American PR firm Imperial PR has been honoured with an industry award for its “achievement” in protecting the image of a major US sugar producer after one of its refineries exploded, killing 14 people and injuring over 40.
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Talking the Town: Harry M, superstar
Not everyone in this town is wild about Harry M Miller, but he can really pull a crowd, with Lindy Chamberlain, Stuart Diver, Michael Kirby, Marcia Hines, Stuart Wagstaff and many more turning up to a Kings Cross nightclub for the launch of his autobiography last night.
Everything you need to know about big-P politics in four simple charts
Barely 10 years ago, the dynamics of the government/public relationship was such that the Prime Minister neither lifted nor depressed the party vote very much, says Possum Comitatus. But with the rise of PR-driven politics, just check out the charts now…
Whales are overrated
Whales, schmales, says Tom Arup: the time and energy spent on the issue of whaling is completely disproportionate to its importance. There are plenty of other fish in the sea.
Berlusconi’s Ministry of Truth
Silvio Berlusconi’s ongoing war against newspapers saying nasty things about him continues, with the Italian PM assembling a crack team of journos and PR hacks to monitor the world’s media for mean comments and “bombard those newsrooms with truthful and positive news.”
Why Kraft gives Vegemite a bad name
Australians can’t stop talking about how bad the name “Vegemite iSnack 2.0” is. And that’s exactly what Kraft wants, says Willem Reyners Tay.
PODCAST: The rise and rise of Levi Johnston
NPR looks at how a monosyllabic 19-year-old from nowhere Alaska has become one of the most in-demand interview subjects in the US media, and the people working behind-the-scenes to shape and promote his public image.
ROI journalism: pragmatism vs. the public interest
Despite ideals of hard-nosed investigating and serving the public interest, for many journalists, it’s only pragmatic to chase stories they’re sure will end up in print, says Tim Burrowes. But are journalists being lazy, or just efficient?
Journalists cross over to the dark side: PR
As jobs are destroyed in the carnage of the media downturn, countries in need of an image makeover, like Russia and Georgia, are salvaging the spoils, scoring some of the sharpest media minds around to spin their dirty laundry for the Western media.
BUSTED: Microsoft’s secret war on Google
Microsoft has been employing PR firms to work full-time on “Google-bashing” and hosts secret strategy sessions known as “screw Google” meetings, as part of a broader campaign to discredit the search giant, inside sources tell Daily Finance.
Twitter scores $48m worth of press in a single month
They may not have figured out a viable pay model yet, but the raging flood of press coverage poured on media-darling Twitter generated the company $48 million in free publicity last month alone, according to a news-monitoring service.
China learns the Yin and Yang of PR
China has a new media management strategy: savvy PR! The Uighurs have a counter-strategy: breaking shit.
Corporate creation myths and why we need them
You can’t truly have a runaway business success these days unless your company started out as one guy in a garage, building everything on home-spun smarts and the smell of an oily rag… or at least that’s what you have to tell people. Dan Heath explains why.
Oops War and (Green)peace
Greenpeace in Australia raised their monthly donor prices recently, without properly consulting donors first. Michel Hogan examines the delicate trust between businesses and their customers.
Tips and rumours
Bernard Keane writes some drivel but he did, perhaps by accident, show some insight yesterday when he wrote, “the Government doesn’t trust its own bureaucrats”. How true. As a bureaucrat I can tell you unequivocally that is the case, the government does not trust us, it treats our advice (when they bother to seek it) […]
Victorian transport users the victims of AWFUL ad campaigns
Victorian motorists and public transport users are the targets for obscure, patronising and occasionally downright creepy advertising, writes Stephen Downes.
Breast cancer media frenzy anything but helpful
The media may have presented an overly optimistic view of the benefits of breast cancer drug Herceptin, writes Sally Crossing.
Spin watch: Pell’s poor PR performance
Cardinal George Pell has made four errors in handling the current sex abuse controversy. The first three are dumb, the fourth is potentially devastating, writes Trevor Cook.
Tips and rumours
The explanation by the Qantas engineer’s union why the “peace” talks with the airline has been pushed back to Wednesday from Monday is bulldust. They aren’t having trouble getting delegates to the meeting as claimed. They have backed off to give Qantas time to replace Geoff Dixon as CEO so that the person who has […]
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PODCASTS: Canberra Calling: Download or listen to the latest episode now.
BLOGWATCH: Our fabulous Friday trash wrap.
STATE OF THE PLANET: Potential for life on Mars, waterfalls for NYC.
STUFF WE LIKE: Googling obscenity, The Dawn Chorus hits Oz.
US MEDIA WRAP: The gun issue enters the campaign.
CROAKEY: Debate issues […]
Global PR firm outed as force behind blood clot awareness campaign
The international PR firm Fleishman-Hillard, working with drug company money, is helping run a high-profile campaign to raise public awareness about blood clots in Australia, reports Ray Moynihan.
Don’t write off Coles, says former Woolies bigwig
Coles is not dead in the water. Wesfarmers made a good buy; that is, provided they successfully execute their strategy to compete effectively with Woolies, writes former Woolworths Executive Chairman Paul Simons.
Life in PR? It’s a gas, says golden boy Hedley Thomas
The Gold Walkley incumbent is bringing the tools of investigative journaluism tohis new work in PR, writes Stephen Mayne.
