PR Week (US) articles from June 2003

PR Week (US) archives from June 2003

FDA focusing on communications in five-point overhaul strategy.(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... ROCKVILLE, MD: The FDA is channeling its communications efforts into commissioner Mark McClellan's new five-point strategy for the agency. The efforts are being led by new associate commissioner for external relations Peter Pitts. After...

Cisco bids to formalize PR work as it searches for AOR.(Cisco Systems Inc.)
June 2, 2003... SAN JOSE, CA: Cisco Systems is about to launch a massive search for what is likely to be its first corporate AOR in the US. Claudia Ceniceros, senior director of corporate PR, confirmed the IT networking company would soon conduct a review...

FEMA seeking PR firm to push flood insurance policies.(Federal Emergency Management Agency seeks public relations firm to promote participation in National Flood Insurance Program)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... WASHINGTON: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is looking for a firm to conduct a five-year, dollars 12 million to dollars 15 million annual integrated campaign to encourage more Americans to participate in its National Flood...

Study shows PR's marketing contribution.(PRWeek/MS&L Marketing Management Survey results)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... NEW YORK: PR is currently underutilized in the marketing mix, according to 63% of marketing executives and brand managers who participated in the PRWeek/MS&L Marketing Management Survey. The survey was designed to find out what marketing...

Tyco lures Arditte from BancBoston to be new SVP of IR.(Edward Arditte joins Tyco International Ltd.)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... PEMBROKE, BERMUDA: Tyco International, the scandal-buffeted conglomerate, has hired a new SVP of IR, Edward Arditte. Arditte comes to Tyco from BancBoston Capital, an investment arm of financial services firm FleetBoston Financial, where he...

KCSA to provide IR services for AMEX-listed companies.(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... NEW YORK: KCSA has scooped an account to provide IR support to American Stock Exchange-traded companies as part of a service the exchange offers its listed companies. AMEX executives described the account as valued in the 'mid-six...

Brodeur opens nanotechnology practice.(Brodeur Worldwide)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... BOSTON: The small world of nanotechnology just got a little bit bigger, as Brodeur Worldwide has decided to develop a new consulting practice that will focus on the burgeoning hi-tech sector. 'We have been looking at this space as one of...

Minneapolis visitors body to retool marketing effort.(Greater Minneapolis Convention & Visitors Association seeks new name)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... MINNEAPOLIS: The Greater Minneapolis Convention & Visitors Association is searching for a new name for itself and crafting new messages to attract individuals and conventions to the city as the result of a recently completed brand audit. ...

Gemstar-TV Guide brings in Levesque as EVP of comms.(Christine Levesque)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... NEW YORK: Gemstar-TV Guide has named Christine Levesque EVP for communication, marketing, and government affairs. Levesque, now SVP for communication and marketing at Rainbow Media Holdings, will oversee media relations, brand management,...

NEWS BRIEF: Appointment at Shift Communications.(Sheila Consaul is new managing director of Washington, DC, office)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... McLEAN, VA: Shift Communications has appointed Sheila Consaul as MD of its Washington, DC-area office. Consaul, who was previously GM of East Coast operations for The Hoffman Agency, will lead client services and business development.

NEWS BRIEF: Cancer Detection Center selects Young Communications.(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... LOS ANGELES: The Cancer Detection Center has selected Young Communications Group to handle marketing for the screening center. The agency will reach out to general audiences, with a special focus on the African-American market, where there is...

NEWS BRIEF: Appointment at Coyne Public Relations.(Ronni Heyman is named vice president of new business development)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... FAIRFIELD, NJ: Coyne Public Relations has appointed Ronni Heyman as VP of new business development. Heyman, a 16-year PR veteran, was most recently communications director for eLUXURY.com, owned by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA.

NEWS BRIEF: Appointment at Business Wire.(Gregg Castano is appointed to board of directors)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... NEW YORK: Business Wire has named Gregg Castano to its board of directors. The SVP of global sales joined Business Wire in 1985, and is coordinating the current effort to set up worldwide sales offices.

NEWS BRIEF: 14 South Networks taps Gallagher Group.(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... BOCA RATON, FL: 14 South Networks has tapped Gallagher Group Communications to provide a host of PR services. 14 South Networks is a new intranet security company spun off from IBM.

NEWS BRIEF: Appointment at Martino & Binzer.(Christopher Capot is new vice president of public relations)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... AVON, CT: Martino & Binzer has appointed Christopher Capot to VP of PR. Capot is responsible for taking the agency's PR business into new markets, increasing the depth of its PR resources, and enabling the agency's clients to draw on his...

NEWS BRIEF: Tim Penny rejoins Himle Horner.(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... MINNEAPOLIS: Former congressman and gubernatorial candidate Tim Penny is rejoining Twin Cities PR firm Himle Horner as a senior counselor. Penny assists regional and national clients in strategic planning and public affairs. He joined the firm...

NEWS BRIEF: Woodburn Company Stores chooses R/West for PR program.(public relations)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... PORTLAND, OR: Woodburn Company Stores, owned by Newport Beach, CA-based Craig Realty Group, has selected R/West to manage its PR program. The three-year-old premium outlet center, located 30 miles south of Portland, is the largest in the...

NEWS BRIEF: Appointment at Goddard Claussen Porter Novelli.(Neil Franz, Meghan O'Meara and Anna Vredeveld join staff)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... WASHINGTON: Goddard Claussen Porter Novelli has added three staff members: Neil Franz, former Washington editor for Chemical Week magazine, joins as SAE, as does Meghan O'Meara, who comes from Hill & Knowlton's Washington office. Anna...

NEWS BRIEF: Slide Systems appoints Beard Advertising.(to handle its nationwide public relations activities)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA: Beard Advertising has been appointed by Slide Systems to handle its nationwide PR activities. Located in Canastota, NY, Slide is the manufacturer of the Rollerbox brand of rolling storage systems and accessories for pickup...

NEWS BRIEF: Appointment at LACMA.(Los Angeles County Museum of Art named Chris Hansen SVP and CMO)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... LOS ANGELES: The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), has named Chris Hansen SVP and CMO. Hansen will be an integral part of LACMA's executive management team, and directly responsible for all marketing efforts, including brand...

NEWS BRIEF: Promotion at The Aker Partners.(Phillip Hayes promoted to associate partner)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... WASHINGTON: Phillip Hayes, a public affairs professional with The Aker Partners, has been promoted to associate partner. Previously with Hill & Knowlton, he was a staffer for a member of Congress, and was staff director of a Senate agricultural...

Burson to help lure US and Canadian tourists to Mexico.(Mexico Tourism Board selected Burson-Marsteller to handle a account aimed at promoting the country to tourists)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... MIAMI: The Mexico Tourism Board (MTB) has selected the Miami office of Burson-Marsteller to handle a multimillion-dollar account aimed at promoting the country to foreign travelers. Burson won the business after a competitive RFP process....

Brunswick hired in dollars 3.1bn bid to take over Centerpulse.(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... LONDON: Swiss healthcare firm Centerpulse has hired Brunswick for financial PR advice following a pounds 1.9 billion (dollars 3.1 billion) hostile takeover bid from US firm Zimmer. Zimmer made the unsolicited approach earlier this month,...

CA groups launch effort to recall Gov. Davis.(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... SACRAMENTO: A group of prominent political organizations and strategists has started a campaign to combat a months-old effort to recall Governor Gray Davis (D-CA), heating up partisan politics at a time when the state is facing intense pressure...

Dems aim to block merger of Hispanic media empires.
June 2, 2003... WASHINGTON: Democrats in Congress are lining up to stop a merger that could lead to conservative dominance of Spanish-language news media and a Democratic disadvantage when it comes to winning the most coveted minority vote in 2004. ...

TX pro-lifers adopt softer image in legislative push.(Texas Right to Life Committee)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... AUSTIN, TX: Pro-lifers adopted a gentler image than usual to successfully push abortion restrictions through the Republican-dominated Texas Legislature. Elizabeth Graham, associate director of the Texas Right to Life Committee (TRLC),...

Joyce lands VP of corporate comms spot at Sallie Mae.(Tom Joyce)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... WASHINGTON: Sallie Mae is bringing on board Tom Joyce as its new VP of corporate communications. Joyce spent the past year and a half as a partner at Minneapolis-based Carmichael Lynch Spong (CLS), where he headed the corporate practice....

LMDC retools PR unit as it eyes memorial.(Lower Manhattan Development Corp. promotes Matthew Higgins)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... NEW YORK: The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) has shuffled its communications personnel, promoting Matthew Higgins, the former VP of communications, to COO and director of communications. Higgins, who was a press aide in the...

H&K hires Pestana as first director of strategic services.(Hill & Knowlton, Ruth Pestana)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... NEW YORK: Hill & Knowlton has appointed Ruth Pestana to the newly created role of director of strategic services. Pestana will work with account teams throughout H&K's US offices to create a network of existing strategic expertise across...

Chevy taps into its rock and roll roots for latest initiative.(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... DETROIT: Chevrolet is using its rock and roll roots as part of a national PR effort. Chevy is in the midst of a rock memorabilia tour that is sending rock items and classic Chevys to 15 stops around the country. 'We're getting some...

Edelman emerges to land CME account.(Chicago Mercantile Exchange selected company as its public relations agency of record)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... CHICAGO: The Chicago Mercantile Exchange has picked Edelman as its PR agency of record. The CME considered a dozen agencies and heard final presentations from three before selecting Edelman to help it gain visibility in the US and abroad....

Tech firms Atomic PR and Launchsquad take on consumer accounts.(Infinite Spirits, Anacor Pharmaceuticals)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... SAN FRANCISCO: Atomic PR and Launchsquad are adamant they aren't giving up on technology. But both tech firms have signed their first consumer clients: alcohol company Infinite Spirits for Atomic, and Anacor Pharmaceuticals for Launchsquad. ...

Arbitration group hires MWW as its agency of record.(American Arbitration Association awards contract to The MWW Group)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... NEW YORK: The American Arbitration Association (AAA), a nonprofit that provides conflict-management and dispute-resolutions services, has named the The MWW Group as its AOR. MWW will help AAA's three-person corporate communications team...

Red Cross road tour aiming to boost donation of blood.(Save A Life Tour 2003)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... LOS ANGELES: The American Red Cross launched its Save A Life Tour 2003 - which it is calling 'one of the largest initiatives in its history' - to encourage Americans to donate blood regularly. Ogilvy PR will be handling PR for the tour, which...

Prismira to gauge investor sentiment using internet tool.(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... NEW YORK: Prismira, a newly formed stakeholder research firm, has developed a new internet-based IR technique designed to track the sentiments of a company's investors. One of the firm's main product offerings is called QuickTakes, an...

Burson appoints top human-rights expert to head up global CSR arm.(Bennett Freeman appointed at Burson-Marsteller)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... WASHINGTON: Bennett Freeman, a leading expert on international human rights and a former State Department official, has joined Burson-Marsteller as head of its global CSR practice. Burson turned to the 45-year-old former deputy assistant...

Porter Novelli taps Schreiber to be its GM in Sacramento.(Bill Schreiber)(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... SACRAMENTO, CA: Bill Schreiber has been named GM of Porter Novelli's Sacramento office. Schreiber has been acting GM since January, when the office officially took on the PN name. Previously, it was NCG, which Porter Novelli acquired about...

Disney draws on 'Lion King' favorites in safety initiative.(Walt Disney Company announced new safety campaign that will use the Lion King characters to target kids )(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... ANAHEIM, CA: The Walt Disney Company announced a new safety campaign last week that will use the popular Lion King characters to target kids visiting its theme parks with messages about accident prevention. Dubbed 'Wild About Safety,' the...

Ethnic press' SARS coverage more in-depth, study finds.(Brief Article)
June 2, 2003... LOS ANGELES: Ethnic media outlets were quicker and more thorough covering the SARS outbreak than their mainstream counterparts, pointing to relevant content as a major factor for Asian Americans when choosing news sources, according to a new...

EDITORIAL: Focus on standard-seating return flies in the face of a recent American Airlines campaign.
June 2, 2003... CEO Gerald Arpey told shareholders recently that American Airlines is cutting dollars 4 billion in expenses as a result of its 'turnaround plan.' But that wasn't what made the headlines. Reports focused instead on the airline's decision to...

OP-ED: The union of PR and ads makes any message stronger.
June 2, 2003... Your world has changed. To be the architect of an effective marketing strategy you must understand the fundamental shifts that have radically reshaped the marketing environment. You have to evolve immediately to remain relevant. Integrated...

ANALYSIS: Government Contracts - Landing government work requires learning the lingo.
June 2, 2003... Many tech companies are eyeing the fat budgets of the Department of Homeland Security. But Andrew Gordon finds that they must first learn to communicate in that space. The light at the end of the tech downturn tunnel isn't being held by...

PAUL HOLMES: Garnier epitomizes problems of excessive compensation and deficient media training.(GlaxoSmithKline CEO Jean-Pierre Garnier)
June 2, 2003... A few years ago, writing a story about media training, I thought it would be a fun idea to get media trained myself. The first thing my media trainer did was sit me down in a chair and force me to watch Lawrence Rawl, the former CEO of Exxon,...

CORPORATE CASE STUDY: PR helps plot Lexmark's strategy for printer market.
June 2, 2003... In its ongoing effort to take a larger part of the market from HP, Lexmark's b-to-b PR team is guiding the company's move away from tech talk, to showing what it can do to help businesses. Lexmark doesn't suffer from delusions of grandeur...

MEDIA WATCH: Press coverage alone makes star of PGA's female contender.(Annika Sorenstam)
June 2, 2003... Annika Sorenstam's acceptance of an invitation to play at the Bank of America Colonial tournament in Fort Worth, TX sparked an unprecedented flood of media buzz and hype for an LPGA player. When Sorenstam teed off at the tournament, she became...

MEDIA ROUNDUP: Women's ever-evolving role is reflected in coverage.
June 2, 2003... Women have more media outlets than ever before to find relevant, useful information. This proliferation isn't only good news for them, but also for the PR pros pitching related subjects. David Ward reports. While it remains part of the...

MEDIA PROFILE: Buzz and a fresh angle keep Vibe a mainstay of urban culture.
June 2, 2003... The editors of Vibe want publicists to know them and their magazine as well as they do. A new lifestyle section and a redesign debuting in the fall will expand the placement options. Ten years ago, music mogul Quincy Jones saw in urban...

PROFILE: Straight-shooting Maviglio takes hits for Gov. Davis.(Governor Gray Davis of California)(Interview)
June 2, 2003... Serving as press secretary for California's unpopular Governor Gray Davis is not easy. But Steve Maviglio is able to maintain his relationship with the press by providing accurate information. A good political spokesperson won't sacrifice...

PR TECHNIQUE: Internet - Weblogs: windows of marketing opportunity.
June 2, 2003... By targeting bloggers and setting up corporate sites, PR experts are gaining a more positive approach to the viral marketing power of weblogs. Thom Weidlich reports. When weblogs dawned a few years ago, PR experts were largely concerned...

CAMPAIGN: Coeur talks to its investors to keep company digging.(Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. engages in public relations campaign)
June 2, 2003... PR Team: Makovsky & Co. (New York), and Coeur d'Alene Mining (Coeur d'Alene, ID) Campaign: The New Coeur Time Frame: Late 2001-late 2002 Budget: dollars 120,000 'If that had happened, that would have made restructuring impossible,'...

CAMPAIGN: Online travel agent gets lift as student travel leaders fall.(StudentUniverse launches public relations campaign)
June 2, 2003... PR Team: StudentUniverse (Watertown, MA) and The Castle Group (Boston) Campaign: The year without a spring break Time Frame: January 2002-February 2002 Budget: dollars 15,000 StudentUniverse's business model differs from the failed...

CAMPAIGN: Review campaign boosts radio from Boston Acoustics.
June 2, 2003... PR Team: Boston Acoustics (Peabody, MA) and PAN Communications (Andover, MA) Campaign: Recepter Radio launch Time Frame: September 2002-March 2003 Budget: dollars 75,000 'While we are well known to the audiophile market, we needed...

THE PUBLICIST: Working in Hollywood means you'll always be on the move.(Column)
June 2, 2003... Ever since Hollywood left Hollywood, one must be nomadic if one wants to work in the movie industry. Or doesn't even want to - but has to. The latter category includes me. True, I've been lying around all year working on my tan (oh, it's...

PR PLAY OF THE WEEK: R&B stars help Black Hebrews score hits.(Whitney Houston, Bobby Brown visit Black Hebrews)
June 2, 2003... JERUSALEM: Sometimes a picture is worth a thousands words. And sometimes it just stops people dead in their tracks and makes them scratch their head. Perhaps both apply in this instance. Just days from what is sure to be a high-stakes...

TOY BOX: Label the Turbo a hit for order-seekers.(LabelWriter 330 Turbo)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 2, 2003... If you derive great pleasure from organization, DYMO's LabelWriter 330 Turbo is for you. Even for those with just a normal level of appreciation for order - unlike myself - I still recommend it. The Turbo is essentially a mini-printer...

BOOK REVIEW: A solid guide to get from Good to Great.(Book Review)
June 2, 2003... Good to Great is a must-read for all business-school students, new hires, and aspiring leaders. Jim Collins distills into a user-friendly form the ingredients required to achieve 'greatness' in a company. Based on specific criteria, he...

District Court opinion clears way for PR to play role in legal matters.(Brief Article)
June 9, 2003... NEW YORK, NY: A federal judge has ruled that attorney-client privilege extends to the legal conversations between PR firms and lawyers whose clients are under investigation. Unsealed last week, the opinion lends some clarity to a previously...

US public affairs operation in Iraq all but closed down.
June 9, 2003... WASHINGTON: Journalists and government officials complained last week that the Bush administration has virtually abandoned its public affairs operation in Baghdad. Moroccan ambassador Margaret Tutwiler was sent to oversee the operation in...

Top Times editors resign in wake of Jayson Blair saga.(Executive editor Howell Raines, managing editor Gerald Boyd resign from New York Times )(Brief Article)
June 9, 2003... NEW YORK, NY: In the wake of a major scandal, The New York Times announced the resignation of its top editors last week. Executive editor Howell Raines and managing editor Gerald Boyd resigned even as internal investigations tried to...

SP points to CEO's plan as litigation looms.(Schering-Plough, Fred Hassan)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2003... KENILWORTH, NJ: The corporate communications team at Schering-Plough (SP) has responded to the company's most recent woes by reinforcing CEO Fred Hassan's initial action steps, which he outlined just 17 days into his tenure at the troubled...

MCS to run comms for ImClone cancer treatment Erbitux.(Brief Article)
June 9, 2003... BEDMINSTER, NJ: ImClone Systems and Bristol-Myers Squibb have retained MCS, a healthcare-focused PR firm, to handle communications for their investigational cancer drug Erbitux. The agency would not comment on the details or duration of the...

Rudolph's discovery casts spotlight on small NC town.(Eric Robert Rudolph; Murphy, NC)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2003... MURPHY, NC: The arrest of Eric Robert Rudolph, the suspect in the 1996 Olympic bombing, brought a torrent of unflattering attention to the small town of Murphy, NC, in the state's rural Western stretches. The national media flooded the...

BHI spins off new entertainment agency.(Bender/Helper Impact spins off Entertainment Impact)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2003... LOS ANGELES: Bender/Helper Impact (BHI) has spun off a new company that aims to provide a clearinghouse of entertainment marketing services centered around a PR perspective. Called Entertainment Impact (EI), the new venture has a core of...

Quality Institute taps Golin in drive to build awareness.(Quality Institute International)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2003... SAN FRANCISCO: Having a hard time deciding which brand of waffle or beer is the very best? Quality Institute International (QII) wants to make consumers' lives easier when faced with such decisions. So QII has picked Golin/Harris...

Edelman out of the mix as shortlist for Fuji PR is revealed.(Fuji Photo Film USA narrows agency list to Text 100, Stanton Crenshaw)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2003... ELMSFORD, NY: Fuji Photo Film USA will part ways with Edelman as its AOR after 21 years. Its review for a new firm is down to Text 100 and Stanton Crenshaw. 'It has nothing to do with the quality of Edelman's work,' said Thomas Shay,...

NEWS BRIEF: MediaMap adds information to directory.(Brief Article)
June 9, 2003... WATERTOWN, MA: MediaMap has added information about weblogs and their authors to its media directory. Contact details and information on how best to communicate with the accredited journalists will be available through the company's MediaMap...

NEWS BRIEF: New Line EVP to leave studio.(Mary Donovan)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2003... LOS ANGELES: New Line EVP of corporate affairs Mary Donovan has announced she will leave the studio at the end of July. No replacement has been announced.

NEWS BRIEF: EPA acquires two new clients.(Eisner, Petrou and Associates wins contracts from Clear Channel Entertainment, MEDEX)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2003... BALTIMORE: Eisner, Petrou and Associates (EPA), has acquired two new clients, Clear Channel Entertainment and MEDEX. Clear Channel selected EPA after a six-firm review, and hired the agency to provide PR counsel for the company's 'rebirth' of...

NEWS BRIEF: Shelley Hymes joins Burson-Marsteller.(Brief Article)
June 9, 2003... WASHINGTON: Shelley Hymes, ex-director of the Office of the 21st Century Workforce at the Department of Labor, has joined as a director in Burson-Marsteller's public affairs practice. Hymes has also served as communications director at the New...

NEWS BRIEF: Appointment at CKPR.(Paige Dorman joins firm in Chicago)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2003... CHICAGO: Paige Dorman has joined CKPR's Chicago office in a newly created position, associate director and VP. She'll oversee agency PR work for AirTran Airways and will work on new business development. Dorman had worked for CKPR previously,...

NEWS BRIEF: Appointment at Matrix, USA.(L'Oreal USA's Matrix appoints Cindy Riccio to director of communications)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2003... NEW YORK: Cindy Riccio has been appointed as director of communications for Matrix, USA. Matrix is a division of L'Oreal USA's Professional Products division. Previously, Riccio was the PR director for Sara Lee Hosiery, supervising the...

NEWS BRIEF: Doctor's Company selects Peppercom as AOR.(Brief Article)
June 9, 2003... SAN FRANCISCO: The Doctor's Company, a doctors-owned medical malpractice insurance company, has selected Peppercom as its AOR to help strengthen its national brand recognition and thought-leadership position among doctors, legislators, and...

NEWS BRIEF: Promotion at NFIB.(National Federation of Independent Business promotes Susan Ridge)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2003... WASHINGTON: The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation's largest small-business advocacy group, has promoted Susan Ridge, director of the NFIB Education Foundation, to VP of communications. She will oversee the internal,...

NEWS BRIEF: Great Lakes Kraut retains Goltz Seering Agency.(Brief Article)
June 9, 2003... BEAR CREEK, WI: Great Lakes Kraut has retained the Goltz Seering Agency to handle PR, along with ad and promotional efforts. The sauerkraut maker recently went through a change in ownership. It markets sauerkraut under the Krrrrisp Kraut and...

NEWS BRIEF: People's Revolution selected by hotels.(Soho, Tribeca Grand Hotels)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2003... NEW YORK: People's Revolution has been selected as the new PR firm for the Soho and Tribeca Grand Hotels, as both properties undergo substantial renovations. The Tribeca Grand will debut a newly renovated lounge and a VIP eatery this summer,...

NEWS BRIEF: Qorvis Communications expands tech practice.(Brief Article)
June 9, 2003... WASHINGTON: Qorvis Communications is expanding its tech practice with the launch of StreetBuzz, a service that leverages the firm's grassroots capabilities to introduce tech products at the local level before their national debut. 'We want to...

NEWS BRIEF: Correction.(Correction Notice)
June 9, 2003... A table listing Los Angeles PR agencies that was included in our May 26 LA Regional Forum article should have included JMPR Public Relations, and Agnes Huff Communications Group.

GM follows up new quality ads with PR efforts across US.(Brief Article)
June 9, 2003... DETROIT: General Motors is following its new ad campaign addressing quality with nationwide grassroots PR efforts. Plans include offering people the chance to test-drive their cars against GM products. GM gained widespread media...

PeopleSoft avoids leaks surrounding acquisition plans.(PeopleSoft Inc. will acquire J.D. Edwards and Co.)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2003... PLEASANTON, CA: PeopleSoft's communications staffers are celebrating a leak-free announcement of the company's intent to acquire rival J.D. Edwards. 'We kept a very tight lid on it,' said VP of corporate communications Kara Wilson. ...

Sprauve fills public affairs job at Starbucks.(Anthony Sprauve)
June 9, 2003... SEATTLE: Starbucks has underlined its support for social responsibility and reputation management by developing the new position of VP of worldwide public affairs. The coffee company hired Anthony Sprauve to take on the new job, the...

Groups to continue fighting FCC's ownership decision.(media-ownership rules)
June 9, 2003... WASHINGTON: The Federal Communications Commission's vote last week to relax key media-ownership rules left the public-interest groups opposing the move vowing to continue their fight. Until now, the conflict had largely played out in the...

Dallas to pressure Ford on police car's safety issues.
June 9, 2003... DALLAS: The city of Dallas plans to reach out to other cities in an effort to build a coalition of public opinion strong enough to force Ford to address what Dallas claims are safety problems with Ford Crown Victorias used by police...

Bush makes staff changes as 2004 election closes in.(Nicolle Devenish will serve as director of communications in re-election campaign)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2003... WASHINGTON: President Bush is moving his 2004 campaign staff into place, rewarding old loyalists and giving younger hands a chance to prove themselves on the national stage. The director of communications role, held in 2000 by Karen Hughes...

New Wag Ed public affairs unit to help service client base.(Waggener Edstrom hires Diane Aboulafia-D'Jaen, Matthew Reid to head new practice)(Brief Article)
June 9, 2003... PORTLAND, OR: Waggener Edstrom is launching a public affairs practice to reach influencers beyond the media and analyst communities. 'We were seeing client demand for these services,' said SVP Corey duBrowa. 'This allows us to...