Happy Holidays to all our readers. The next issue of the newsletter will be Jan. 6. Follow breaking news on odwyerpr.com.

SECRET SERVICE WANTS PR HELP

The U.S. Secret Service, which took a PR beating after a couple was widely seen as crashing an exclusive White House event, has issued an RFP for help with its internal and external communications.

The RFP was released on Dec. 17 under orders from the Office of the Director of the Secret Service, Mark Sullivan. The Service is part of the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security.

Sullivan has ordered a "communication review and strategy development" effort throughout the service, which is partly complete.

The law enforcement agency, which has a dual role of presidential/VIP security and policing counterfeiting, is looking for a PR agency that can handle "sensitive" but no classified information, although all personnel on the account must be U.S. citizens with no dual citizenship. Staffers must also pass a Secret Service background check.

It wants an agency to assess current challenges and create a detailed communications plan.

Tareq and Michaela Salahi drew widespread negative attention on the Service and the White House when they attended a White House state dinner in late November without an invitation. Three members of the Service have been placed on administrative leave by Sullivan.

Proposals are due Dec. 23. [email protected] is handling the RFP, which can be accessed via odwyerpr.com.

OGILVY SUPPORTS USO

Ogilvy PR Worldwide has won an AOR contract with the USO to a create a national PR campaign to enlist support for the service and military families.

Ogilvy was a finalist for the account in its last review in 2007, when CK PR beat the WPP firm and Brainerd Communications.

The United Service Organizations, self-described as the "bridge between the American public and the military," said it tapped Ogilvy to create a "signature campaign."

Lisa Ross, an executive VP for Ogilvy/D.C., said the firm will create an umbrella campaign to "encourage Americans to show their appreciation and express their gratitude for the men and women who defend us.” That includes PR support of programs like Operation Phone Home, USO Care Package and United Through Reading.

USO is a Congressionally chartered but private non-profit. It has overseas centers in several countries, including Afghanistan and Kuwait.

GILLETTE SHAVES WOODS FROM CAMPAIGNS

Tiger Woods sponsor Gillette has backed away a bit from the embattled golfer amid his PR crisis.

The Procter & Gamble unit and its firm, Porter Novelli, said Dec. 15 that Gillette will “limit” Woods’ role in its marketing campaigns, which have prominently featured the golfer alongside other top athletes like tennis ace Roger Federer, baseball’s Derek Jeter and soccer’s Thierry Henry.

“As Tiger takes a break from the public eye, we will support his desire for privacy by limiting his role in our marketing programs,” said a statement from Mike Norton, director of external relations for the brand, and Porter Novelli VP Jimmy Szczepanek.

Szczepanek told O’Dwyer’s the decision was made internally at Gillette adding “we are not at liberty to further discuss client matters.”

Gillette expressed “respect” for “the action Tiger is taking to restore the trust of his family, friends and fans,” continuing that “we fully support him stepping back from his professional career and taking the time he needs to do what matters most.”

Luxury watch marketer Tag Heuer on Dec. 21 said it will “modify” Woods’ role in its campaigns.

ARMANO JOINS EDELMAN

David Armano, who was at social business design start-up Dachis Group, has joined Edelman as senior VP-digital to team with its new media heavyweight Steve Rubel. They report to Rick Murray, president of Edelman Digital.

Armano worked at Omnicom’s Critical Mass prior to joining Austin-based Dachis. He also held posts at Digitas and Agency.com.

He writes the Logic + Emotion blog and is a contributor to Harvard Business Review and Bloomberg’s BusinessWeek. Armano believes the move provides a better fit for him and his family and sees privately held Edelman as “a global leader experiencing explosive growth.” He blogged about knowing Murray for some time and an eagerness to apply digital agency and start-up experience to work across every time zone, language, culture, industry and every conceivable audience.”

He is based in Edelman’s Chicago office.

HADLINGTON PREPARES ‘SECOND ACT’

Huntsworth CEO Peter Chadlington, who built Shandwick into a global brand before selling it to Interpublic, is mapping an aggressive strategy to expand his U.K.-based firm in the U.S.

This month’s $33.6M acquisition of Washington-based Dutko Worldwide is just the first step, Chadlington told O’Dwyer’s.

The U.S. accounts for 34 percent of Huntsworth’s $320M revenues. Chadlington wants U.S. revenues to account for half of the overall total. He predicts Huntsworth’s overall revenues to top the $500M mark within 18 months to two years.

Chadlington says everything is on the table. He’s considering big and small acquisitions in key U.S. markets. Those firms will go under the umbrella of Huntsworth's recently reinforced Grayling brand, which currently has revenues of $145M. Grayling and Dutko are already working on a half dozen shared clients.
Chadlington says the current expansion spree will differ than the build-up of Shandwick. He vows to be more conservative on the fiscal front, especially when it comes to earn-outs, and concentrate on some of the “soft issues,” like culture and training, that make mergers work.

Chadlington shares WPP Group chief Martin Sorrell's assessment of the market that things are “less worse than they were.” He expects “discretionary spending” (corporate image, corporate social responsibility programs) to remain in the doldrums in 2010. On the growth front, Chadlington is bullish on public affairs, healthcare, digital and investor relations.

COLLEGE SAVINGS PLANS SHOPS FOR PR

The College Savings Plans Network, which administers so-called 529 college tuition plans, is collecting proposals through early January for a national PR campaign to tout the organization and foster wider acceptance of the tax-free education savings plans.

The 529 plans, which receive special tax benefits and allow funds to be invested, are named after that section of the Internal Revenue Code which created the plans in 1996.

The CSPN is run by a group of state administrators as an affiliate of the National Association of State Treasurers, as well as by private-sector partners who administer the tuition plans.

The group, which issued an RFP on Dec. 11, is seeking several tenets from PR firms pitching its account, including building support for a national policy to protect 529s, promoting public awareness and understanding of the plans, building the CSPN's own brand, among other tasks.

Media relations, website evaluation, and seeking out alliances and partnerships are tactics outlined for achieving those goals.

Celtic Inc., Brookfield, Wisc., is the incumbent.

The awarded PR contract is expected to run from February 2010 through June 2011 with two year-long options. Proposals are due Jan. 11.

Chris Hunter, associate director of CSPN ([email protected]), based in Lexington, Ky., is overseeing the RFP, which is available at odwyerpr.com.

ALASKA SEEKS PR TO LIMIT ESA

Alaska’s legislature has allocated $1.5M and is seeking PR proposals for a two-year campaign to build support against changes to the Endangered Species Act based on climate change effects, which the state sees as economically harmful.

The Last Frontier says the designation of the polar bear as an endangered species, to name one example, is a threat to its economy. Gov. Sean Parnell has sued the federal government over its listing of polar bears as “threatened,” saying Washington is using the ESA as a way to shut down resource development in the state.

An RFP issued Dec. 14 calls for pitches to assemble an “Alaska Conference on Climate Change” with policy and PR experts participating, part of an effort to push the U.S. Congress to limit endangered species listings based on global warming effects. The RFP is posted on odwyerpr.com.

The firm of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in September had expressed interest in lobbying Congress with the multimillion-dollar budget, but the final RFP is structured to a more diverse PR effort.

The state wants a PR firm experienced in producing panels “charged with articulating conclusions as a basis for further efforts in achieving public policy goals.”

The winning bidder must put together a panel for the event, produce benchmark reports on the conference's findings, and summarize how the effort may or may not have affected policymakers. The information would then be used to try to spark a grassroots effort to support the state's position that changes to the ESA would be economically harmful.

The winning firm must also assist the state in preparing testimony before the state legislature and U.S. Congress, and develop a plan to enlist other states.

SHINNECOCKS HIT JACKPOT WITH F-H

Fleishman-Hillard’s International Government Relations Group is registered as lobbyist for Long Island's Shinnecock Indian Nation.

The New York Times reported last week that the Shinnecocks are on the cusp of gaining federal recognition as a tribe, a designation needed to allow the Southampton-based Indians to open a casino.

IGRG’s Rodney Capel, Democratic operative, is leading the charge for the nearly 1,100-member tribe that filed its petition for recognition in 1978. IGRG began working for the Shinnecocks in April.

Capel is former deputy chief of staff to New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, first African-American executive director of the New York State Democratic Committee and former aide to New York Senator Chuck Schumer and Rep. Charlie Rangel. He worked in the campaigns of Clinton/Gore, Gore/Lieberman and Kerry/Edwards.

According to his bio, Capel led the City Council’s effort to improve police/community relations in the aftermath of the Sean Bell shooting.

IGRG is the base of top New York State Republican advisors. Kieran Mahoney, managing partner, was political strategist for former Governor George Pataki and Senator Al D'Amato. Michael McKeon, co-chairman, was Pataki’s director of communications.

NET LOSS OF 150 MAGS IN ‘09

More than 150 more magazines were shuttered than launched in 2009, according to a tally by Oxbridge Communications.

In total, 428 magazines were shut down in 2009 while 275 were launched.

Regional titles were the majority category of both launches and closings this year accounting for 21 new titles (B-metro Birmingham) and 34 (Atlanta Life, Denver Living) which pulled the plug.

Trish Hagood, president of Oxbridge, said there is still some strength in the regional, health and food categories of magazines.

Representative of the mixed results for the year was the food category. Hearst’s Food Network Magazine was considered among the top launches in 2009 as it counts more than one million readers. But in the same sector, Gourmet Magazine was shut down after 68 years with a circulation topping 900K.

Business magazines took a solid hit this year with 16 closings, including BusinessWeek Small Biz, Conde Nast Portfolio and Fortune Small Business. Lifestyle and real estate were also battered with 14 closing in each, according to Oxbridge’s MediaFinder.com database.

Other major casualties in 2009 included National Geographic Adventure, Metropolitan Home, Domino and Teen.

Several titles ceased print editions while continuing on the web in 2009, including Blender, Vibe, Purpose Driven Connection and Giant.

BLUMENSTEIN IN FOR DEOGUN AT WSJ.COM

Rebecca Blumenstein is the new international editor at the Wall Street Journal's website, replacing Nik Deogun, who is pursuing opportunities in television. She was managing editor.

Blumenstein had been international news editor and China editor and is “acutely conscious of our digital potential, which she will continue to realize with her customary vigor and creativity,” said editor-in-chief Robert Thomson in a memo.

He believes the Journal “now has by far the most comprehensive international coverage.”

Kevin Delaney replaces Blumenstein as managing editor. He was deputy managing editor since July 2008 in charge of commissioning content, and forging outside partnerships.

Earlier, he covered the technology beat for the WSJ in San Francisco and Paris.

E&P TO PUBLISH JAN. EDITION

Editor & Publisher said Tuesday that it will publish its next issue – January 2010 – due to “overwhelming reader and advertiser demand.”

In an online post, the magazine warned the issue could still be its last after 125 years, but said “a number” of companies and individuals have expressed interest in possibly keeping the publication going.

E&P parent Nielsen Co. said last week that the magazine would be shuttered at the end of December.

E&P staffers will continue online until Jan. 1.

VEZZA NAMED PUB OF S-L

Rich Vezza has been named publisher of Advance Publications’ Star-Ledger in Newark. He takes over for George Arwady, who is exiting to run The Republican in Springfield, Mass.

Vezza was running AP’s dailies in the Jersey towns of Jersey City, Bridgeton, Gloucester and Salem, plus a paper in Easton, Penn. He also headed weeklies such as the Hunterdon Democrat, Somerset Reporter, Suburban News and Independent Press.

A key goal of Vezza is to integrate the reporting of those papers with the Star-Ledger and Times of Trenton.

Vezza began his journalism career as night police reporter for the Hudson Dispatch.

WOODS CUT DEAL TO KILL STORY — WSJ

Tiger Woods agreed to a cover story with Men’s Fitness in 2007 in exchange for killing a story in sister publication, National Enquirer, about an alleged parking lot sexual encounter with a woman who wasn't his wife, according to the Dec. 18 Wall Street Journal.

American Media, owner of the publications, says the description of such a deal is “false” and “inaccurate,” but declined to explain the inaccuracies.

Woods was under contract with Golf Digest at the time of the Men’s Fitness story. Golf Digest editor Jerry Tarde was reportedly “mystified” about Woods’ interview and photo shoot with Men’s Fitness as GF, a Conde Nast publication, donated $1M a year to the Tiger Woods Foundation and sponsored tournaments in return for monthly articles on golf techniques.

The WSJ reports that Mindy Lawton, the woman who allegedly had the parking lot hook-up with Woods, sold her tale to London’s News of the World tabloid. Both the Journal and News of the World are owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

Lawton was banned from discussing her purported relationship with Woods until Dec. 20, according to her contract with News of the World.

MANCINI OUT AT NEWSDAY

John Mancini, editor-in-chief of Newsday, has left the Long Island paper owned by Cablevision. He is replaced by Debby Krenick, an eight-year veteran of the paper who was managing editor.

Mancini began his newspaper career at Newsday and has reported for the now defunct Long Island Voice and New York Post.

Newsday recently began charging $5 for its online content. The site is free for Cablevision cable subscribers.

USA Today film columnist Mike Clark is moving to trade publication Home Media Magazine. He’ll start writing in January.

The move to the home entertainment industry pub caps a 24-year career at USA Today.

Publisher and editorial director Thomas Arnold said Clark will help build its weekly print and online presence. Clark was previously director of the American Film Institute Theater in D.C.

(Media news continued on next page)

PW SORRY FOR COVER OFFENSE

Publishers Weekly’s editorial director apologized to readers after a cover image of an African-American woman featuring the headline “Afro Pics” drew criticism.

In an online post, PW senior news editor Calvin Read said the image was taken from a photograph of a woman whose hair full of Afro picks was selected from a new book reviewed in the issue, which was PW’s annual feature on African-American book publishing.

“The resulting response to the choice of that particular image and that coverline was not anticipated by the person most closely involved with this week’s cover,” wrote Read. “That person was me…”

Read included a statement from editorial director Brian Kenney expressing regret for those who objected to the cover. “My apologies to anyone who was offended by our cover – that certainly wasn’t our intent,” he said, adding that he was delighted so much attention was drawn to the powerful photograph and book.

Read said negative reaction was not "universal" and included a statement of support from the author of the book which contained the photo, Deborah Willis, chair of New York University’s photo department.

OVERHYPED FAILURES OF THE DECADE

“Overhyped” products that allegedly flopped in the past decade include the Segway “personal transporter,” Windows Vista by Microsoft, Heinz EZ Squirt green and purple ketchup and Jimmy Dean Chocolate Chip Pancake Wrapped Sausage on a Stick.

The list was compiled by businessinsider.com, which also added as failures Cocaine Energy Drink, Pontiac Aztec which was a smaller version SUV, and Frito Lay WOW potato chips that contained diarrhea-causing olestra.

The Large Hadron Collider in France and Switzerland, which seeks to discover new sub-atomic particles, was listed as a failure but comments to businessinsider noted the $8 billion Collider has had $21 million in repairs and is still in test.

Eric Fleming, director of marketing, Segway, said the company “certainly is not a flop.”

“Indeed it's difficult to travel to any major city and not see one of our products along the way – whether it’s used by an individual, business, or patrolling customer,” he said, adding that the company does not disclose sales figures.

HFM BANKS ON APPS

Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. has unveiled five new iPhone applications in a mix of free and premium content -- Elle Shopping Guide, Elle Astrology, Woman’s Day Cooking Assistant, Car and Driver Buyer’s Guide and Cycle World.

Todd Anderman, senior VP, digital media at HFM U.S., said the company is investing in apps that are being monetized through advertising and premium downloads, including branded apps that are both entertaining and informative, along with those that provide utility and location-based services.

The New York Times reported Dec. 15 that magazine publishers are using apps and tablet versions of publications to take control of the digital realm “after letting the Internet slip away from them.”

HFM said the Woman’s Day and Car and Driver apps are its first to be focused on providing a service and are free, ad-supported programs. Unilever/Knorr is backing WD, while Toyota has sponsored the C&D app.

The Elle Shopping Guide app is location-based and HFM is eying local ad dollars with it. Elle Astrology and CW are entertainment-oriented, premium apps that deliver content from the titles to subscribers.

PENTAGON PA NOMINEE FACES SENATE

President Barack’s Obama's nominee for the Dept. of Defense's top public affairs position said in a Senate hearing last week that he would review directives and issue any necessary guidelines to ensure reporters seeking to embed with the military are not profiled.

“I don't believe in any system that rates reporters based on a perception that their reporting is positive or negative,” said the nominee, Douglas Wilson, in response to committee's advanced policy questions. “In my view, we should never be a party to efforts to place so-called friendly reporters into embeds, while blocking so-called unfriendly reporters.”

Wilson, who sat before the Senate committee no Dec. 18, has been tapped by Obama to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, a post he served under as a deputy during the Clinton administration. He faced a relatively short round of questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee Dec. 17, but was confronted with two key military PR blunders during the Bush administration.

The committee's chairman, Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), raised the issue of the Pentagon's controversial PR effort established by the predecessor in the position Wilson seeks, which had retired military officials appear on TV news programs as well-informed surrogates without disclosing their briefings by the government.

Levin noted the issue is still under investigation but asked Wilson to comment.

“Access should be provided on an equal and balanced basis and if confirmed I do plan to review those policies,” said Wilson, who has chaired Harvard University's Public Diplomacy Collaborative and is an ex-foreign service officer.

Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) asked Wilson what his role would be in deciding whether to release detainee abuse photos, to which Wilson acknowledged that he would be involved in the decision.

Wilson also said the Armed Forces radio and TV networks have a responsibility to report fair and accurate programs and information.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who worked with Wilson on the staff of former Sen. Gary Hart in the early 1980s and on his 1984 presidential bid, introduced Wilson and spoke on his behalf.

She noted he handled strategic communications and PR for the Defense Dept. during the Clinton administration on issues like defense reform, base closures and NATO expansion.

IMRE PICKS UP RALEIGH PRESENCE

Baltimore agency Imre has hired two employees of the recently shuttered Catevo Group to establish a Raleigh, N.C., presence as its work with John Deere expands.

McGavock Edwards, a VP at Catevo, and Tracy Lathan, director of client services, join the firm as account manager and senior A/E, respectively.

Both will work on the Deere account (Imre is AOR), in addition to clients like Black & Decker and Verve Living Systems.

Imre recently added Deere’s commercial business to its slate, including products and services for residential, golf and sports, government entities and the military.

Catevo shut down on Nov. 13, four years after the firm was formed by the merger of PR shop Epley Associates and marketing firm Digiton.

Edwards is president of PRSA’s North Carolina chapter.

PETKUS OPENS SHOP

Doug Petkus, former VP-corporate communications at Wyeth, has set up his own shop to focus on healthcare PR and issues management. The move follows Pfizer’s $68B acquisition of Wyeth that was completed on Oct. 15.

Petkus served as Wyeth’s chief spokesperson and handled financial and disclosure matters. He also handled product recalls, litigation and PR for clinical studies.

Prior to Wyeth, he held key posts at Abbott Laboratories and Schering-Plough, which is now part of Merck. He did an eight-year stint at Hill & Knowlton in New York.

Petkus Communications Consultants (609/923-2838) offers a full range of services such as IR, media outreach, executive media training, message development, internal PR and speechwriting.

BRIEFS: Reputation Partners, Chicago, dispatched its corporate accountability practice leader, Jonathan Wootliff, to the Copenhagen climate talks last week to gather information for the firm and its partners in the Pinnacle Worldwide network of PR firms. Wootliff is a former comms. director for Greenpeace International and took part in the Kyoto talks during the 1990s and every global climate gathering since. Pinnacle member James Hoggan of Hoggan & Associates in Canada is also on the climate beat with his new book, “Climate Cover-Up: The Crusade to Deny Global Warming.” And The Vandiver Group, another PW member, published a global survey on corporations and sustainability that found 55 percent believing the issue will grow in importance and require more resources in the near future. Survey is at vandivergroup.com/pdf/sustainability_survery_results.pdf. ...CCG Investor Relations, New York, has aligned with Sao Paulo, Brazil-based MZ Consult Servicos e Negocios LTDa, an IR and financial comms. firm. CCG offers IR services to MZ’s South American-based clients, while MZ has made available its tech, data and consulting services to CCG clients in the U.S., China and Israel. ...

NFPA NEEDS VIDEO HELP

The National Fire Protection Assn. wants to hire a video firm to create an animated/live action piece and PSA to promote the use of smoke alarms.

The video is to debut during Fire Prevention Week, which commemorates the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, in October.

The video is run for 10-12 minutes and will educate the public about how working smoke alarms dramatically reduce the number of deaths in home fires. It will be distributed to local fire departments.

Information about smoke alarms is at www.nfpa.org/smokealarms.

The firm will develop messaging for the video/PSA, handle production/post production and create packaging design.

The total cost of the project is set at $40K.

Proposals are due Jan. 8 and the winning firm will be notified the following week. The finished video is due April 30.

Lorraine Carli, VP-communications at NFPA, has details at [email protected].

LEGAL EXPERTS FOR JOURNOS

SCG Legal PR Network is a service launched this year for journalists to post queries explaining stories and legal professionals they seek for comment.

The queries are emailed to a database of legal communications personnel with contact info and deadline.

The service is currently building a database of experts in the U.S. and abroad for reporters to use at no cost.

Cost for expert contributors ranges from $180/mo. up to more than $11K for an annual membership with 10 members. Info: www.scglegalprnetwork.com/journalists.

BRIEFS: Laurie Doppman, a media relations specialist for News Broadcast Network, has joined D S Simon Productions, New York, as an A/E in its digital media relations unit. Company president Doug Simon said client and media demand for Internet media tour services required him to add more resources. ...Civolution, which acquired the Teletrax digital watermarking service from Medialink this year, has partnered with Mikros image to provide watermarking for high definition signals in the 4:4:4 format in Europe. Mikros says it is the first to market the tracking service on the continent. ...PRWeb, part of Vocus, has inked partnerships with Zimbio, Earth Times, and BioPortfolio to distribute content on those sites. Vocus, meanwhile, has added Earthwatch Institute, a global environmental group, as a client of its PR software. The group wants to synchronize media relations among its geographically distributed staff. ...Richard DeLeo, regional VP for Business Wire in New York, has been named senior VP, policies and procedures, a new position in addition to his current role. He’ll work with COO Phyllis Dantuono to ensure editorial, legal and operations standards are followed.

The Tiger Woods fiasco was by far the biggest PR story of 2009 partly because almost no PR was practiced.

Instead of immediate truth-telling and press conferences, PR’s usual advice, we got lies and evasions from the start. This included the initial statement that a “minor car accident” had taken place and Tiger was “treated and released in good condition.” How “minor” is an accident where the driver ends up unconscious on the roadway and has to be intubated in a hospital? Timid, politicized police were of little help.

This was a catastrophic failure of one of PR’s main missions—intelligence gathering. Nike, Accenture, Gatorade, Tag Heuer, etc. look pretty dumb. Why didn’t these oh-so-smart companies know what was common knowledge years ago in certain bars, nightclubs and discos?

Because their “PR” folk don’t hang out in such places. They’re locked away in a company drawer somewhere. PR people used to dish with reporters but now head for home and family at 5 p.m. They don’t even see reporters during the day. Stiff, heavily-scripted PR behavior is out of sync with the way reporters knock around a topic, considering any and all speculation, skinny and scuttlebutt.

We agree with Frank Rich of the New York Times that “Tiger” is the real “Person of the Year,” because he epitomizes the bamboozling of the public by the banks, White House, Enron, Citigroup, Fannie Mae, etc. This was the “decade of the flimflam.”

PR pros are not presenting their case in a strong enough way vs. lawyers, financiers and marketers. They’re not getting any help from lawyer-dominated PR Society of America.

The media, and particularly TV sports programs that made so much money out of Tiger, are being accused of a massive cover-up. The New York Post claimed that the National Enquirer had evidence of a Tiger tryst in 2007 but traded it for a cover story in sister publication Men’s Fitness. Publisher American Media denied it. Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal reiterated the charges in a lengthy 12/18 story.

The Journal reported that sister paper News of the World, a tabloid of London, has dibs on the story and quoted its spokesperson as saying that such news “comes at a price” (to the woman involved). In other words, the people with the most money have the most access to truth. NYP sports columnist Phil Mushnick claimed many knew Tiger’s image “was baloney from Day One.”

Pew Research found that only 29% of Americans say media report accurately, down from 55% who said this in 1985. More people get their news from the internet than newspapers.

Sports Illustrated disappointed us with a headline that called Tiger’s mess “The Sadness.” Rage was a more appropriate emotion considering all those who had been shafted including the entire sport of golf. SI said the “prying tabloids” (oh, it’s our fault) will soon find another scandal to replace Tiger’s. SI also rapped the “tawdry tabloid feeding frenzy” and said months of “marital groveling” may save him.

Continued attempts to minimize Tiger’s philandering (Nike’s Phil Knight saying it will only be a “minor blip” on Tiger’s career) are wishful thinking. Dow Jones media measurement tools show skyrocketing mentions which track coverage of the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal that went on for years.

This was a story made for the web. Fed up with major media that insisted on covering other stories, those wanting the truth about Tiger glued themselves to the websites of Us Magazine, National Enquirer, etc.

Social media carried endless comments on the Tiger saga as PR service companies and PR trade groups offered an endless series of webinars and seminars on how to turn such media into a sales tool. WPP CEO Martin Sorrell has warned that social media are like a “dinner party” and introducing commercials can be fatal.

The NYT declared war on Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal in a Dec. 14 attack that accused the WSJ of becoming more “pro-business and anti-government” since Murdoch’s News Corp. purchased it two years ago. News Corp. responded that NYT is worried about a New York City edition of the WSJ that will debut next spring. News Corp.’s revenues of $30.1B dwarf those of the NYT’s $2.54B. WSJ circ. is 2M, up 0.6%, while NYT fell 7.3% to 927,851 (9/30 figures).

We would like both the NYT and WSJ to cover PR (or the lack of it) which has an immense impact on the flow of news and information (see Tiger Woods story above). It’s not an easy subject because of congenital secrecy but we have lots of materials for either publication.

Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter said a few hundred bankers committed what “may well turn out to be the greatest nonviolent crime against humanity in history, driving an estimated 200 million people worldwide into poverty.” He found no apologies were coming from the bankers.

NYT columnist Floyd Norris said CPAs let the nation down by allowing banks and others to hide bad investments in off-book cubbyholes. “Politics” in the accounting field is blocking reforms, he said. The NYT’s Paul Krugman on Dec. 14 blamed bankers who dismantled regulations set up in the 1930s after the Depression, resulting in the $300 billion S&L debacle for starters.

The U.S. public got drunk on euphemisms like “home equity loans” (i.e., second mortgages) and “subprime” mortgages (“predatory loans” or “liar loans”) that were quickly off-loaded to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, etc.

The American Assn. of Advertising Agencies, a name in use since 1917, became the “4A’s” because of the negative image of advertising. 4A’s president Nancy Hill, who succeeded longtime head Burtch Drake (all attempts to have lunch with him failed), said, “The common perception of our business continues to be so negative to so many people.”

Journalist Richard Sine said those who go to J-school might as well study “blacksmithing” or “bloodletting” since there are so few J-jobs. Nevertheless, 1,057 tried to enroll in the Columbia J-school and 412 were accepted. Tab: $72,182.

Recession hit the PR/ad trade press. PR Quarterly died in its 50th year. Editor & Publisher ditto in its 125th year. PR Week/U.S. became a monthly. PR News editor Courtney Barnes to MH (Mark Hass) Group. Jonah Bloom, executive editor, Ad Age, to Breaking Media blog network. Adweek was sold to venture capitalists.

PRQ was an outlet for PR pros and academics. Its articles were the second most copied by the PR Society for its info pack service (after O’Dwyer articles). The PRS service was closed in 1995 after we disclosed that permission was not sought from many copied authors.

IR vet Ted Pincus, noting that 51 PR firms opted to drop out of the 2008 O’Dwyer rankings apparently because of lower revenues, said the bedrock principle of financial reporting is consistency—reporting both good and bad. The ten biggest firms reporting 2008 fees were either up or even, led by Edelman’s 12% growth to $449M.

This year was the 20th anniversary of Michael Moore’s shocking “Roger and Me” documentary in which he chased after General Motors CEO Roger Smith. Dominant image of the film was Moore in the GM lobby trying to get past guards and PR staffers. GM’s employment plunged from a high of 880,000 to an expected 38,000 in the revamped company. GM’s PR was integrated with marketing in 1990.

PR counselor John Budd advised PR Seminar to skip this year’s meeting at the elegant Ritz Carlton at Laguna Niguel, Calif., or hold it in a big city like Chicago or Washington, D.C. Seminar met as usual but only 127 PR pros attended, down from the usual 160. Twenty of the 30 board members of Arthur W. Page Society are Seminarians.

Former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, who had a career in private business, said government PR people are far better informed about and active in policy than those in business. “You should be with your CEO in every meeting,” he told Page Society members.

In a switch, two movies showed reporters as public-spirited citizens—“State of Play” with Russell Crowe who unearthed a conspiracy, and “The Soloist” which showed Robert Downey Jr. helping a homeless musician.

PR grads who wrote to us after we gave about 60 of them our Directory of PR Firms said employers didn’t care what they majored in, only whether they had PR internships. Two internships were mandatory and three even better.

Newspaper analyst John Morton said 70% of the nation’s 1,422 dailies are solidly profitable and in no danger of collapse. He notes there are a few “high profile shutdowns.”

PR grad Joseph Burke, traveling and researching in China, wrote an essay for us about the importance of “guanxi” in that country. This means building personal relationships before any business can be transacted. This was once the approach of U.S. PR people to reporters. Reporter now chase PR pros.

Although PR Society chair Mike Cherenson believes journalists can’t join because they could not abide by the PRS code that demands “safeguarding confidences,” PRS is nevertheless promoting a “PR Boot Camp” for members ($595) and non-members ($695) including journalists who may be “transitioning.”

Cherenson told “For Immediate Release” blog that only “two or three” people wanted the transcript of the 2008 Assembly and that PRS had obeyed all state and federal laws as well as Robert’s Rules in not providing it to them.

PRS leaders spent most of the year on bylaws re-write. However, most major changes were rejected by the Assembly which continues to evade its duty of setting policy for the PRS board. Ignored are the governance practices of the ABA, AMA, AICPA, etc.

Jeff Julin, 2008 PRS chair, repeatedly defined PR as “building relationships” apparently with customers, potential customers, employees, stockholders, and other “stakeholders” in an organization. He did not mention building relationships with reporters, once the goal of PR pros.

Cherenson said “We can’t have 20% of the members (the APRs) telling the other 80% how we’re going to govern this organization.” But the APRs will never allow a democratic election because they would be immediately voted out by the 80%+ of members who are non-APR.

The Universal Accreditation Board announced the paltry results for the first six full years of its multiple-choice exam: 863 new APRs including 713 from the PR Society or an average of 119 new PRS APRs yearly. About 16,000 PRS members are eligible to take the exam.

PRS bylaws chair Dave Rickey was the dominant force in PRS in 2009, with chair Mike Cherenson taking a back seat.

Chair-elect Gary McCormick announced plans for a 2009 strategic planning committee with African-Americans, journalists and non-members. He couldn’t find any such people who would join the committee.

The one chance PRS had to integrate the board was the candidacy of Ofield Dukes for at-large director. Picked over him was Barbara Whitman of Hawaii, known as a close friend of 2009 nomcom chair Rhoda Weiss who was often in Hawaii for client St. Francis Hospice.

Dec. 17 was the tenth anniversary of Omnicom’s stock price high--$53.50 in 1999. Since then, there have been 58 changes in OMC stock recommendations by analysts. Only two advised “sell.” Current price is around $36.

OMC CEO John Wren, who has been paid at least $100 million in the past seven years (Forbes), got one million stock options in late 2008 with a strike price of $25.48. Average compensation for six year to 2007 was $15.73M.

CEO pay continued as a scandal and one reason so few CEOs are available for interviews. CEO pay rose 512% in 20 years to $10.9 million while pay increases for workers barely kept pace with inflation, said a Nov. 22 article in the NYP.

Longtime PR critic John Stauber left as executive director of the Center for Media and Democracy, publisher of prwatch.org. Working with the organization was drug industry critic Wendell Potter, formerly of Cigna.

The three-month 2009 summer course in “Global Communications” taught by PR Society’s 2010 chair-elect Rosanna Fiske at Florida Int’l University covered: “Diversity of news and mass communications; emerging trends in global business communications and media; advances in technology; global sources and systems of communications; cultural contexts; theories of symbolic interaction, saturation, convergence, world-system and electronic colonialism; ethical and legal issues, and the role and impact of advertising and PR in the global marketplace.” Students were told that Fiske preferred contact by e-mail or through discussion boards.

We wouldn’t mind 2% and 1% “low fat” milk if regular milk were labeled 3%. Most people think they’re only getting 1% or 2% of regular fat content. It’s another instance of bamboozling the public.

--Jack O'Dwyer