CALIF. HEALTH SYSTEM SEEKS PR HELP.

The Santa Clara Valley Health & Hospital System, based in San Jose, has issued an RFP for a firm to aid its risk communications, outreach and web branding for up to three years.

The four-part System, which includes the 574-bed hospital Santa Clara Medical Center that served nearly 700,000 patients last year and is affiliated with Stanford University's medical school, wants to enhance its public image, attract more patients and re-write its communications plan for an emergency event. Internal communications is also a part of the mix.

A new five-story medical and cancer center is planned for opening in 2008.
Joy Alexiou, public information officer for the System (408/885-4164), is overseeing the RFP and will be the main point of contact for the resulting contract.

Proposals are due Aug. 22.

TAYLOR TAKES OVER FOR MURPHY.

Roxanne Taylor has succeeded Jim Murphy as chief marketing and communications officer at Accenture, the $20B consulting, technology and outsourcing giant.

The 51-year-old Taylor managed corporate PR at Accenture for the past eight years. She held posts at Citicorp and Credit Suisse.

Murphy joined Accenture in `93 after heading Burson-Marsteller's Americas operation. Earlier, he worked at Owens-Corning Fiberglas, Beatrice and Merrill Lynch.

He spearheaded the `00-`01 effort to reposition and rebrand Andersen Consulting as Accenture.

Murphy also served as chief of the Arthur Page Society and chair of the PR Coalition, the group formed to advise the State Dept. on public diplomacy.

R&C WRITES PR PLAN FOR MONTBLANC.

Rogers & Cowan has been tapped to handle North American PR for Montblanc, the high-end pen and jewelry brand, following an RFP process.

Fran Curtis, EVP in R&C's New York office, heads the account. The firm, as "agency of record," said it will guide media relations, ambassador training and event management as Montblanc prepares several product launches and events.

The company, which marked 100 years in 2006, will also highlight timepiece and jewelry collections, as well as its well-known writing instruments.

Montblanc North America has worked with Robert Marston Associates and C&M Media in the past.

IPG DOUBLES NET.

Interpublic reported that second-quarter net income more than doubled to $137M on an eight percent rise in revenues to $1.7B.

IPG remained in the black for the first-half, earning $11M compared to a $105M year ago loss. Revenues were up five percent to $3B.

IPG CEO Michael Roth called the results encouraging and believes they “should validate our belief that we have the company on the right track.”

Roth warned the “recent client reversals” and accelerating changes in the industry represent challenges to the firm’s turnaround plan.

IPG lost some key Johnson & Johnson brands in July.

SAYLOR EXITS SITRICK.

Mark Saylor, who was senior editor at the Los Angeles Times, has exited Sitrick & Co. to set up his own shop.

Saylor Co. is to deal with litigation support, international, technology, entertainment and business issues.

Saylor believes his 20-plus years of newspaper experience provided a “natural preparation for crisis PR work,” according to his e-mail announcing the new shop.

He was senior business editor for technology and entertainment, California political editor, and city editor in San Diego for the LAT. He also worked at the San Jose Mercury News and Arkansas Democrat.

He called working with Michael Sitrick a “great opportunity,” and expects to collaborate with S&C on some projects. Saylor joined S&C in ’05.

PRS NOMCOM REJECTS NEILL OF WACO

Marlene Neill, comms. relations specialist for Waco, Tex., an M.A. candidate at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, and the only person to seek nomination on the PRS board as director from the Southwest, has been rejected by the nominating committee. The nomcom, which had been unable to find a nominee fo rthe Southeast district by the June 11 deadline, said that anyone seeking to represent the Southwest district must now collect at least 25 signatures of 2007 Assembly delegates in order to run for the office.

Deadline for sending them to h.q. is Sept. 20.

The nomcom this week picked Philip Tate, VP of the Luquire George Andrews ad/PR firm of Charlotte, as nominee for the Southeast district.

He was chosen over Ray Crockett, director of communications of Coca-Cola North America; Keith Hayes, direc-

(Continued on page 7)

COUNTDOWN BEGINS FOR BEIJING GAMES.

Reporters Without Borders is keying on the one-year countdown to the beginning of the Beijing Olympics to promote its campaign to improve human rights conditions and freedom of expression in China.

The Games will officially kick off next Aug. 8. China’s Government has about 100 journalists and cyber-dissidents in jail.

RWB held a protest in Beijing on Aug. 6 in which police rounded up protestors who unfurled a poster that depicted the Olympic rings as handcuffs. There were demonstrations in Paris, New York and Montreal.

The press freedom group also had op-ed pieces published in Canada, France, U.K., Austria, Spain and Brazil.

Hill and Knowlton handles the Beijing Olympics.

Amnesty International, meanwhile, released a report on Aug. 7 that accuses China of failing to deliver on its promise to improve civil liberties, a vow made seven years ago to win the Games.

Irene Kahn, secretary-general of the group, said “time is running out for the Chinese Government to fulfill its promise of promoting human rights as part of the Olympics legacy.”

In her statement, Kahn warned that unless Chinese authorities “adopt urgent measures to stop human rights violations over the coming year, they risk tarnishing the image of China and the legacy of the Beijing Olympics.”

China has warned about the dangers of politicizing the Olympics.

U.S. Presidential candidate Bill Richardson has called for a boycott of the Games because of Chinese involvement in Darfur.

China, via PetroChina, is the largest investor in Sudan’s energy market. Activist groups have dubbed the impending Olympics the “Genocide Games.”

H&K reps PetroChina.

DITTUS, STRATEGY XXI WORK TIRE RECALL.

Foreign Tire Sales, the New Jersey tire importer recalling 255K Chinese-made steel-belted radials, has brought in New York-based Strategy XXI to handle the media attention stemming from the high-profile pullback.

The tires, produced for pickup trucks and SUVs from 2004-06, have been linked to two deaths in a rollover accident. FTS said the treads may separate because of a manufacturing defect.

Andrew Frank and Dan Fleshler in Strategy XXI’s New York office are speaking for FTS, which has claimed its Chinese supplier changed the design without FTS’ knowledge.

The Chinese manufacturer, Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber, meanwhile, is using Dittus Communications in Washington, D.C., to make its case that its tires are safe. The company said through Dittus that it is cooperating with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration to prove that its tires are reliable.

“HZR takes the allegations made by Foreign Tire Sales very seriously,” HZR said in a statement.

The recalled tires were sold by FTS under the Westlake, Compass and YKS brands.

JFWBK IS ‘IR ON STEROIDS.’

Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher head Joele Frank described the work of her firm as “investor relations on steroids” in an interview published by The Deal.

Frank, whose firm specializes in corporate defense, said “deal PR firms” can be more upfront with a CEO facing a crisis or M&A situation. She doubts an internal IR person would tell the CEO “that’s the worst answer I’ve ever heard.”

Frank believes aggressiveness from investors such as Carl Icahn has emboldened other activists.

That, in her mind, has bolstered the image of deal PR firms. “What happened in M&A is that bankers learned that they can’t get deals done unless they have good PR,” she told the Deal.

The former Ogilvy PR Worldwide, and Abernathy MacGregor Group veteran always counsels clients to return calls from hedge funds, but a potential target “doesn’t have to give the fund manager all the info that he wants.”

If a fund manager calls numerous times during the day, Frank recommends telling the caller the company has “doctors’ hours,” only a certain amount of time to deal with info requests.

F-H GOES TO THE DOGS.

Fleishman-Hillard has established an animal care practice to offer PR for companies that market products to vets and consumers because people love their animals from guppies, and geckoes to dogs, cats and horses, according to Dave Senay, CEO and dog owner.

Senay noted on his blog that the $41B industry is growing at a five percent clip. That’s fueled in part by new categories, such as pet travel and lodging.

The animal group is co-chaired by Doug Bell, general manager of the Cleveland office; Catherine Haskins, senior VP in Kansas City, and Annette Locher, managing director in Frankfurt.

There is an issues management and PA component to the practice since animals and humans share health issues such as obesity and social anxiety. F-H also will counsel animal health clients about dealing with research and regulatory issues.

The K.C. office sits in the middle of “Animal Health Corridor,” the region with the greatest concentration of animal health organizations.

The new unit launches with 35 staffers

ZANNEL TAPS CARRYON.

Mobile social networking platform Zannel has replaced Concept Communication with CarryOn Communication.

There was no formal RFP but Zannel reached out to a few firms before going with CarryOn.

Zannel, which stands for “zillions of channels,” allows users to share videos and photos with their mobile phones across its network.

Adam Zbar, CEO of Zannel, cited CarryOn’s experience in the mobile space as a key factor in the move. CarryOn has worked with Yahoo Mobile and Mobile ESPN. Liz Gengl, senior VP for CarryOn, heads the Zannel account out of Los Angeles.

TAYLOR: OLYMPIC SPONSORS NOT ENOUGH.

Corporate sponsorships of the Olympic Games alone won't get consumers to buy a product, according to a study by New York-based PR firm Taylor.

The firm, which surveyed 1,000 adults via its research unit, said 60 percent of respondents saw no difference in the likelihood to purchase a company's product or service based on an Olympic affiliation.

General Motors said last week that it decided not to renew its 10-year U.S. Olympic Committee sponsorship when its contract ends after 2008. The move came after the automaker said it evaluated the return on its advertising investment.

Taylor also found that interest in the Games wanes when they are held outside of the U.S.

Respondents said they are twice as likely to watch if the Games are held domestically.

Notably, 72 percent said they would also be using some form of digital media like a PC or mobile device while watching the Games to access more information. Taylor also found that those watching the Games do so mostly with their families at home.

"Our findings revealed that sponsorship alone will not drive brand performance and consumer purchase," said Mark Beal, managing partner at the firm.

"Marketers activating sponsorship programs … will have to be aggressive and strategic to engage and connect with consumers in a meaningful way."

STOCK TABLE COVERAGE CONTINUES SLIDE.

The decade-long decline in newspapers printing stock market tables continues, according to a new study, with virtually no major papers offering a complete listing of stocks and without any boon to editorial coverage.

The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism at Arizona State Univ. reports that about three-fourths of business editors said their papers had cut back "considerably" on stock listings and that those cuts have not resulted in more editorial coverage.

About three-quarters of U.S. newspapers now offer a page or less of business news, the study found, including stock tables. Even among larger papers, business coverage is relatively scant. Two-thirds of the large-circulation dailies publish six or fewer pages of business news, often including a full-page ad.

The cutbacks have also fueled complaints. Seven of every eight biz editors got "a lot of complaints" about the cuts. Some put back stock tables, while others directed readers online for the information.

One-third of small-circulation dailies have cut stock tables entirely, while large papers (circ. over 100K) print stocks in some form, according to the study.

Blockbuster has acquired Movielink, a movie downloading site that is owned by big Hollywood Studios.

Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn Mayer, Sony Pictures, Warner Brothers and Universal Studios formed Movielink in `02, but failed to promote the service.

Blockbuster expects to integrate Movielink into its online operations as the company is eager to move beyond its retail video rental business.

TNR’S WOOD TO NEW YORKER.

James Wood, senior literary editor at the New Republic, has moved to the New Yorker as a staff writer. He will write about books.

In his dozen years at TNR, Wood earned a reputation as a harsh critic who panned giants such as Thomas Pynchon and Don DeLillo.

He is also known as "one of the most respected critics of his generation," according to the New York Times. Prior to TNR, he was chief literary critic of The Guardian.

MILITARY BLOGGER AFFAIR IS HAZY.

An Army public affairs official in Baghdad told the New York Times that a military investigation has concluded that misconduct by soldiers documented on The New Republic's website were false. But the magazine is not so sure and details are hazy.

TNR's "Baghdad Diarist" revealed his identity to be Pvt. Scott Thomas Beauchamp late last month and the magazine said it was investigating his claims of nefarious conduct by soldiers during his deployment in Iraq.

A deputy PAO in Baghdad told the Times that "the allegations are false, his platoon and company were interviewed, and no one could substantiate the claims.”

TNR editors released a statement that said the magazine's own investigation corroborated Beauchamp's writing. That probe found one inaccuracy in Beauchamp's reporting: a story about soldiers mocking a disfigured woman was incorrectly reported by Beauchamp to have occurred in Baghdad, but was found to have occurred in Kuwait.

Much of the challenge to the Diarist postings was fueled by The Weekly Standard and conservative bloggers. The Standard reported this week that an anonymous source said Beauchamp had recanted his articles in a sworn statement. But the Army PAO, Maj. Steven F. Lamb, told TNR editors that he had "no knowledge" of such an admission.

The Army, which cut Beauchamp's phone and computer privileges, has refused to offer details of its investigation. Beauchamp is married to a TNR copy editor.

CSM DISCOVERS CSR.

A Christian Science Monitor op-ed piece maintains that while corporate social responsibility programs used to be viewed as "superficial PR stunts," they are now considered by business leaders as ways to earn more money and build market share.

The piece called "The Social Responsibility Revolution" features programs by General Electric, Toyota and Wal-Mart. The retailer's "Sustainability 360" program geared to cutting packaging and energy use is going to save Wal-Mart millions of dollars.

The CSM piece penned by Bruce Piasecki makes the case that superior product quality and pricing no longer are the key drivers to success in the global economy. His book, "World Inc.," is based on the notion that companies that meet challenges presented by climate change, poverty, and energy security will gain an edge on competitors.

(Media news continued on next page)

N.Y. TIMES TRIMS SIZE; READERS VENT.

The New York Times published mixed feedback from readers on Aug. 7 about the smaller size of the paper and the decision to publish fewer letters in print. The paper reduced the width of its pages by 1.5 inches on Aug. 6 to cut printing costs.

The Times said it will be publishing more letters to the editor online, now that fewer are published in print because of the size reduction.

"In giving up space for letters to the editor in the printed paper, you've sacrificed not just an inch and a half in page width but also a significant amount of important civil discourse," wrote reader Jane O'Shaughnessy.

"Slight modifications in design preserve the look and texture of The Times, with all existing features and sections and somewhat fewer words per page," read a front-page statement about the changes.

"'Oh my God, this can't be my newspaper!' I yelled at my husband and three cats," wrote Helen Oelrich. "It doesn't feel right. How can I read this? I feel lost. Help!"

Francis Wodgers wrote to the paper: "Just like The Times, I seem to be getting smaller as I age (74). We like to think that we are still just the same, though maybe a tad wiser. It is not the size of the package but what is in it."

Times outs Fake Steve Jobs

Times reporter Brad Stone, in an Aug. 6 article, unveiled the identity of the popular blogger "Fake Steve Jobs" to be Daniel Lyons, a senior editor at Forbes magazine who lives near Boston.

Lyons said he was "stunned" it took more than a year for someone to track him down.

The blog, which presents a fictional diary of the Apple CEO, is to be incorporated into Forbes.com this fall.

Times reporter John Markoff was given credit for assisting with Stone's Aug. 6 story.

People ___________________________

Susan Davis, a Congressional reporter for Roll Call, has joined WSJ.com as its lead reporter for the Washington Wire blog.

Oakland Post editor Chauncey Bailey, 57, was gunned down on Aug. 2 at point-blank range as he walked to work that morning. Bailey was reportedly working on a story for the weekly Post about the financial struggles of a local bakery which, police said, is a headquarters for a local gang. A 19-year-old handyman who worked at that store, Your Black Muslim Bakery, has confessed to the slaying, but police said they suspect he didn't act alone.

Bailey earlier was a reporter for the Oakland Tribune and Detroit News.

John O'Dell, a reporter and editor for the Los Angeles Times, has been named senior editor for automotive web publisher Edmunds Inc.

O'Dell is focusing on the auto industry's environmental efforts and is charged with covering topics like hybrid cars, alternative fuels, and gas-saving efforts. Much of that work will center on Edmunds' Green Car Guide, www.edmunds.com/fueleconomy/index.html.

Hank Boye, GM of the National Journal Group, has been named publisher of the Harvard Business Review. He is slated to join on Sept. 4.

Previously, Boye was an engagement manager at McKinsey & Company in Pittsburgh.

He will be based at the HBR's Watertown, Mass., headquarters, but will split his time between Boston and the magazine's New York offices, where the advertising sales team is based.

The monthly magazine reports a worldwide circulation of 242,000 across international editions.

Briefs ____________________________

The Census Bureau has launched a new website, business.census.gov, to help businesses understand the economic census and how it benefits them. The site includes economic snapshots of industries and business facts and ratios about every sector. The economic census is conducted every five years and more than four million businesses will get forms later this year for the 2007 Economic Census.

The New York Times has brought the popular "Freakonomics" blog into its website at www.nytimes.com/freakonomics. The blog is written by "Freakonomics" authors Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt and is included in the online "Opinion" section of The Times. Melissa Lafsky, previously of The Huffington Post, is the blog's newly appointed editor.

National Lampoon has launched a sports blog, the National Lampoon Splog!, nationallampoonsplog.com. NL is building on its "National Lampoon's Sports Minute or So" webcast.

Mariah Media has launched a digital edition of lifestyle magazine Outside. The company is planning a digital edition of its Outside's Go title for affluent man in September. Zinio is handling the digital projects for MM.

BusinessWeek.com said it received more than one million podcast downloads in June, the first time it has topped that mark. Podcasts were downloaded 1,043,487 times for the month. "The Welch Way," which has Jack & Suzy Welch answering readers' questions, and "The Cover Story," which has interviews with the writers and editors on the week's cover story in the magazine, led the charge.

Scientific American is now offering a mobile Internet site for anyone with a web-enabled mobile device. The site has free news and other features.

Gannett CEO Craig Dubow wrote a memo to staffers to kill “unwarranted speculation” in the blogosphere that the newspaper chain is for sale. He said Gannett—like other media—is facing tough times, but is “actively and aggressively moving forward with its strategic plan.” He plans to unveil “some interesting new approaches to innovation in the fall.”

“Corporate social responsibility” and “Sustainability 360” are sweeping the big biz world according to the Aug. 8 Christian Science Monitor.

Sustainability means maintaining the environment while producing products (don’t leave a “mess” behind) and the “360” means good corporate behavior to all including employees, communities, customers, associates, etc.

Corporate PR, which has been reclusive and defensive in recent years, is charging back with an all-out campaign to show the public that the giant companies are “good people.”

Consultant and author of six books Bruce Piasecki wrote in the Monitor that companies are finding that good citizenship means more profits.

He feels an “historic change” is taking place as the big companies (29 of the 100 world’s largest economies are companies, not nations) “build new profit centers by bringing socially responsible products and processes to the marketplace.”

Says Piasecki: “Something extraordinary is happening in the global marketplace that defies classic principles taught at virtually every business school.”

As an example, he notes that General Electric is touting its “green” activities and that “friendly” CEO Jeff Immelt has replaced “hard-edged” Jack Welch (once known as “Neutron Jack” because of his staff-cutting habits).

Other examples are Toyota’s hybrid engines that reduce pollution (helping to propel Toyota past General Motors) and Wal-Mart’s company-wide “Sustainability 360” program unveiled by CEO Lee Scott in February.

One of the U.S. leaders in the CSR movement is Coca-Cola ($24 billion in sales), whose website is replete with descriptions of socially responsible behavior in the marketplace, workplace, community and environment. Coke just released its 2007 Environmental Report detailing “water stewardship,” “sustainable packaging,” and “energy and climate protection” in 200+ countries. It has 55,000 employees. The company’s program includes having good relationships with local communities.

It was in this vein that Tom Mattia, director of worldwide PA and communications and SVP of Coke, spoke Aug. 8 to 160 at PRS/Georgia (No. 2 with 900+ members). Mattia, formerly in top PR positions at EDS, Ford Motor, Hill & Knowlton and IBM, apologized that no one from Coke had spoken to PRS/Georgia in 12 years and for Coke’s lack of chapter support, which he said is changing. Coke only had four members in 2005 but now has 18. Mattia said Coke is going high visibility and that was why he was there. He will appear every year if invited.

So we were astounded when the PRS nomcom rejected the candidacy of Coke director of communications Ray Crockett for S.E. director and picked, instead, Phil Tate, VP/account services of the marketing/ad/PR firm of Luquire George Andrews. Tate is not even full time on PR, according to the firm’s website, which lists Judi Wax as SVP-PR and David Coburn as VP-PR. The nomcom has stiffed one of the bluest of the blue chips in favor of yet another small or solo-practitioner firm. It had already dumped UTC’s Tony D’Angelo in favor of Mike Cherenson, who heads the PR unit of an ad agency.

In another noxious move, the nomcom (headed by 2005 president Judith Phair), rejected Marlene Neill, an employee of the City of Waco, Texas, who was the only candidate from the S.W. This is the first time a nomcom has turned down an unopposed district candidate. Neill, with 12 years in PR and an M.A. student at the University of Missouri journalism school, is at least as qualified as Kathryn Hubbell of AdScripts, Missoula, Mont., who was unopposed for N. Pacific district. She has 17 years in PR and lists one assistant. S.W. candidates now need 25 signatures of 2007 Assembly delegates by Sept. 20 but there is as yet no 2007 delegate list. Otherwise, the board can appoint a director who reflects its views.

Fierce personal politics and jealousies have again marred the nomcom process and harmed not only PRS itself, but the PR industry. D’Angelo was a dead duck as chair-elect from Day One. Cherenson would never have tried to skip from secretary to chair-elect without assurances it was in the bag. He made room for Rosanna Fiske to come back on the board as treasurer in violation of the spirit of PRS bylaws. D’Angelo made enemies when he headed the investigation of the 2004 nomcom that jumped Cheryl Procter-Rogers from director to president-elect over treasurer Maria Russell without traditional service as either secretary or treasurer. Procter-Rogers as well as her “best friend” Debra Miller are both on the 2007 nomcom. There were charges that the 2004 nomcom, headed by Joann Killeen with assistance from Reed Byrum, 2003 president, counted the ballots in secret and destroyed them. Killeen has said there was no doubt about the nomcom’s wishes and no one objected when the results were announced. Tempers ran high at a 2004 board meeting in New York and there were reports D’Angelo was physically threatened by another director. Killeen had her attorney send board members a letter demanding that negative discussions about her role in the nomcom be halted. Del Galloway, 2004 president, created a “Blue Ribbon” task force to study not only alleged nomcom abuses in 2003 and 2004 but all governance of PRS. A study was started but shelved. The topic of governance was dropped by succeeding boards.

Prof. Bill Sledzik of Kent State blogged Aug. 8 that after 25 years in PRS he is ready to quit, the last straw being Mia Farrow as opening speaker at the PRS conference in Philadelphia Oct. 21. Sledzik, a Fellow, does not want his $400 dues to help pay for “celebrity keynoters” no matter what their “humanitarian work” may be. He lost interest in PRS when its programs, locally and nationally, were not as “interesting or well-researched” as his own classroom materials. He hears IABC “has no special value for senior pros, either.” Sledzik said he does plenty of networking now on the web, which used to be PRS’s chief attraction. He agrees that excluding non-APRs from office-holding is a “problem” at the Society…PRS, while claiming to be interested in blue chips on the board, has now chased away UTC, Coke, Hitachi, Kaiser Permanente and Scripps, leaving internal PR staffer Christopher Veronda of Eastman Kodak as the sole corporate rep.

--Jack O'Dwyer