COAL GROUP SEEKS PR FIRMS.

Americans for Balanced Energy Choices, a well-funded coal industry group, is prospecting for PR help in two states and on the national level as it pitches coal as an “essential, affordable and increasingly clean” energy fuel. The Alexandria, Va.-based group issued RFPs for work in both Pennsylvania and Nevada for help in targeting the public, politicians, interest groups, and the media.

Steve Gates, senior communications director for ABEC, told O’Dwyer’s that the group is also in the beginning stages of talking to firms about PR efforts on a national level. He welcomed input from firms about those plans but said ABEC has not had time to draw up an RFP for that work.

The National Journal has reported that the coal industry and its allies agreed to up ABEC’s PR, grassroots and advertising war chest from about $8M a year to $30M a year.

Proposals for the Nevada PR were due by Oct. 1, while the Pennsylvania RFP carries a deadline of Oct. 9. Gates ([email protected]) said he was interested in hearing from firms with ideas for national outreach.

MGA Communications, Denver, worked with the ABEC in the past, before it had an in-house PR staff. It now has four regional comms. heads.

LINCOLN GROUP CO-FOUNDER HITS ROAD.

Paige Craig, co-founder of the Lincoln Group, has launched GoNowDo, an entity that he believes will revolutionize the travel business.

The LG was the Pentagon’s “go-to” firm in Iraq.

The start-up is billed as a social networking site that will report from the four corners of the world.

Craig told O’Dwyer’s that he remains chairman of LG. “I’m also investing in early technology start-ups in Silicon Valley,” he said.

GoNowDo is looking for travel partners and investors, plus individuals interested in hosting future travelers.

LG, according to Craig’s bio posted on the GoNowDo site, closed over $60M in business and also served clients in Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait, Indonesia, Pakistan and Australia.

odwyerpr.com has launched a blog on PR at odwyerpr.com/blog that will feature the thoughts of editors about what we consider the most pressing PR and public affairs issues of the day.

You may disagree with us more often than not. Please join the conversation.

F-H TALKS FOR TURKEY.

Fleishman-Hillard has a $113,683 per-month contract to represent the Government of Turkey.

The six-month pact went into effect following the Aug. 28 parliamentary election of Abdullah Gul as the country’s new president. Gul, who heads an Islamic party, has raised fears that Turkey will move from its secular heritage.

Turkey’s military, which has staged four coups since 1960, has warned of factions that have been attempting to “corrode the secular nature of the Turkish Republic.” The country’s armed forces also have threatened to pursue Kurdish separatists into Iraq’s Kurdish region.

F-H has agreed to provide Turkey with PR and communications services that must at first be okayed by the Government. Work may include media relations, stakeholder outreach and online programs. F-H staffers will meet with the client on a bi-monthly basis.

KINGSLEY GIVES UP REINS ON PMK.

Pat Kingsley, whom the Los Angeles Times called the "grande dame of Hollywood spin," is relinquishing the reins atop PMK/HBH after 27 years to handle client work. Partners Cindi Berger and Simon Halls are taking over operations of the Interpublic-owned shop for Kingsley, who is 75.

Kingsley told the L.A. Times: "We are now a conglomerate and it's daunting. I want to be involved in the creative aspects of working with clients. That is what I enjoy."

PMK/HBH has offices in Hollywood and New York. It merged with Huvane Baum Halls in 2001.

WALNUT INDUSTRY REVIEWS PR ACCOUNT.

The California Walnut industry has begun an RFP process to review its $2.5M PR account for 2008. The industry, which is marketed through the Walnut Marketing Board (federal) and California Walnut Commission (state), is comprised of 4,000 growers and 57 handlers.

Torme Lauricella PR is the incumbent for the contract, which must be re-bid every three years.

The account covers outreach to consumers, health professionals and the media with the overall goal of boosting consumption of California walnuts in the U.S.

The RFP covers the marketing year from Sept. 1, 2008 to Aug. 31, 2009 with two possible extension years.

The current budget breaks down to $1.65M from the WMB and $900K from the CWC for PR.

Michelle McNeil, marketing director, is overseeing the RFP ([email protected]). Proposals are due Nov. 2.

B-M RUNS ‘STEALTH’ PUSH FOR MICROSOFT.

Burson-Marsteller is waging a “behind the scenes” campaign on behalf of Microsoft to defeat archrival Google’s $3.1B acquisition of DoubleClick, the company that helps clients place and track online advertising.

The WPP Group unit also established I-comp.org (Initiative for Competitive Marketplaces) as a discussion forum to hammer out privacy and competition issues, according to a page 4 report in the Sept. 26 Wall Street Journal.

Icomp, according to its website, is a “joint initiative sponsored by Microsoft and B-M to highlight principles in online services and important industry discussions around copyright, privacy and competition.”

It is staffed by B-M people in New York (Kathryn Yontef), San Francisco (Carolyn Dealey) and London (Jonathan Dinkeldein and Pernille Goodall).

B-M’s CEO Mark Penn is an advisor to Microsoft. The cover of his book, “Microtrends,” features a blurb from Microsoft’s Bill Gates.

Gates wrote that Penn has a “keen mind and a fascinating sense of what makes America and the world tick, and you see it on every page.

CLINTON PLUGS ‘GREEN BRACELETS.’

JLM PR reports that President Clinton raised $25K for the Diamond Empowerment Fund when he was filmed wearing its green bracelet during the VH1 Save the Music gala at The Tent at New York’s Lincoln Center on Sept. 20.

DEF is the brainchild of entrepreneur Russell Simmons, founder of Def Jam Records and Phat Farm clothing line.

It contributes $20 to DEF from the sale of each $125 green bracelet sold by Simmons Jewelry Co. DEF’s funds are earmarked for economic and educational development in South Africa and Botswana.

Simmons met with Clinton backstage at the show and explained his DEF program.

He told the former president that SJC chief Scott Rauch promised to give DEF $25K if Clinton wore one on stage.

Clinton wore a bracelet and waved his wrist before the cameras, according to Janice Torres of JLM PR. The image was seen by millions of TV viewers, she added.

JLM reps both Simmons and his jewelry company.

VAN LULING MOVES TO N.E. UTILITIES.

Marie van Luling, a veteran of Bank Rhode Island; Manning, Selvage & Lee and Aetna Life & Casualty joined Northeast Utilities on Oct. 1.

As VP-communications, van Luling reports to Gregory Butler, senior VP and general counsel, of the Connecticut-based energy company that serves more than two million New England customers.

Van Luling handled PR, public policy, customer communications and advocacy development at the Rhode Island bank.

Earlier, she headed MS&L’s Boston office and led the corporate social responsibility practice.

She began her PR career at Aetna, rising to the senior VP-corporate affairs slot in an 11-year stint there.

MAINE BOAT BUILDERS SAIL WITH NMC.

Nancy Marshall Communications has won a competitive bidding process for a six-figure account to bolster Maine’s boat building and marine trades.

The sector is an important industry for the state and seen as key to its future economic growth. More than 450 companies and thousands of jobs are linked to the marine trades.

The $400K contract runs through February 2009 with an option year that could stretch to 2010. It was not immediately clear how many firms competed for the work.

NMC has worked with the Maine governor’s office, as well as the state’s economic development entity and Office of Tourism in the past.

The firm’s contract is with the Maine North Star Alliance, an effort setup by Gov. John Baldacci to support workforce programs last year in the wake of the announced closing of the Brunswick Naval Air Station in 2001.

NMC will handle statewide and international PR for the Maine boat building sector.

COLTON JOINS IPG’S LIFESTYLE GROUP.

Amy Colton, a founding member of the Marketing to Moms Coalition, has joined Interpublic’s Current Lifestyle Marketing unit in Chicago.

The agency designs grassroots campaigns, influencer outreach, word-of-mouth programs, social media efforts and brand revitalizations in order to reach today’s highly mobile consumers involved in a slew of various activities.

Colton, who ran Colton Communications, has worked on campaigns for Procter & Gamble, Kraft, Harley-Davidson and Ryland Homes.

The Moms Coalition works to trump the $1.7T buying power of mothers, money that is spent on themselves, families and businesses.

It bemoans the outdated media images of mothers as either frantic working women rushing home to tend to families, or as “superwomen” able to perfectly balance work and family.

HOPE-BECKHAM SCORES HUGHES.

Tom Hughes, senior VP-communications at Atlanta Spirit, is joining Atlanta’s Hope-Beckham on Oct. 15.

He handled PR for the Spirit’s Atlanta Hawks (NBA), Atlanta Thrashers (NHL) and Philips Arena properties.

That effort included the Thrashers bid for a franchise and the launch of its `99-`00 debut season, induction of the Hawks’ Dominique Wilson to the Hall of Fame and building of the arena to house both teams.

Hughes (41) is a 15-year veteran of Ted Turner’s Turner Broadcasting System, which is a unit of Time Warner Co. He “transitioned” from TBS to AS following its purchase of the teams and arena in `04.

H-B president Bob Hope and chairman Paul Beckham are Turner veterans.

Hope was VP for the Atlanta Braves (MLB) and Hawks, while Beckham was involved with creation of the Superstation and CNN.

WELLINGTON NAMED RD PUB.

Jeff Wellington, president and group publisher of The Parenting Group since December '05, is moving to Reader's Digest as publisher on Oct. 22.

At Parenting since `98, Wellington guided its transition from Time Inc. ownership to Stockholm-based Bonnier Group. That deal was sealed in March.

Wellington reports to Eva Dillon, president of RD Inspiration and group publisher. RD publishes in 21 languages and reaches more than 80M readers in 60 countries.

NEWSDAY’S PHELPS TO LAT/D.C.

Timothy Phelps, who was Washington bureau chief for Newsday, is joining sister paper, Los Angeles Times, in the nation's capital.

He is investigative editor in charge of enterprise and project reporting.

Phelps has reported for the Baltimore Sun, Providence Journal, St. Petersburg Times and New York Times. He also co-authored a book about Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas' nomination battle.

Phelps, a U.S. Army veteran, joins the paper on Oct. 29. He will report to Doyle McManus, bureau chief.

CBS CREATES ‘EYELAB.’

CBS is unveiling "EyeLab," a website that will feature short clips of its programs free of charge.

The Wall Street Journal reports EyeLab runs counter to network competitors who are focused on getting their full-length shows on the web.

Quincy Smith, president of CBS Interactive, says his network's research shows that less than a third of CBS' web audience want entire programs on the web.
CBS likened EyeLab content to the videos that air on YouTube, which played a role in its development.

The WSJ reports the CBS was inspired by a video on YouTube called "Endless Caruso One Liners" that carries "pat catchphrases from scene crimes" made by the star of "CSI Miami."

The seven-minute video has been viewed more than a million times.

ECHOSTAR GETS SLING.

EchoStar Communications, which serves more than 13.5M customers via its Dish Network, is acquiring Sling Media for $380M.

SM's "Slingbox" is billed as a "place-shifting" device that enables people to watch TV shows whenever or wherever they want.

The company's Sling Entertainment Group is working with content creators and owners to develop programming such as Clip + Sling to give people clips and segments of their favorite TV shows.

EchoStar was an early investor in SM, as was Hearst Corp. and Allen & Co.

The Englewood, Col.-based company also announced that it may split into two publicly traded companies. EchoStar would continue to run the Dish network, while spinning off its technology and infrastructure group, which is the leading developer of digital video recorders.

SONY’S BAER TO CBS FILMS.

Amy Baer, executive VP-production at Sony Corp.'s Columbia Pictures unit, has joined the fledgling CBS Films operation as CEO.

CBS chief Les Moonves announced in March plans to produce up to six films a year with budgets capped at $50M each. Baer will handle development, production, distribution and marketing of the pictures.

Prior to joining Columbia, Baer worked at TriStar Pictures for five years, moving up to chief of production. She also worked at Guber-Peters Entertainment.

Baer is paired with CBS Films COO Bruce Tobey who has been handling financial, legal and video distribution matters relating to the new unit.

He also is in charge of lining up financial partners.

ABC NEWS REVAMPS.

ABC News chief David Westin has named WABC (New York) general manager Dave Davis executive VP, programming in an effort to centralize operations.

The move frees up Paul Slavin, who was senior VP-worldwide news gathering for domestic and foreign bureaus, to concentrate on digital operations.

Davis, who turned around the Big Apple station, takes charge of ABC News programs such as "Good Morning America," "20/20," "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," "PrimeTime," "Nightline" and "World News."

DISCOVERY CHANNEL MOVES TO IPO.

Discovery Holdings, the parent of the cable network that reaches 1.5B people worldwide, is negotiating with Advance/Newhouse Communications to obtain its 34 percent stake in Discovery Communications.

The plan, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, would give A/NC DH shares, and pave the way for a public stock holding of DC.

David Zaslav, the former president of NBC Universal's cable operations who joined DC in January, has been whipping the place into shape. His major moves include slashing payroll by 25 percent, and shuttering the more than 100 Discovery Stores.

DC's properties include Animal Planet, Military Channel, Travel Channel and Science Channel.

ECONOMIST BUILDS ONLINE ‘BUZZ.’

The Economist has identified 100 top political bloggers and provides them content before the material is published, Mike Seery, chief information officer of The Economist Group, told the AOP forum in London.

The goal is to build a "buzz around the thing before it's there" in print, he told the audience. The tips also generate a lot of traffic to the magazine's site.

Dennis Berman, who was mergers & acquisitions reporter at the Wall Street Journal, is now the deals editor at the paper. The Deal Journal appears in the Deals & Dealmakers page in the Money & Investing section of the paper. The Dow Jones unit will name an M&A reporter to replace Berman, who joined the paper in `01. He is a BusinessWeek alum.

(Media news continued on next page)

BLOOMBERG LP SUED FOR DISCRIMINATION.

Bloomberg LP, the financial media giant founded by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has been sued for allegedly discriminating against pregnant women who took maternity leave.

The case filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan charges that women who announced they were pregnant were replaced with more junior male staffers. They also say that their job responsibilities were reduced.

Bloomberg says the suit is meritless and that it will vigorously defend itself.

DILENSCHNEIDER IS ‘STRAIGHT TALKER.’

Bob Dilenschneider carries some Excedrin tablets with him into some tough client meetings and hands them to the client if he/she gets worked up over his counsel, according to a Newsweek (Oct. 1) profile of The Dilenschneider Group CEO.

"I ask them if they'd like to take some and calm down before we go further," said Dilenschneider to Newsweek editor-in-chief Richard Smith in the piece that is headlined "Straight Talker."

Dilenschneider said it was an easy decision to leave the CEO post at Hill & Knowlton because he became bogged down in administrative work.

He left at the urging of friends to "get back out and do what I really liked doing, which was advising top executives."

In describing his work, Dilenschneider said: "The court of public opinion is very important and it creates a premium" for a company's stock and stakeholders. His job is to maximize that premium.

He also helps clients in tough situations to "get out of scrapes as quickly and elegantly as they possibly can."

VERIZON REVAMPS 'CENSORSHIP' POLICY.

Verizon Wireless made an "incorrect decision" when it decided to reject a text message from abortion rights group NARAL, according to a statement released Sept. 27 that was attributed to spokesperson Jeffrey Nelson.

The New York Times ran a front page feature the same day about VW's refusal to run NARAL's program.

Nelson said senior VW executives have reviewed the NARAL case, and decided that it was an incorrect interpretation of a "dusty internal policy." The company has "fixed the process that led to this isolated incident."

The Verizon/Vodafone venture initially told NARAL it turned down the text because its does not accept programs that promote an agenda or that may be deemed controversial or unsavory to any of its users.

The NARAL messages, however, are received by only those who have signed up for them.

Briefs ____________________________

John Nee has been promoted to senior VP-business development at DC Comics. He is expected to push for synergies with sister companies such as Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment and Warner Bros Digital Distribution. DC is the largest English-language comics publisher and home to Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.

NYTimes.com has started a new blog called "Shifting Careers," complementing the website's column of the same name for entrepreneurs and independent business owners. Marci Alboher, NYTimes.com's "Shifting Careers" columnist, writes the blog covering tools and tips for changing careers, reader success stories and Q&A forums with outside contributors.

Lawrence Ingrassia, business editor of the Times, said the blog is part of an effort to include more small business coverage.

Alboher is a former corporate lawyer who has written about workplace issues and careers for The Times since 2001.

BusinessWeek has compiled a list of the most powerful 100 people in sports. Rounding out the top 10 are, for 1 to 10: Roger Goodell, NFL commissioner; Tiger Woods; David Stern, NBA commissioner; George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN, ABC Sports, co-chair of Disney Media Networks; Bud Selig, Major League Baseball commissioner; Brian France, chairman and CEO of NASCAR; Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports & Olympics; Phil Knight, chairman of Nike; Sean McManus, president of CBS News and Sports, and Rupert Murdoch, chair/CEO of News Corp.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch said it has completed an offering of early retirement incentives to the first 60 staffers who accepted. The deal includes cash payouts and enhanced retirement benefits and was geared toward 50+-year-old employees who had been at the Post-Dispatch for at least 10 years.

The paper, which is owned by Lee Enterprises, said its annual savings from its early retirement program is estimated to be up to $4.4M.

CNET is calling for entries for its "Best of CES" Awards at the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Each year, CNET editors receive hundreds of entries from companies hoping to be selected as one of the hottest products at the show. Submission is free and can be accessed through an online form at http://www.cnet.com/best-of-ces. The deadline to submit is November 30, 2007. Awards are given in 10 categories, including Best of Show and the People’s Voice. The winners of the Best of CES awards are selected by the CNET editors, who are looking for the most innovative product that will set the standard from which all other products are measured in the coming year.

Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, part of healthcare publisher Wolters Kluwer Health, said it will take over publishing of the Journal of Investigative Medicine, covering the field of clinical and scientific research as the official journal of the American Federation for Medical Research (AFMR). LWW takes over with the January 2008 issue of the journal, which is published eight times a year, including two regional meeting abstract issues.

PR education is undergoing a healthy discussion on blogs and websites and we hope it will lead to changes. On the chopping block is whether anyone should study PR at the undergraduate level.

The larger argument is whether there should be any vocational courses in college at all. Fans of Allan Bloom (“Closing of the American Mind”) argue there shouldn't.

They ask: why go to a fancy restaurant and order hamburgers or hot dogs when you can have esoteric, far healthier dishes at the same price?

Tens of thousands of youths are studying "PR" when the term has all but disappeared from corporations (replaced by "communications"). Media attack PR constantly and nine books on PR have "spin" in their titles.

Are 18-year-olds being sold a bill of goods (at $25K/year and up) by people who should know better?

Our take is that PR is a sophisticated, complex set of activities, many of them conducted in deep secrecy.

On the corporate side, confidentiality is so important that some PR pros think "corporate diplomacy" best captures today's "walking on eggs" atmosphere. PR recruits soon learn that there are things they're supposed to know and things they're not supposed to know or even ask about.

Gathering intelligence and working behind the scenes (such as to kill or at least soften a negative story) are so much a part of a PR person's job that it starts to resemble espionage and counter-espionage.

Editors of The Oklahoman told the local PRS chapter last year that a big problem is PRS members who go to the ad dept. or publisher to get stories yanked or changed. This goes on "daily" and it "gets me angry and my bosses angry," columnist Steve Lackmeyer told a chapter lunch.

We've been reading spy novels lately and find the level of secrecy in PR is similar to that in intelligence. Spies often do not know what fellow spies are up to. One problem with "public diplomacy" and "corporate diplomacy" is that the separation of diplomacy and spying is often not clear. PR veterans say overseas PR pros are "prime prospects" for CIA work. Also, "anything goes" in spying since you're dealing with "the enemy." Spies can be recruited by blackmail (seduce a bureaucrat, threaten exposure) or with lots of cash. Harlot's Ghost (1,400 pp) by Norman Mailer is the definitive work on the CIA.

Before studying PR, students should have access to both the positives and negatives of this career. Best way is via odwyerpr.com and other PR websites including the most critical. This is no time for censorship. PR textbooks provide a "peaches-and-cream" view of PR and need a reality check. Wikipedia's section on PR quotes the Encyclopedia of PR by Robert Heath as saying that PR helps organizations to achieve "mutually beneficial relationships." Audiences and the press don't want "relationships" but rather the straight facts and their questions answered.

We're disappointed when a PR professor won't talk to us. Prof. Karen Russell of the Univ. of Georgia last week blogged: "Why I'm not returning Jack O'Dwyer's phone call." It was quickly sent to us by other bloggers. Russell said she was busy with a three-hour class on "PR Writing." We'd like to know what she teaches since writing skills of PR and other grads are said to be lacking by PR employers. Editors are interested in the materials in press releases but even more so in contact points. Can the writer make sources available? Russell teaches PR is public service and PR pros are "public servants."

For an example of how PR is conducted, students should study the current behavior of the largest collection of PR people in the U.S.—the PR Society.

Elected chair Rhoda Weiss has so far this year addressed only one of the 15 largest chapters—her home chapter of Detroit, which will host the 2008 annual conference of PRS. But what of the other 14 including New York, the biggest single-city chapter with about 600 members; National Capital, the biggest with nearly 1,200; Georgia, second biggest with 900; Chicago, fourth biggest with 500+, and Los Angeles, fifth biggest with 500+? Weiss has been in hiding from most of the members through most of her tenure. She has answered no questions of any reporter on PRS itself (finances, APR program, student society, governance reform, "PR for PR," etc.) or the Princeton Review's advice against PR courses. Ditto for "President" Bill Murray, paid staff head, who has spoken to only one chapter since arriving Jan. 22. His only "interview" was with Auburn PR students who chided him for being unknowledgeable and unresponsive.

Information flow to the members is at its lowest point ever. The binder to 2007 Assembly delegates did not even list the delegates nor are they on the PRS website. PRS has refused to give members transcripts’ of the ’05 and ’06 Assemblies. Despite the arrival of Phil Bonaventura as CFO, there has been no filing of IRS Form 990, no Foundation financials on the PRS website (as of last week), and no PRS financials in the Assembly binder (when there used to be). A non-member was hired for a PR post, again proving members are virtually barred from their own h.q. (only two of the 55 staffers). Censorship and lack of interaction mar the PRS website. A proposal to squash the ten districts into five "regions" is being debated in a private e-group barred to regular members. Mike Holoweiko's proposal to model PRS governance on the ABA and AMA, made in 2006, was not allowed on the PRS website or in any PRS publication. He sent it to the 109 chapters but we know of none that used it. No other chapter supported it publicly. Art Stevens, 2006 president of PRS/N.Y., refused to put it on the chapter website, saying he would follow the structure of PRS in which power flows from the national board to chapter boards to members. This confirmed Holoweiko's main complaint: PRS is run from the top-down, like a corporation, rather than from the membership up, like an association should be run.

--Jack O'Dwyer