FLORIDA CO. SEEKS ENERGY OUTREACH PLAN

Lake County, Florida, which has $2.8M in federal stimulus funds for energy efficiency grants, has issued an RFP for a public education campaign touting the availability of the grants to residents and small businesses.

The crux of the assignment is to highlight the benefits of energy efficiency in homes and businesses, as well as to “generate enthusiasm for county programs that provide cash incentives” to make upgrades. The Internet and social media tools, as well as local media, are expected to be utilized.

The central Florida county is taking pitches through Dec. 15 for the contract, which is expected to run for about 15 months. RFP is at odwyerpr.com/rfps.

TECH GURU SINCLAIR JOINS WS

Heidi Sinclair, who once served as global tech chair at Burson-Marsteller and CEO of its EMEA region, has joined Weber Shandwick as chair of its global tech practice.

Based in her home city of Seattle, Sinclair reports to Weber Shandwick president Andy Polansky. Sinclair has handled major tech accounts such as Apple, Hewlett-Packard, SAP and Sun Microsystems.

Most recently, Sinclair ran her own marketing and philanthropic operation. Prior to setting up Heidi Sinclair & Co., she was chief communications officer for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Sinclair began her communications career as editor/writer at Women's Sports Magazine before moving to the the firm of the legendary Regis McKenna.

Her resume includes stints at Ketchum, Hill & Knowlton, Lotus Development and Borland before joining B-M in 1994.

FIRST LADY SELECTS SCHAKE

Kristina Schake, co-founder of Los Angeles-based PA firm Griffin| Schake and former counselor to California’s First Lady Maria Shriver, is the new communications director for Michelle Obama.

She takes over for Camille Johnson, who left the White House in August.

Before establishing her firm, Schake was director of the Governor’s Summit on Obesity and communications director for First 5 California, which provides education, healthcare and nutrition programs for the Golden State's youngest people. She also was global communications director of the Live Earth concert series.

FLEISHMAN OUT AT C&W/ATLANTA

Donna Fleishman, 63, is out as president of Cohn & Wolfe Atlanta office. She told O'Dwyer's that she was C&W's first hire when the shop was set up by Bob Cohn and Norman Wolfe.

C&W shut down in Atlanta ten years ago, but the name was revived in 2008. That’s when C&W CEO Donna Imperato recast GCI/Atlanta, which Fleishman was running as C&W.

Fleishman expects to work with Home Depot co-founder and funder of the Georgia Aquarium Bernie Marcus, 81, on his philanthropic ventures. Marcus, she noted, backed the Aquarium, as a “gift to the people of Atlanta.”

The Marcus Autism Center is developing a test to detect autism in children.
Fleishman has counseled Lowe's, Georgia Aquarium, Chick-fil-A, Darden Restaurants, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and UPS.

Imperato told O’Dwyer’s that Lindsay Caulfield is acting managing director of the office as C&W searches for a replacement for Fleishman.

“We have excellent business in Atlanta and it is an important market in an important region,” she added.

Caulfield, a senior VP, joined C&W in 2001.

FTC CLOSES CASE AGAINST REVERB

The Federal Trade Commission on Nov. 26 approved a final order settling charges that Reverb Communications engaged in deceptive advertising when staffers posted as consumers and posted game reviews in the iTunes game store.

The FTC said in August that the firm would settle the complaint.

The final agreement requires Reverb and its owner, Tracie Snitker, to remove the posts – which were published between November 2008 and 2009 – and bars the firm and its staffers from engaging in the deceptive practice again.

Snitker, a former director of public affairs and government relations for the Men’s Health Network, told O’Dwyer’s in August that it became apparent during discussions with the FTC that the two sides would never agree on the facts.

Snitker said she views the incident as a “frivolous matter” and noted that the deal was for settlement purposes only and does not constitute admission of a legal violation.

Reverb specializes in video game PR and is based in Twain Harte, Calif.

CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS TAP PODESTA

The Christian Science Church has hired Podesta Group to handle health insurance issues related to coverage of spiritual care.

During the debate over healthcare reform, a provision that would have provided Christian Science spiritual healing treatments the same coverage as clinical medicine was stricken from the bill.

Groups such as the Freedom From Religion Foundation argued that conferring that kind of legitimacy on practices outside “scientific medicine” is wrong, according to a Sept. 27 report in the Denver Post.

The Christian Scientist position is that if the government is going to mandate health insurance it should allow people the right to choose the type of care they receive. The bulk of the health law goes into effect in 2014.

Podesta is working for the Christian Science Committee on Publication, which is the PR arm of the Church. Its goal is to convey information about Church practices and its founder Mary Baker Eddy, who established the religion in Boston in 1879. It now has more than 1,800 branches and societies worldwide.

Podesta staffers working the account are Stephen Northrup (former health policy adviser to Wyoming Republican Senator Mike Enzi), David Marin (press secretary/legislative director to ex-Virginia Republican Congressman Tom Davis) and Aranthan Jones (ex-health policy director at the Congressional Black Caucus).

'TOO BIG TO FAIL' SHOOTS AT GOODMAN

Cast and crew from HBO’s financial crisis movie “Too Big to Fail” took over the offices of Goodman Media International last month to shoot in the PR firm's conference room overlooking Times Square.

HBO is adapting the book of the same title by New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin, who also visited the set, according to CEO Tom Goodman.
“Tony Shalhoub [cast to play Morgan Stanley chairman John Mack] was here and couldn't have been nicer,” said Goodman.

More than 75 cast and crewmembers from the show were on hand and wrapped a four-day shoot at GMI’s offices. Photos are at odwyerpr.com.

MARINO MOVES TO MSLGROUP

Steve Marino, who guided BP’s digital strategy at Ogilvy PR during the Gulf oil crisis, is now senior VP and director of MSLGroup’s digital/social media practice. He will lead strategy for MSLGroup and across agencies such as Kekst & Co., TMG Strategies and PBJS marketing operation.

At Ogilvy, Marino was senior VP at its 360 Digital Influence unit. Earlier he worked at AKQA in Washington. He has run campaigns for Texas Instruments, M&M Mars, Mayo Clinic, Kellogg, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan.

Marino reports to Jim Tsokanos, MS&LGroup's president of the Americas, and Renee Wilson, managing director/New York and northeast region president.

DICK’S RELENTS ON BOYCOTT THREAT

Retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods said it will change its marketing from “holiday” to “Christmas” after a boycott threat from the PR-savvy American Family Association.

Dick's, which said the change was being planned anyway, was one of about two dozen companies targeted by the AFA for being “against” or “marginalizing Christmas” before the company said Nov. 22 that it would make the change.

Companies that continue to be in the crosshairs of the AFA include Barnes & Noble, CVS Pharmacy and Staples, among others.

“We have made significant changes from past years, when ‘holiday’ was the dominant theme of our advertising,” Dick’s vice chairman Bill Columbo told the AFA, according to the group. Columbo said the changes were already planned and noted newspaper ads read “Christmas 2010” starting Nov. 28.

“This is a huge win for the pro-faith community in America,” said AFA executive VP Buddy Smith. “It’s gratifying to see a retailer like Dick’s recognizes that our nation has specifically set aside December 25 to honor the birthday of Jesus Christ.”

The DSG website has changed a tagline from “Holiday Shop” to a “Christmas Shop.” The AFA called the move “another victory in the war on Christmas.”

MSLO FILLS TOP COMMS. SLOT

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia has filled its vacant top corporate communications slot with Sarah Gormley, who joins from IMAX Corp.

Elizabeth Estroff, senior VP of corporate comms. for MSLO, stepped down in April for the senior VP post at the ASPCA.

Gormley takes the title senior VP, comms. and marketing, for the publicly traded New York-based media company, reporting to executive chairman Charles Koppelman. Before serving as VP/corporate comms. for Imax, she was at National Financial Partners, Fleishman-Hillard and Edelman.

CHADLINGTON NAMED ANTIQUE CHIEF

Shandwick founder and Huntsworth chief Peter Chadlington, has been named chairman of LAPADA, the U.K.’s biggest association of art and antique dealers.

He takes over for Earl Howe, who stepped down in June to become a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health in the new coalition government. Chadlington is a big contributor to David Cameron's Conservative Party.

Chadlington, a life peer since 1996, is a member of the Arts Council, chairman of the Royal Opera House, and was first chairman of the Lottery Distribution arm of the Arts Council of England.

NEWS CORP. MAKES $360M ED MARKET DEAL

News Corp. is acquiring a 90 percent stake in Brooklyn-based Wireless Generation for $360M in a move that spearheads Rupert Murdoch’s foray into the $500B education market.

Ten-year-old WG provides software, data systems and professional services to help teachers use data to develop individual lesson plans and access student progress. It serves more than 200K educators and 3M students.

The company has partnered with New York City’s Dept. of Education on its Achievement Reporting and Innovation System and the City’s School of One initiative. News Corp, last month, hired former NYC school’s chancellor Joel Klein to develop its educational business.

WG’s leadership team of founder/CEO Larry Berger, COO Josh Reibel and executive VP/chief product officer will retain a 10 percent interest and remain with the company.

Berger credits Murdoch for understanding the “transformative effect technology can bring to the process of learning.”

CPJ RAISES $1.75M

The Committee to Protect Journalists, which assists embattled journalists worldwide, raised $1.47 million on Nov. 23 at its 20th annual black tie dinner in the Waldorf-Astoria ballroom in New York.

More than 900 attended the dinner, which was chaired by Sir Howard Stringer, chairman and CEO of Sony Corp. Host was Tom Brokaw of NBC News, substituting for Brian Williams, who was on assignment covering the incident in Korea.

Paul Steiger, CPJ chairman the past several years whose term is up at the end of this year, described the battle for press freedoms throughout the world.
Steiger, managing editor of the Wall Street Journal from 1991-2007, now is chairman and editor-in-chief of ProPublica, mostly funded by an $8 million grant from the Sandler Foundation.

Joel Simon, CPJ executive director, said journalists honored at the dinner “embody the struggle to report the news without fear of reprisal. Their work defies censorship. Their courage is a shield for many journalists asking questions and exposing uncomfortable truths, even at personal risk.”

Video of Massacre Shown

The event included the premiere of a video on the massacre of 57 people including 32 journalists and their assistants in the Philippines last November.

CPJ called it “a shocking act of political violence.”

The group is working with Philippines journalists and providing financial assistance to the families of the victims as part of its “Global Campaign Against Impunity,” supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

A total of 840 journalists have been killed since 1992, most of them hunted down and murdered. Killed thus far this year have been 39.

Investigations of such murders are rare.

CPJ helps the families of the deceased journalists as well as families of journalists who have been jailed, hit with lawsuits, exiled, and otherwise harassed while performing their jobs.

CPJ’s latest financial report, for fiscal 2008, showed net assets fell to $10.4M from $14.6M, mostly due to a $4M “book loss” in stock market investments. The group said that the rise in the stock market restored most of that value.

Unable to attend the dinner was award winner Mohammad Davari, who is imprisoned in Iran for having reported on alleged rape, torture and abuse at the now-closed Kharizak Detention Center.

Christiane Amanpour, host of “This Week” of ABC News, described Davari’s plight and urged attendees to sign a petition addressed to Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei to release Davari.

The petition will be promoted online in advance of International Human Rights Day Dec. 10.

CPB GETS CHAIR, VICE CHAIR

Media and entertainment attorney Bruce Ramer and former U.S. Senator David Pryor were elected to serve one-year terms as chairman and vice-chairman, respectively, of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Ramer is a partner at Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown in Los Angeles and was appointed to the CPB board by President George W. Bush.

Pryor, who joined the CPB board in November 2006, first served in the Arkansas Legislature before moving to Congress in 1966. He served a four-year term as governor of Arkansas before election to the Senate in 1978, where he served three terms before retiring in 1997.

‘NEWSHOUR’ ADDS SCIENCE HUB

PBS NewsHour has launched a science hub online to provide a "one-stop web destination for the latest news in science, engineering and technology."

The site, pbs.org/newshour/topic/science, went live Nov. 16 and features reporting by NewsHour science correspondent Miles O'Brien, digital correspondent Hari Sreenivasan, reporter/producer Jenny Marder and others.

Content includes breaking news, field reports, blogs, Q&As and other features.

FAMILY CIRCLE UNVEILS MOBILE LINK

Family Circle magazine, which claims an audience of 20 million, has partnered with Snipp.com to kick off a new feature that lets smartphone users get recipes, shopping lists, cooking videos and take part in sweepstakes.

Articles in the magazine are being tagged with an icon that includes a number that readers can text to for more information and content like recipes and videos.

Info: familycircle.com.

(Media news continued on next page)

SOCIAL MEDIA HAS KEY ROLE IN H-WOOD

“The best way to get a following is to provide good content,” said social media expert Henna Merchant. “People are attracted to other interesting people or content, so you have to think about the people who are actually using social media. If you want yourself to spread virally, you're going to have to touch the people who are most comfortable with the technology, and who are influencers. It’s not your grandmother.”

Merchant is principal of Clicked Digital PR and Marketing Communications, a firm that melds digital influence, social and traditional media, public relations, and marketing.

She was one of several speakers who participated in a recent two-hour social media workshop held during the L.A. Femme Film Festival, that ran in Hollywood. The L.A. Femme Film Festival is an annual, open-to-the-public event that showcases and celebrates films written, directed or produced by women.

“Filmmakers’ first step should be using social sites to engage their fans,” said Gotham Chandna, an international social media expert, digital PR guru and the force behind Cloud 21 PR. “Websites are dead. It’s really hard to change them, and it's time consuming.”

Chandna is currently involved in devising and implementing successful social media strategies for actors, filmmakers, fashion designers, corporations and retailers.

He has been involved in online marketing since 2000, social media and blogging since 2003. He is currently ranked in the Top 100 Digital PR professionals on Twitter.

“I hope you don't have your project finished and now you are looking at social media,” said social media guru Kristina Hughes.

Kristina is the co-founder of Holdon Log, a provider of organizational tools for actors, models, comedians and background artists that offers products such as Performertrack.com, an online resource for actors that tracks, stores and analyzes performance and income history.

“Prior to having your product started or done, there are great sites that can help you get going” said writer and consultant Brian Vermeire.

“Sites like these allow you to create amazing, quick content that looks so professional it's ridiculous and it can really make your end product look professional before you have even started editing it. There are programs where you just upload video clips, images, text and then process various options online with hundreds of royalty-free songs to go with them. Your presentations need to be done early and should be compelling,” noted Vermeire.

Vermeire wears many hats in the Entertainment Industry. He’s a writer, producer, executive producer, host and actor for various networks and production companies such as FOX, The Disney Channel, The Family Channel, Vin DiBona Productions and HombreTV.

He’s traveled as a seminar leader or guest speaker for SAG Conservatory, SAG Foundation, The Actor’s Network and Children in Film. Currently, he’s the CEO of Holdon Log, and also a known stand-up comedian in the Los Angeles community.

“The investor in an independent film is you, the producer, and I think that's why you're going to pitch, you're not going to pitch to the studios, but rather to the people,” said Vermeire. “Do the pitch first and start floating idea of this film that you have coming out, and do it in an innovative way using sites and tools at your fingertips online, and see if people start say, ‘Wow, this would be awesome, I’d really like to see this film.’”

“I’m more of a content person, so you need to provide your audience with something that they want,” said Amber Lawson of Babelgum.com. “The Paranormal Experience was a good example where the movie folks want a critical mass of media and took it online. You need to roll out pieces of content of the story that adds value to your audience that you are constantly connecting with.”

Lawson manages comedy content babelgum.com and has worked as executive producer on comedy shorts by Landline TV, original content like DateaHuman.com, and the second seasons of “The Crew” and “Old Friends.”

Prior to Babelgum, Lawson was VP of Programming at Mania TV and a comedy producer with National Lampoon.

“Sometimes what we do to support the theatrical release of the film is offer an early prequel in film, a character lead out or build out the story to create a fan base that will be exciting and engage the viewer,” she said.

Lawson said there’s more than 800 hours of hand-picked films and film-related programming on Babelgum's site.

The company's film products feature action and adventure, animation and anime, classics, comedy, clips and interviews, documentary, drama, horror and thriller short films.

— George S. McQuade III

AP UPS LOUISVILLE SCRIBE

Janet Cappiello Blake, a news staffer and reporter for The Associated Press in Louisville, has been named administrative correspondent for the AP there, overseeing news gathering statewide.

The 47-year-old Blake, a 25-year AP veteran, has reported on breaking news in Louisville since 2008. She was special projects coordinator for AP corporate communications in New York and correspondent in Stamford, Conn. Previous stints included the Boston Globe, Greenwich (Conn.) Time and Vegetarian Times.

FIRMS LAUNCH ONLINE TOOLS

Weber Shandwick has developed a “social” crisis simulator that, the firm says, creates the real-time experience of being under attack on social media channels.
The service, dubbed FireBell and developed in-house by the firm, is intended to give clients the chance to take part in an online drill in a secure, offline environment.

WS, part of Interpublic, said it simulates crisis situations on multiple social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Digg, LinkedIn and blogs. Its “drill team” devises a crisis situation that is not shared with the client and then builds offline versions of the client’s social media properties, as well as hostile platforms like “anti-fan” Facebook pages.

Chris Perry, president of digital communications at WS, said how a company responds to a crisis in today’s social environment is “vastly” different than even the recent past, when a statement to the press was often enough. “It’s about a living dialogue with a company's constituents,” he said.

Senior VP David Krejci called it a “stress-inducing exercise.”

Meanwhile, WS’ sister agency Powell Tate in D.C. has launched PoliPulse, a free data visualization tool that shows a graphic summary of topics driving online conversation.

The service, developed by PT with social media monitoring company Crimson Hexagon, is at PoliPulse.com and available to the public.

The firm said it provides an alternative to counting all mentions of a given set of keywords by showing trends over time and highlighting so-called “pivot points” in online dialog.

PT said it will be working with the tool to analyze the meaning behind the data on the firm’s blog and in other research.

Qorvis Communications has developed its own digital measurement tool, as well. Called SentiMeter, the service evaluates online conversations surrounding a brand or company and gives it a score from 1 to 10.

SentiMeter classifies chatter as positive, negative or neutral to weigh the overall measure over a 90-day period. Jason Siegel, a Qorvis partner who leads its interactive team, said such data can help marketers develop social media strategies and identify ways to improve reputation.

ORTEGA, RIVERA SET UP SHOP

Jorge Ortega, former president of The Jeffrey Group, Miami, has joined with founder and former partner of del Rivero Messianu/DDB Advertising, Eduardo del Rivero, and Sergio Roitberg, founder and chairman of Newlink Group, to set up a communications consultancy, Newlink America.

“Eduardo and I realized that the lines between communications disciplines will forever be erased,” said Ortega, who will lead the firm.

The principals said the firm represents decades of expertise and perspective on the U.S. Hispanic, multicultural and South Florida markets.

Info: newlink-america.com.

CISION GETS U.K. AWARD

PR software and services provider Cision was awarded “Product Development of the Year - Software” at the 2010 Data Publishers Association Awards in London.

The company earned the accolade for its CisionPoint PR workflow software and noted it is the first European award for the service, which has won CODiE awards in the U.S. the past two years.

Jerry Gosney, executive Director of the Data Publishers Association, said in a statement that the 11 judges were unanimous in their decision that the winning CRM system “demonstrated enormous innovation, helping users track the time they spent on client work, as well as enhancing project management performance and automating workflow.”

PRD INKS PACT WITH PR WEB

PressReleaseDistribution.com said it has formed a new partnership with PRWeb, part of Vocus, to expand users' access to media outlets.

Kelly Drummond, CEO of PRD parent Drummond Post Media, said PRD users will have “tens of thousands of media options.”

PRD distribution and writing services range from $49 to $359.

NIRI GETS NEW CHAIR

The National Investor Relations Institute has elected Textron VP of IR Douglas Wilburne as 2011 chairman of its board of directors.

Wilburne takes over for Brad Wilks, Chicago CEO and managing director of Sard Verbinnen & Co.

Jeffrey Morgan, president and CEO of NIRI, said Wilburn brings an "outstanding balance of well-rounded business acumen, hands-on investor relations experience, understanding of relevant regulatory issues, and a clear vision for NIRI's future."

Wilburne, who previously established an IR operation at Rite Aid and headed IR at AMP Inc. until its merger with Tyco, said he will focus on three key items during his tenure. They include membership growth as the economy recovers, deepening NIRI's influence through advocacy and professional development, and improving its effectiveness based on a strategic review of the organization to culminate with a summit of chapter leaders at its 2011 annual conference.

UPCOMING: Thurs., Dec. 2 -- PRSA/Georgia Chapter Luncheon, “Expedition 206: Happiness Goes Around, Coca-Cola's Unique Social Media Experiment," 11:30 a.m. registration, noon program, Maggiano’s Buckhead, 3368 Peachtree Road N.E., Atlanta. Anne Carelli of The Coca-Cola Company will share the social media strategy from the world’s No. 1 brand to find three “happiness ambassadors” through worldwide voting. Prior to the luncheon, Virginia Miracle of Ogilvy PR Worldwide’s Washington office will conduct a morning seminar on social media measurement. Contact Denise Grant at 770/440-6369 or go to prsageorgia.org.

‘QUEEN OF THE ’NET’ BUZZES TO KPCB

Mary Meeker, the so-called “queen of the ’Net,” is leaving Morgan Stanley for a partnership at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the Silicon Valley venture capital firm announced Nov. 29.

KPCB partner John Doerr praised Meeker as “an early supporter of some of the biggest technology investment winners of the past 20 years.” That group includes Google, Amazon, eBay and Yahoo! She has championed e-commerce, globalization and most recently, mobile and social networking.

Meeker, who was head of Morgan Stanley's global technology research team, sees the “beginning of another great wave of tech innovation” and is eager to counsel the next generation of ’Net technologies and leaders. Based in Menlo Park, Meeker will travel frequently to New York and Asia.

Prior to joining Morgan Stanley in 1991, Meeker worked as a technology research analyst at Cowen and Salomon Brothers.

Founded in 1972, KPCB has invested in AOL, Google, Genentech, Compaq, Sun, Netscape, Electronic Arts, and Intuit.

Burson-Marsteller handles PR duties for KPCB.

KRUPP BRINGS BACK FONDA WORKOUT

New York-based Krupp Kommunications is guiding PR for the return of Jane Fonda's iconic fitness series, slated for Target stores in December.

Fonda sparked a home-exercise revolution in the 1980s with a series of videos starting in 1982 that went on to sell 17 million copies.

GoFit, an 11-year-old home fitness products company based in Tulsa, Okla., has brought in Krupp as agency of record to handle national media relations and consulting as it re-launches “Jane Fonda's Workout” as a DVD series and product line available exclusively at Target stores, starting Dec. 26.

“Jane Fonda revolutionized the fitness world when she was in her forties and now she is doing it again at 72,” said Krupp CEO Heidi Krupp.

GoFit cited Krupp’s health and wellnesss PR experience in the decision. The firm works with clients like Weight Watchers, South Beach diet author Dr. Arthur Agatston.

MYLER MOVES FROM MILLIBAND TO B-M

Katie Myler, who was senior media advisor to U.K. Labour Party head Ed Milliband, checks in at Burson-Marsteller as director and senior consultant.

She spent ten years at London's GMTV handling political coverage, including a two-year stint as New York bureau chief, where she reported on the Bush/Kerry election, terrorism and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Myler worked in Gordon Brown's government as advisor to then-Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and Andy Burnham, former Secretary of State for Health.

She advised Milliband as he challenged his brother, David, to become leader of the opposition following the May election that resulted in a coalition government.
Myler reports to Chris Cartwright, B-M's corporate lead.

CABLEVISON STUDIES SPIN-OFF

Cablevision has announced it is exploring the spin-off of the Rainbow Media cable programming division to shareholders in a bid to boost value. Wall Street cheered the news, bidding Cablevision stock up almost $3 to $31.90.

The company’s board, via a statement, said it “believes that the spin-off has the potential to enhance the value of that business and Cablevision, thereby providing each company with greater flexibility to pursue strategic objectives.”

Rainbow channels include AMC (producer of “Mad Men”) , We tv (women’s entertainment), Sundance Channel (independent films) and Wedding Central. The unit owns IFC (specialty film production).

Cablevision will retain its cable TV operation that serves 3M homes in the New York metropolitan area, News 12 Networks, Newsday, Clearview Cinemas and MSG Varsity, which covers high school sports.

A spin-off would take place in mid-2011. Cablevision has ruled out the sale of either Rainbow or the cable systems. Earlier this year, the company spun-off Madison Square Garden, which includes the New York Knicks, New York Liberty, New York Rangers and Radio City Music Hall.

L.A. PUBLICIST DOZORETZ DIES AT 62

Linda Dozoretz, a longtime entertainment publicist with client roster that included Burt Bacharach, Doris Day and Rosemary Clooney, died Nov. 9 after a 30-year battle with cancer and heart problems. She was 62.

“She was hands down one of the most respected public relations professionals in the nation,” said Los Angeles PR pro David Beckwith. “Her clients were the top people in their fields.”

Dozortez' longest agency stint was at entertainment powerhouse Rogers & Cowan, where she established book, advertising and special project divisions and served as president of four of the agency's units. Other stints included Ruder Finn and Guttman and Pam.

She handled Bachrach's publicity through 2010 and worked PR for for Candy Spelling's 2009 book, "Stories from Candy Land," among recent assignments for her firm, Linda Dozoertz Communications, in L.A.

She started out in PR with a part-time typing job at a small agency while she attended San Fernando Valley State College, now Cal State Univ. at Northridge. Until her death, she taught a class on PR for non-profit organizations at UCLA extension.

H&K CORRALS CANNES LIONS

The advertising-oriented Cannes Lions Festival, which added PR to its awards category in 2009, has selected Hill & Knowlton as its first-ever PR firm.

Tony Burgess-Webb, chief marketing officer at H&K, calls the Cannes Lions the “epi-center for creativity in communications.”

Paul Taaffe, CEO of Hill & Knowlton, this year served as chairman of the Cannes Lions jury for its PR awards. The WPP unit hosted PR seminars at the last two Festivals, plus a “tweet-up” with Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter.

A banquet of the Committee to Protect Journalists grossed $1.47 million at the Waldorf-Astoria Nov. 23 with the profits going to oppressed reporters and their families throughout the world.

This noble effort is supported by many blue chip corporate and media companies. Sir Howard Stringer, CEO of Sony, chaired the banquet.

It was held on the first anniversary of the massacre of 57 people including 32 journalists in the Philippines. CPJ has tracked the deaths of 840 journalists since 1992, most of them murdered in cold blood.

Another banquet that honors journalists for coverage of foreign news is held each year by the Overseas Press Club. Blue chips support it.

Laudable as these efforts are, it is time for both groups to turn their attention to the dire straights of the U.S. press.

We wonder what they would say about a foreign country where upwards of half the journalists were slaughtered?

Such is the case in the U.S. since about 2000. The reporters are slaughtered figuratively rather than literally but they're just as dead. The slaughter not only continues but seems to be picking up steam.

Journalists in Despair

The deep cuts in journalism, taking place at three times the rate of jobs in other industries according to UNITY Layoff Tracker, have driven journalists to despair.

Thomas Frank, ex-Wall Street Journal who joined Harper’s this summer, writes in the December issue:

“Newsgathering staffs are decimated. Distant bureaus are closed. Print editions shrink or disappear. It is next to impossible to make readers pay for online content. There is no point in denying it. The industry is dying.”

Journalists are being reduced to piece-work writers for "content mills" such as “Demand Media” at about $15 for 300 words, he says.

He is especially harsh on financial journalists, saying “journalism’s greatest foul-up of recent years” is its “almost complete failure to warn about the collapse of the sub-prime bubble.”

Another fund-raiser supported by many of the same blue chips is the "Financial Follies" of the New York Financial Writers Assn. At least 400 journalists were guests of such companies (at $400 each) at the 2010 Follies Nov. 19. Scholarships are given to future financial writers. Attendance at the black-tie event was about 1,000.

Steiger, Others Could Mediate

CPJ, OPC and NYFWA could do a lot to help U.S. journalism in its hour of need and it doesn't have to cost a penny.

Paul Steiger, managing editor of the WSJ from 1991-2007, chair of the CPJ since 2004 and the well-paid ($570K) chair of ProPublica, travels in the highest corporate circles.

Steiger and the heads of the other groups could tell their CEO contacts of the harsh, hard-sell, stonewalling tactics that have spread like an epidemic in their "corporate communications" depts.., replacing previous habits of politeness, helpfulness, kindness, returning phone calls, etc.

Current PR practice blocks information flow and access to news sources. It is helping to speed the decline of media. Reporters who are left typically are kissed off with a legally-vetted e-mail.

Call off the Dogs

There are flaws in journalism but this is no time for PR to be pouring water on a drowning industry.

“Corporate Communications” depts.. are “goal” and “outcomes” oriented. What they do may involve little or no communications or interplay with the press. Critical journalists may come under personal attack.

Irene Rosenfeld, CEO of Kraft, told the Arthur W. Page Society this year that “corporate affairs” (headed by PR pro and Page member Perry Yeatman) is her “secret weapon.” A weapon is something that is used to hurt someone.

Corporate focus on legislation was underscored this year as Yeatman moved her office from h.q. outside of Chicago to Washington, D.C.

Wendell Potter, PR pro-turned journalist, said there is an “unsettling effort to shout down traditional sources of news” and that “inflammatory, often outrageous rhetoric is used recklessly to inspire anger…”

Potter, author of “Deadly Spin,” an expose of abusive PR practices in the healthcare industry, says personal relationships between PR pros and reporters have been replaced by carefully crafted e-mails.

Distrust of reporters was preached at the 2010 conference of PR Society of America in D.C. attended by 3,000.

One slide at the Assembly said, “News is no longer vetted and gate-keepers [i.e., reporters and editors] are being eliminated.” The slide charged that traditional “news values” are being “diluted if not dissolved.”

CEOs Are Distrusted, Says Margaritis

Bill Margaritis, PR head at FedEx and chair of Page, told the Institute for PR Nov. 11 that trust in corporate America has reached an all-time low and that organizations must eliminate any gap between what they say and what they do.

The "reputational intelligence" he advocates is mostly aimed at the "eager audiences" of employees, customers and vendors who will spread the same corporate message.

Trust in corporations is bound to get lower as Potter tours more than 20 cities and seeks publicity in national and local media.

He says too many corporations are seeking legislative goals in Washington, D.C., in health insurance, financial, environmental and other areas via high-sounding "front groups" whose sources of funds are hidden.

PR Spokesperson Is Needed

Logical candidate to speak in-person for PR is Bill Murray, president of PR Society of America, who received a total package of $373K in 2009. His public appearances are rare. Employed since January 2007, he has yet to address the New York chapter.

Second in line is VP-PR Arthur Yann who was paid $137K in 2009. Only Yann and his staffers can give permission for any officer, director or member to speak for or about the Society.

Volunteers such as 2010 chair Gary McCormick or 2011 chair Rosanna Fiske do not have the time to go on multi-city, in-person tours.

The Society has created “The Business Case for PR” but there is no one promoting it like Potter is promoting his book.

PR is being criticized by those “who do not understand the practice and application of PR,” says the “Business Case for PR.”

This could not apply to Potter, who had a 20-year career in senior PR posts.

Other candidates are Kathy Cripps, who received total compensation of $319,014 in 2009 as president of the Council of PR Firms (cash/savings of $887,861), and Julia Hood, ten-year editor of PR Week/U.S. now at Page as its first paid president at about $200K (cash/savings of $851,582).

Seitel and Mike Paul have appeared on TV hundreds of times on PR topics but they don't represent any PR group.

— Jack O'Dwyer