the Santa Barbara (Calif.) News-Press, has been named assistant managing editor. Scott Steeplton, assistant city editor and columnist in a six-year career at the paper, has been named city editor. Brian Banmiller was named contributing business editor and Tony Peck was upped to interim sports editor.

Christopher Clarey, former business reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, is serving as editor and president of Sharesleuth.com, which says it uses investigative journalism techniques to report on company finances. Clarey specializes in combing through SEC filings, court records and other documents to find information companies try to bury.

Mark Cuban is a majority partner in the portal.

Sacha Cohen, who developed online marketing strategies for AARP's online unit, was named managing editor for custom publisher The Magazine Group, in Washington, D.C. She heads editorial operations for the company's travel and real estate titles. AARP, Hilton Grand Vacations and WebMD are clients.

ABC7/WJLA-TV, Arlington, Va., has kicked off a national serach for a 5 p.m. TV anchor to work alongside Emmy winner Leon Harris. Dallas-based Talent Dynamics has been tapped for the search. The post opens in the fall as Kathleen Matthews departs for Marriot as VP-global comms. and public affairs.

New York, expensive as it is, is again a magnet for corporate h.q. Although plenty of blue chips fled New York in the 1970s, there are now more than twice as many corporate headquarters and subsidiaries here than in 1990, according to the New York Times.

A Federal Reserve report says New York’s share of financial industry earnings is higher than in 1970.

Low-paid jobs are shifting out of the city while high paid jobs are coming in. Companies are sending their “back-offices” to New Jersey and mid-America while pulling their top execs to New York.

NYT columnist Paul Krugman (7/10) said the “draw” of New York is obvious: “The Big Apple is the best place for top executives to network face to face with their peers in the hub of the financial, legal and communications industries.” Companies are willing to pay the price for this interaction.

Almost all manufacturing jobs have left and what remains, says Krugman, “is a mix of highly paid financial jobs and low-wage services jobs, with relatively little in the middle.” Average pay in investment banking in New York is $275,000, according to the Fed. New York, which seemed to be in “irreversible decline” a generation ago, now seems to be doing “O.K.,” wrote Krugman.

The flight of companies from New York had a big impact on the city’s PR scene. PRSA/NY in the 1960's and early 1970's was able to draw up to 400 PR people each month for lunch at the Waldorf-Astoria. The Monday II Group had 50 members who were the PR heads of blue chip companies with New York h.q. or branch offices here. It met the second Monday of the month. New York hosted 144 of the Fortune 500, which dropped to 44. PRSA/NY’s membership dropped from more than 1,200 to about 600.

New York’s vitality is evident in the spurt of new apartment construction and the soaring prices of apartments. This makes it difficult for aspiring PR pros who feel New York is their Mecca.

According to the Census Bureau, nearly 132,500 college grads poured into New York between 1995-2000, more than any other metro area. An apartment with 500-600 sq. feet can cost $2,000 or more a month, depending on the neighborhood. A NYT piece on July 13 said grads are now camping out in co-ed “dormitories” much like they had in college. Cost for units in one such building in Harlem is $700 a month. The owner puts together roommates. Boosting the cost of Manhattan living units is a flood of foreign money which sees New York real estate as a good investment. This has tripled the price of condos in the last eight years.

With Interpublic’s stock having dipped to $7.86 on July 14 (lowest since 1991), both Ad Age and AdWeek ran articles 7/17 speculating on the break-up of IPG (which includes Weber Shandwick and MWW Group). Ad Age faulted CEO Michael Roth, noting the stock has dipped 41% since his arrival in 2003. Roth, who had no experience in adland, led the sale of his previous company, MONY Group, receiving $22 million for himself. Proxy adviser Glass Lewis said MONY let management “mask its own failures and collect tens of millions in golden parachutes.” If IPG were sold, Roth could get $6-$8M in severance (three years’ pay) ... Omnicom had a brief 10-point spurt to $96.64 in June but slipped back to $87, which is 20 points lower than its Dec. 17, 1999 high of $107. OMC’s debt rose $800M to $3.37B at a time of high interest rates. Jean-Marie Dru, CEO of the TBWA unit, sold $12.9M of OMC stock in April. Havas has sought him as CEO but a recent AdWeek report said he had not made up his mind about this. Insider sales help to put a lid on OMC’s stock price, Barron’s has said...the indictment of Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman, the famed litigator in behalf of defrauded stockholders, on charges it improperly paid $11 million to stockholders to launch suits, was a shock. The Wall Street Journal, while praising the action, knocked the Justice Dept. for indicting the entire firm instead of individuals. It fears this could be the end of MWB&S (as it was for Arthur Andersen)...this is a bad time for the image of accounting as the huge tax shelter case against 16 former employees of KPMG approaches trial. It will highlight the fact that a large part of accounting involves creating complex tax-avoidance schemes for large companies that cross the line into tax-evasion schemes, which are illegal...CPAs were created in the 1930s after corrupt practices helped to cause the Depression. Accountants, noting the Securities & Exchange Commission was formed to root out corruption in stocks and bonds, fought the creation of an accounting “SEC,” promising to do a good job themselves in keeping the nation’s books. Congress relented and no such body was created...the SEC, meanwhile, ought to be “dismantled,” wrote New York Post financial columnist Christopher Byron on July 3. He is furious that it failed to regulate hedge funds and also at its general ineptitude. The SEC pursues almost nothing to trial, complained Byron, preferring to get accused companies to promise not to do anything wrong in the future (while not admitting to having done anything wrong in the past)...NYT columnist Frank Rich gave the image of PR a pasting July 13, saying the Administration of President Bush is enamored of PR, marketing, sloganeering, propaganda and a “sales strategy” instead of making substantive policy. A subhead said, “As the world burns, Bush fiddles with PR.” Congress also gets a beating. It has “embraced the virtual governance of substituting publicity stunts for substance,” writes Rich. As an example of PR, he says the Administration passed a “sham Lobbying Accountability and Transparency Act” that “won’t do away with the gifts and junkets” to politicians...PR groups could show they favor transparency by publishing their public IRS reports. The Institute for PR set a new standard sending a PDF of its 2005 IRS report to the PR trade press.

--Jack O'Dwyer