HEATHROW TO REVIEW PR ACCOUNT

BAA Airports, the global airport operator, is assembling a list of PR agencies interested in pitching for Heathrow Airport’s PR business.

BAA issued a pre-qualification questionnaire to assemble a short list of about six firms that will receive a formal “invitation to tender.”

Heathrow, 15 miles from London, is a global hub to 90 countries with as many airlines utilizing its gates. It employs 72,000 people.

The account, worth from £300- £400K per annum, is split into two lots: media relations/financial communications, and policy/political relations consulting.

BAA expects to award a two-year contract with a year-long option to two firms.
The PQQ can be downloaded after free registration at the airport procurement portal airportsmart.com or at odwyerpr.com/rfps.

London agency Mischief and Finsbury have worked with BAA and Heathrow.

FIBER MOVES TO WEBER SHANDWICK

Lorie Fiber, who established Edelman's healthcare practice in Los Angeles and handled its life sciences work in the U.S., is moving to Weber Shandwick as executive VP and GM of Southern California.

Fiber spent nine years at Edelman, departing as executive VP and founding partner of its DJE Science specialty unit.

Earlier, she was a member of the executive committee at FischerHealth, which was scooped up by Porter Novelli. Fiber joins Weber Shandwick Oct. 13. She will work closely with Laura Schoen, global healthcare practice chair.

H&K SNAGS SEWELL

Charles Sewell, who has run political programs for Philip Morris, AT&T, Constellation Energy and Blue Cross/Blue Shield, is now senior VP and PA director at Hill & Knowlton.

Sewell joins from the Textile Rental Services Assn., where he was VP-government affairs. He also was senior VP-government affairs at the National Community Pharmacists Assoc., representing more than 75,000 independent and community pharmacists.

Sewell was co-founder/president of American Communications Group and senior VP at Reese Communications, which was part of WPP.

JOHNNY ROCKETS TAPS ALLISON, COYNE

Americana restaurant chain Johnny Rockets has brought in Allison & Partners as its global agency of record and Coyne PR for crisis communications after not using an AOR for several years.

Cozette Phifer Koerber, VP of communications for JR, said A&P San Diego chief Tim Wheatcroft cold-called her a year ago at a time when she needed some project work.

“From an agency perspective, I think this demonstrates that the power of a cold-call is still very alive and well,” she said, noting the company is in the midst of an “aggressive growth plan.”

JR, based in Lake Forest, Calif., started out in 1986 in Los Angeles and will mark its 25th anniversary in 2011. It was acquired by Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder's RedZone Capital Fund in 2007.

Koerber said Coyne has been tapped for crisis management but all other “positive” PR globally will be guided by A&P, including regional marketing plans, promotions and publicity in the U.S. and abroad.

INDIANA WANTS DISABILITY PR PLAN

Indiana wants proposals from PR and marketing firms to develop a four-year statewide communications plan to highlight disability issues on behalf of the Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities.

Budget is pegged at $250K per year, with about half of that amount slated for Disability Awareness Month efforts. An RFP released Oct. 1 outlines work including research and writing for various publications, a bi-monthly newsletter (circulation: 5,500), media relations, developing and implementing a statewide communications plan, and other tasks.

The RFP comes as the council is preparing Indiana's state disability plan for 2012-16.

Proposals are due Nov. 19 (questions by Oct. 14). Download the RFP at odwyerpr.com/rfps.

UAB CHALLENGED ON USE OF APR

Anne Dubois, of Dubois Betourne & Assocs., Palm Coast, Fla., who is chair of the Universal Accreditation Board and also a PRSA Assembly delegate, said in a Society e-group last week that APR members who block non-APRs from running for national office are not in violation of UAB guidelines that bar use of APR for any competitive purposes.

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INCUMBENTS DEFEND $40M CA HEALTH PACT

A multi-agency team led by incumbent Runyon, Saltzman & Einhorn has fended off two challengers to retain Network for a Healthy California’s nearly $40M advertising and PR account, following an RFP process.

Sacramento-based RS&E pitched with its incumbent PR partners Paine PR and Hill & Knowlton, along with Solsken PR and Marketing and Field Research Corp.

The review process included a 425-page RFP released in April to guide communications for the state Department of Health program formerly known as “5 a Day” that urges Californians to eat well and exercise to avoid obesity and other chronic ailments.

Challenging the incumbents were two teams. Fraser Communications pitched with Grayling, Solution Group for Policy Studies, Mockingbird Communications, Young Communications and Nakotomi & Associates.

Interpublic’s Campbell-Ewald also submitted a proposal with Accentmarketing, MUSE, Edelman and IW Group.

A three-year contract worth $39.5M is planned. To pitch, firms were required to have $7M in annual billings over the last three years in the Golden State.

SOUTH KOREA SIGNS SINGER BONJEAN

South Korea, which has been aggressively stepping up its presence in Washington, has added Singer Bonjean Strategies to its line-up. The move comes as South Korea pushes for a free trade agreement with the U.S. and faces uncertainty from new leadership in North Korea.

The well-connected SBS is to provide political analysis, organize media roundtables, and promote the legislative goals of South Korea’s Washington embassy. The one-year contract is worth $200K.

When SBS opened its door for business last year, Politico dubbed Phil Singer and Ron Bonjean “the platonic version of Carville and Matalin.”

Singer, a former aide to New York’s Sen. Chuck Schumer and New Jersey ex-Senator Bob Torricelli, was national spokesperson for the Kerry-Edwards campaign and ran the “war room” for Hillary Clinton's quest for the presidency.

Ron Bonjean was comms. director for former House Speaker Dennis Hastert and press secretary for ex-Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott. SBS joins South Korea’s communications PR team that features Glover Park Group ($400K pact) and Edelman ($200K).

EXPERIENTIAL FIRM ADDS DOME

Veteran Chicago pro Doug Dome has been named president and chief creative officer at Gigunda Group, a 16-year-old Manchester, N.H.-based experiential marketing agency. He works out of his longtime base of Chicago.

Dome had been running his own shop for the past three years, following the 2004 acquisition by Hill & Knowlton of his 1997-founded firm Dome Communications.

KEMPNER HOSTS OBAMA

MWW Group chief Michael Kempner on Oct. 6 hosted President Obama at a fund-raiser at his New Jersey home. The $30,400-a-plate dinner generated $1.5M for the Democratic National Committee.

The Star-Ledger identified Kempner as a “prolific Democratic fundraiser” and “CEO of the top East Rutherford PR and lobbying firm.” It noted that Cresskill is a “Republican stronghold.”

Obama gave a 10-minute speech at the fundraiser. He talked about the White House's handling of the economic crisis and healthcare reform. Education is the next issue to be tackled, according to the President. He spoke of the urgency to retain both House and Senate in Democratic hands and warned if Republicans take over "we're going to start going backwards." The President stayed for two hours after his remarks.

Obama was in the Garden State for about three hours, from landing to takeoff at Newark Liberty International Airport. Obama last visited New Jersey in July, dropping into a sandwich shop in Edison.

QORVIS GUIDES D.C. CYBER SAFETY PUSH

Qorvis Communications kicked of an augmented reality campaign on cyber security across the federal government for client Intel on Oct. 4 timed to coincide with National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

Federal IT “decision makers” are the key target.

Jason Siegel, a Qorvis partner who leads its interactive unit, said the effort is intended to build a “strong social conversation around cyber security.”

The push, dubbed DC Represents, follows Intel’s nearly $7.7 billion acquisition of security software marketer McAfee in August.

A website with a Twitter-enabled framework asks visitors “What does DC represent to you?” and hosts an augmented reality game called “Security Breakout.” It also hosts a series of Intel white papers on topics like Web 2.0 security and web server encryption.

Qorvis handled Intel’s “ScratchITandSee” campaign last year.

SS+K WORKS ISRAEL IMAGE PROJECT

Chicago agency SS+K is working on behalf of U.S.-based non-profit groups to gauge American views of Israel and the Middle East.

“We are participating in a project to understand Americans’ perceptions of Israel and its neighbors that is being sponsored by U.S. non-profit groups,” said Mark Kaminsky, partner and co-founder of the digitally savvy firm, which won plaudits for its work for the Obama presidential campaign and the “Livestrong” yellow wristband campaign for Lance Armstrong’s foundation.

Kaminsky said his firm is not working for the Israeli government. He declined to name the non-profits involved.

Israeli news portal Ynetnews reported that the campaign was initiated by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, along with a seven-year-old Jewish-American marketing group, Brand Israel, which has been particularly focused on the image of Israel among U.S. youth.

USAT SLICES 35 FROM PAYROLL

USA Today is cutting 35 newsroom staffers as Gannett’s flagship shifts its focus from print to digital.

Most of the jobs were vacant, according to a report by Associated Press.

USAT publisher Dave Hunke expects a total of 130 cuts from the 1,500 positions in the overhaul that he announced during the summer.

Hunke plans to offer more details of the revamp plan later this month.

COSTOLO TAKES TWITTER HELM

Dick Costolo, COO of the micro-blogging company, has taken the helm from Evan Williams.

The management shift enables the 38-year-old co-founder of the San Francisco-based company to focus on product strategy. Google veteran Costolo, 47, joined Twitter a year ago to handle advertising initiatives.

Williams explained the move on Twitter's blog. Costolo “has been a critical leader in devising and executing our revenue efforts, while simultaneously and effectively making the trains run on time in the office,” he wrote.

Williams is “most satisfied while pushing product direction. Building things is my passion, and I've never been more excited or optimistic about what we have to build.”

Twitter now has 300 staffers, up from 20 two years ago. In that span the number of registered users soared from 3M to 165M.

Twitter, according to Williams, “is on a roll.”

AOL TAPS COMMS. CHIEF

Former MTV corporate communications executive Lauren Hurvitz is slated to join AOL on Oct. 13 as head of corporate communications for the Internet portal.

Tricia Primrose Wallace stepped down as communications chief at AOL this summer after more than 10 years there.

The Internet company, which made a splash by acquiring TechCrunch last week, split from $111 billion merger partner of 2000 Time Warner last year.

Hurvitz was executive VP of corporate comms. and public affairs at MTV, which she joined after eight-years at WPP’s Robinson Lerer & Montgomery in 2004.

Wallace was also an RLM alum.

SIKLOS TAKES TIME WARNER PR POST

Richard Siklos, who was editor-at-large at Fortune from 2007-09, is now VP-corporate affairs at Time Warner.

He is to handle external written communications and counsel on media matters. He reports to Gary Ginsberg, executive VP-corporate affairs and marketing.

Siklos was corporate media correspondent for the New York Times and U.S. business columnist for the Sunday Telegraph of London. He was founding editor-in-chief of Inside Magazine, media editor at BusinessWeek and columnist for the New York Observer.

Ginsberg ranks Siklos “among the very best journalists to cover the media industry during the past 15 years.”

MSNBC.COM MULLS NAME CHANGE

NBC Universal and Microsoft, owners of MSNBC.com, are considering a name change to reflect its editorial disconnect from the MSNBC cable channel, according to memos obtained by the New York Times.

While the website reports straight news, the cable show basks in the liberal views of commentators such as Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow.

Charlie Tillinghast, MSNBC.com president, noted in a memo that the “channel and website are already separate companies.” He believes its “brand insanity” to keep them under the same moniker.

The gap between the two outlets is likely to expand as MSNBC gears up its “Lean Forward” promotional campaign that features its pundits. One option is to recast MSNBC.com as NBCNews.com. A decision is expected at a November board meeting.

JOHNSON EXITS PAGE SIX

Richard Johnson is leaving the New York Post’s Page Six gossip page after a 25-year stint.

He is moving to Los Angeles to work on digital ventures for Post parent company News Corp.

Emily Smith, who moved to New York from London five years ago, becomes the chief gossip when Johnson exits next month.

Col Allan, editor-in-chief of the Post, called Johnson’s departure “bittersweet” but he expects Smith will be a fixture on the NYC gossip scene for a long time. Johnson said he always “wanted to give L.A. a try.”

GATES FOUNDATION GIVES TO ABC

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is providing ABC News, which is part of Walt Disney Co., a $1.5M grant to fund overseas travel and foreign production cost for a series “Be the Change: Save a Life.”

ABC is kicking in $4.5M for the reports that will highlight the disease and health conditions faced by the world's poorest people. The network says it has complete editorial control over the project, which will be led by “World News” anchor Diane Sawyer and chief health and medical editor Dr. Richard Besser.

The program kicks off in December and will run through 2011.

MARIMOW OUT AT INKY

Veteran newsman Bill Marimow has been replaced as editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer as new ownership takes control of it and sister publication, Philadelphia Daily News.

The 63-year-old two-time Pulitzer Prize winner will remain as investigative reporter at the Inky.

Greg Osberg, CEO for Philadelphia Media Network, says he dropped Marimow because he doesn’t have the digital expertise to lead the paper into a cyberworld. He credits Marimow, who assumed the editor post in 2006, for dramatically improving the paper and making it “one of the strongest metropolitan papers in the country.” Stan Wichnowski, Inky’s deputy managing editor, is now acting editor and among those who will be considered for the “content editor” post.

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ECONOMIST LAUNCHES INTELL. LIFE ON IPAD

The Economist has put its quarterly Intelligent Life cultural and style magazine on Apple’s iPad. The move makes it the first “app-only” big publisher in the U.S.

IL is available via newsstands in the U.K., Europe and Canada. It was sold in the U.S. via subscriptions.

Tim de Lisle, editor of IL, said of the new venture that the iPad is a “superb medium for long-form journalism. It is both a library and a lightbox so it plays to our strengths.”

IL has a circulation of 175K and its website gets close to 1M unique visitors per quarter. The site is updated every weekday.

HULU SLATES IPO

Hulu plans to file a $300M initial public offering by the end of the year, according to Reuters. That offering would value the company in the $2B range.

The No. 2 video site after YouTube needs the capital to compete against Netflix and mounting competition from Apple, Google and Amazon.

Hulu is owned by General Electric’s NBC Universal, Walt Disney Co., News Corp and Providence Equity Partners.

Reuters says an alternative to an IPO would be to hit up partners for either more cash or programming gems like "Glee."

The online video market is expected to hit $16B by 2012, according to ABI Research.

WOLFF LEADS ADWEEK MEDIA GROUP

Michael Wolff, Vanity Fair contributing editor, Newser founder and Rupert Murdoch biographer, is now editorial director of Adweek Media Group, which includes Adweek, Brandweek and Mediaweek.

Wolff told the New York Times that he plans to be his old combative self at the trade magazines: “Media people are all egomaniacs. You either bow to that or not bow to that. If you don’t bow to that you make enemies.” AMG is part of e5 Global Media, which is headed by Richard Beckman.

NYT PRO MOVES TO EDELMAN

Ethan Riegelhaupt, who was VP/speechwriting and internal communications at the New York Times Co., has shifted to Edelman as senior VP-corporate and public affairs.

At Edelman, Riegelhaupt will focus on employee engagement, speechwriting, PA and crisis communications.

During a 10-year NYTC stint, Riegelhaupt handled presentations on digital media, technology, financial and diversity issues for the executive committee and the advertising department.

Earlier, Riegelhaupt served in the administration of New York Governor Mario Cuomo as special assistant for communications. He also was chief of policy for the first New York City public advocate Mark Green.

Riegelhaupt once ran EMR & Assocs., a strategic media relations firm that handled clients such as Tiffany & Co., GE Capital, AOL, United Nations’ Office of the Secretary General, Novartis and Manhattanville College.

STATE OUTLINES PUBLIC DIPLOMACY CORPS

The U.S. State Department said Oct. 7 that it has finished the framework for its public diplomacy operations, naming six assistant secretaries as well as a deputy assistant for international media engagement experienced in the Arab world to put a public face on U.S. policies overseas.

Dana Shell Smith, an Arabic language spokeswoman and media hub director for State in Dubai, has taken the international media engagement post. She will be among a handful of U.S. officials who will appear on Arab news shows to give a U.S. point of view to coverage.

McHale said in March that the new position would be created, saying it was to be created with the State Dept.’s public affairs bureau to give “high level attention” to foreign media.

Smith was a public affairs officer at the American Institute in Taiwan and was embassy spokeswoman in Jordan after a stint in Tel Aviv handling public diplomacy for the U.S. embassy in the Gaza Strip. In addition to Arabic, the Foreign Service Office speaks Chinese, Hebrew and Spanish.

In addition to Smith, six deputy assistant secretaries comprise the PD framework overseen by Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Judith McHale.

McHale said in a statement that a key goal of the new advisors and framework is to ensure a “close integration” between PD and policy formulation.

Regional Deputies Named

The new deputy assistants and their bureaus include Spencer Boyer, who handles PD and public affairs for Europe and Eurasian affairs; Grata Holtz, who handles PD and strategic communications for Near Eastern affairs; James Moore, overseeing south and central Asian affairs who was minister counselor for public affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Turkey from 2003-06; Fabiola Rodriguez-Ciampoli, western hemisphere affairs and former comms. director for Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.); Jennifer Park Stout, east Asia and Pacific affairs and a former Hill staffer, and David Bruce Wharton, African affairs and directed PD and public affairs for the Africa bureau since 2009.

McHale announced a plan in February to “revitalize” the framework of U.S. PD ahead of its budget request for 2012.

FIRMS WORK BIG SPANISH MEDIA DEAL

Kekst and Company and Sard Verbinnen & Co. are PR advisors in the $1.2 billion deal to expand an alliance between Spanish Media giants Grupo Televisa and Univision Communications.

Televisa, based in Mexico City and dubbed “numero uno” in the Latin media world by Hoover’s, said Oct. 5 that it will invest a net $1.2 billion in Univision and expand a long-term program license deal between the companies.

Univision lands exclusive U.S. Spanish-language digital rights to Televisa programming – including Mexican soccer -- for TV and the Internet under the new deal.

KETCHUM CROWDSOURCES W/ STUDENTS

Ketchum has unveiled a four-month pilot program to “crowdsource” creative ideas and PR services for its clients from students in the U.S., U.K. and Asia.

Client Wendy's is using the service, called Mindfire, for a new product launch.

Participating schools include Bournemouth Univ. (U.K.), Univ. of Colorado at Boulder, Cornell Univ., New York Univ., Carnegie Mellon Univ. and The Chinese Univ. of Hong Kong.

"We're increasingly seeing a desire among our clients for a steady stream of new and creative ideas, along with a willingness to accept good ideas from any part of the marketing discipline," said chief information office Andy Roach, who oversaw Mindfire's development with Karen Strauss.

The brain trust includes a pool of 125 participants registered at the schools during a four-month pilot phase of the program, Ketchum said.

The students will receive career coaching, personalized training, job alerts and prizes provided by clients.

Ketchum said if a student's idea is adopted it will work with the individual to determine if they will help execute the program, in which case they will be compensated.

The agency also said it will donate to Room to Read, which buys books for children in the developing world, for every idea posted from the Mindfire program.

H&K LANDS FOX ENTERTAINMENT

Twentieth Century Fox Entertainment has tapped Hill & Knowlton to handle corporate and consumer PR for its film, TV programming, acquisitions and productions on Blu-ray discs and DVD.

James Finn, senior VP at the News Corp. unit, believes H&K’s “divergent thinking” will complement his company's strategic publicity efforts.

Hope Boonshaft's Los Angeles office will lead the account with support from New York.

R&J SETS UP N.Y. OUTPOST

R&J PR, Bridgewater, N.J. has established a Manhattan outpost under the direction of VP Jason Ledder.

The office is at 11 Penn Plaza in Midtown.

R&J president John Lonsdorf said agency growth and the changing dynamic of social media relations have provided the opportunity to expand.

AIRFOIL MARKS 10 YEARS

Southfield, Mich.-based Airfoil PR has marked its 10th year in 2010, a span that has seen the five-person tech shop grow to 55 staffers. Revenue for 2009 was $6.3M.

Microsoft is the firm's longest-standing client which CEO Lisa Vallee-Smith said solidified Airfoil as a tech brand in PR.

The firm also has a Silicon Valley office in Mountain View, Calif.

Airfoil has set up a microsite at flywithAirfoil.com to mark the anniversary, supported by a direct mail, social media and digital ad push.

VMS REPLACES CEO

Monitoring company VMS has ousted CEO Peter Wengryn in a management revamp started this summer.

David Stephens, a managing director based in Australia for medical publisher Wolters Kluwer Health, has been named president of VMS, reporting to chairman Robert Waggoner and taking on full operating responsibility.

Waggoner, who leads clipping and media contacts supplier BurrellesLuce, cited Stephens’ experience in senior information and software, as well as his work in the international arena, as key to the hire.

Stephens, who was educated in Australia, oversaw WKH operations in China, India, Japan, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand guiding a turnaround of its securities and insurance group in Boston. Previous stints included Thomson, Lend Lease, and McKinsey & Co.

Wengryn joined VMS as its chief financial officer in 1999 and was tapped as CEO three years later. He handled the company’s transition from providing tapes of broadcast clips to a services and consulting business steeped in monitoring.

VMS is the longstanding veteran in a monitoring sector of PR services that has seen a series of up-starts and significant upheaval in the space as technology improved and social media came on the scene.

“VMS has a strong market reputation and platform for growth,” Stephens said in a statement.

NEWSUSA HAS SOCIAL CONTENT SERVICE

NewsUSA has developed Social Syndication, which it describes as a "turnkey" service intended to bridge the gap between traditional PR and social media.

Content creation, distribution, promotion and reporting on replacements are all included in the service, which relies on both technology and personnel. Reporting includes comments as well as author content.

Rick Smith, founder and CEO of Falls Church, Va.-based NewsUSA, said reporters, as well as bloggers and end users search for information online making content from the "social web" increasingly important.

He said the new service uses the social web to create "buzz" and facilitates content being "found" by media and web users.

PRN HOSTS VIRTUAL IR CONFERENCES

PR Newswire, BetterInvesting and MUNCmedia, have kicked off a Retail Investor Conferences program, an online, interactive multimedia event aimed to line up investors with small-cap and larger cap companies.

The series is pitched as an interactive forum for presenting companies to meet directly with retail investors using a graphically-enhanced online platform that's been designed to replicate the look and feel of "location-based" investor conferences.

Companies can present in an hour-long live audio presentation and slide webcasts.

Investors can engage the spokesperson in real-time via live-chat Q&A sessions.
Companies also have “virtual trade booths” that allow for follow-up contact.

Info: http://www.retailinvestorconferences.com.

UAB CHALLENGED ON APR USE (cont’d from 1)

The guidelines, which are on the UAB website say that the APR designation is not to be used for competitive purposes and that, “An individual can have APR revoked for improper usage per these usage guidelines.”

The wording on the UAB website is that APRs “cannot imply the lack of APR in any way affects a competing professional's competence.”

Critics of PRSA governance and the monopoly APRs have had on board posts for more than 30 years say that all 17 directors should have their APRs removed because they have blocked the 80% of fellow members who are non-APR from competing for posts on the board.

Critics say the words "in any way" leave no wiggle room.

Michael McDougall, VP-CC of Bausch & Lomb, had noted the UAB's stand and another delegate had noted that a PRSA advisory of July 2009 had warned against "inflated resumes, credentials and documentation."

Society delegates in the e-group who oppose non-APRs on the board have said numerous times that holders of APRs have shown more "commitment" to the Society and industry and have earned a "mark of distinction." Distinction, as defined by Webster’s, means “special honor or recognition” and implies having superior attributes in some field or calling.

Dubois Cites 'True Context'

Disagreeing with McDougall is Dubois, who had posted in the e-group Sept. 2 that "Accreditation is a mark of distinction. Why wouldn't we insist that our board members carry that distinction? No argument presented herein answers that question satisfactorily."

Her comment on Sept. 2 appeared to break the UAB role against interfering in the governance of a member group.

However, she said she was speaking only as an Assembly delegate and not at all as UAB chair.

She also advised in the e-mail, “Let’s move on.”

Dubois said last week that McDougall is incorrectly interpreting what is on the UAB website.

She said he had taken out of context the sentence, "Members who are Accredited cannot imply the lack of Accreditation in any way affects a competing professional’s competence."

She said the paragraph is “intended to guide Accredited members in their use of the mark in settings where they may be competing for work or hire. The intent of this information is to encourage fair, professional and courteous behaviors in seeking work or hire. Please note that this guidance is contained on the website but is not an official policy statement carried in the UAB Policy.”

She further said: “The statement under question in its true context is specific only to competing for work or for hire, and not relevant to the ongoing debate about the Accreditation requirement for service on the PRSA national board.”

Some senior Society members, considering the stand of Dubois, said that UAB guidance could just as easily apply to “office-seeking” as it does to “seeking work or hire.” Those seeking the perceived prestige of PR Society national office have eliminated 80% of their competition with the APR rule, said the seniors.

Attaining the chair of the Society carries with it a significant expense account as well as the prestige of the position, they add.

Move to Table APR Change

Some delegates are now saying that the APR change, which has generated an extensive and heated argument in the e-group (that regular members are not allowed to see), should be tabled until next year.

Mark McLennan of Schwartz Communications says that because of the way that the APR amendment is written “no amendments to the proposed amendment will be allowed.”

Some have suggested changes that are too substantive and which are barred by Robert's Rules of Order (pages 575-577), he said.

This perplexed some members of the Society who point out that the Society, while citing Robert’s as its "parliamentary authority," is in violation of five major Robert's Rules.

They are rules that say an assembly must sit over a board; proxy votes are forbidden; tabulated votes must be in the minutes; all articles in a revision must be brought before an assembly, and a revision should not be conducted at a regular annual meeting but only at a series of special meetings.

WARNER SEEKS PR SUPPORT FOR 3-D

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, concerned over reports that raise doubts over the future of 3-D at home and in theaters, is looking for a PR firm to perform some "truth squad" tactics to set the record straight.

The campaign will counter the negative agreements and develop a long-term strategy to get out positive news about 3D, specifically Blu-ray 3D/Home 3D.

Warner believes the campaign over time will receive support from other studios. Warner’s Jim Noonan, senior VP worldwide strategic promotions and communications, is spearheading the effort.

Critics predict Blu-ray will be bypassed as a format, noting that DVDs gave way to digital downloads/streaming.

Blu-ray player sales are projected to hit the 24M mark this year, according to Futuresource Consulting. That's double the 2009 level.

BARCLAYS VET TO APCO

Sukanti Ghosh, corporate affairs chief at Barclays Bank/India, is now in command of APCO Worldwide offices in New Delhi and Mumbai.

Prior to Barclays, Ghosh was chief of corporate and product communications at BankMuscat in Oman. He also spearheaded work at Contract Advertising India Ltd. and TBWA India.

Ghosh joins APCO's team that features Lalit Mansingh, former Indian ambassador to the U.S. and Indian high commissioner to U.K. and Nigeria.

Brad Staples is CEO of APCO’s Europe, Middle East, Africa and India operations.

Wall Street, banks, business in general, academia, and the press take a licking in two current movies—“Wall Street” with Michael Douglas and “Inside Job” with Matt Damon.

Both spell out the reasons for the economic collapse of two years ago that has touched the lives of every American, causing immense pain. That pain persists and will linger a long time.

There is a line in “Wall Street” to the effect that, for the sake of money, media went along with the lies and evasions “just like everyone else.”

The more detailed movie is “Inside Job,” which is given an ecstatic review by the New York Times (“hard to imagine a movie more serious and more urgent…a call to arms”).

The New York Post, meanwhile, slammed it with one star, saying it was “an incoherent but thoroughly outraged documentary about the financial crisis.”

It notes that “valid criticisms” have been made many times before about Wall Street but that sufficient blame is not being put on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, government entities that swallowed the bad housing loans made by local banks. “Greed is not a crime,” says the review.

PR: Home Equity Loans, Credit Default Swaps

Business leaders used PR to mislabel things including second mortgages as “home equity loans.” “Credit default swaps” turned out to be insurance on speculation. Nothing was “swapped.” The insurers didn’t even have the money to back up their failed bets so the U.S. public swallowed them.

NYT columnist Floyd Norris blamed the entire debacle on CPAs who allowed hidden corporate debt. (“Accountants Misled Us Into Crisis” he headlined 9/11/09).

Business professors are accused of being corrupted by consulting fees, seats on boards, and memberships in the “masters of the universe club.”

This is also true in PR where no PR professors dare say a peep about all the shenanigans going on at PRSA.

PR academics prize APR as a tangible “credential.” They have successfully fought since 2000 students joining PRS in the 3,700 colleges that don’t have Society student chapters. Only 300 have such chapters.

Academics will hold five of the 17 seats on the 2011 board.

PR Not Allowed to Be “Conscience”

PR failed in its claimed role of being the “conscience” of employers. It’s as much at fault as Fitch, Moody’s and S&P which certified toxic bonds.

PR especially failed in its job of getting out the facts—holding press conferences and otherwise putting principals in front of the press.

PR people can only do their jobs to the extent that their employers allow them to do that.

The NYT notes that “many of the highest-profile players declined to be interviewed” for “Inside Job.”

We encounter lots of similar press-dodging. Art Stevens and Steve Lubetkin, who argued at length about APR in a Society e-group, refused to come to our offices for a debate. They wouldn’t debate anywhere else either.

Parliamentarian Colette Trohan does not respond to us although we’d love to ask her how Robert’s Rules can be cited when the Society has done every bad thing to RR except burn a copy of it on the stage of the Assembly.

Also unavailable are chair Gary McCormick, VP-PR Arthur Yann, and Universal Accreditation Board chair Anne Dubois.

HGTV, where McCormick is employed in sales (he’s not listed in the PR dept.), helped to contribute to the housing madness with programs such as “Designed to Sell,” “House Hunters,” and “My House Is Worth What?”

Even worse were shows called “Flip that House” (TLC) and “Flip This House” (A&E).

PR Moves in for Kill

There is an epidemic of press evasion.

“We are living in a time of PR ascendance,” says the September/October Columbia Journalism Review.

CJR staffer Dean Starkman says that “while journalism has withered, PR has bloomed like a rash.”

He quotes “The Death and Life of American Journalism” as saying the ratio of journalists to PR people has dramatically declined.

Whereas in 1980 there were 0.45 PR specialists per 100,000 population to 0.36 journalists, now there are 0.90 PR people per 100,000 to 0.25 journalists.
“A sense of empowerment comes through in the tone of PR professionals,” writes Starkman. He should interview us.

Michael Wolff wrote in the July 2009 Vanity Fair that “The balance of power has surely shifted from the press to political leaders and every day you can read it in (White House) press secretary Robert Gibbs’ cockiness and condescension.”

Todd Purdum, writing in the September VF on “Broken Washington,” says lobbying is now the Fourth Estate and not the press.

PRSA’s Art Yann Illustrates Trend

So when PR Society VP-PR Arthur Yann tells us that three O’Dwyer reporters will have to pay $1,275 each or a total of $3,825 to cover the conference Oct. 16-19 we’re not surprised.

Meanwhile, Scott Van Camp of PR News told us he has a free pass to the conference. Steve Barrett, editor of PR Week and Jim Sinkinson of Bulldog Reporter wouldn’t answer when we asked if they got free passes.

No recording of the Assembly is allowed and no pictures. Reporters who leave a designated area will be evicted not only for the Oct. 16 Assembly but all future Assemblies.

The Society has claimed we don’t give it “fair” coverage and this no doubt includes our dozens of stories and more than 20,000 words on the attempt by the Committee for a Democratic PRSA to win places for non-APRs on the board.

Parliamentary Trick Being Attempted

An attempt is being made to block the bylaw amendment that would let non-APRs on the board for the first time in more than 30 years.

This amendment says members would be eligible for the board if they met one of three requirements: APR, Society leader service, or 20 years in ever higher PR posts.

The main thrust was that APR was no longer a requirement.

Opponents are now trying to scuttle the amendment by demanding that candidates have any two of the three requirements.

Parliamentarian Colette Trohan advised that trying to “add” anything to the amendment is against Robert’s Rules (although PRS is in violation of a least five such “Rules”).

Trohan said something could be taken away from an amendment (two qualifications could be reduced to one) but an extra qualification would have to wait until next year.

That is music to the ears of the APR fanatics. The Universal Accreditation Board should remove the APRs from all 17 directors because they have used their APRs in a competitive situation, which is strictly forbidden under UAB “Guidance.” UAB has the power to remove APRs.

— Jack O'Dwyer