How Philip Morris uses public relations to change the regulatory environment of the tobacco industry… Ann Landman exposes an apparently effective plan

Recently, an articulate and highly informative article by Ann Landman appeared on pr watch. Although quite critical and explicitly biased, it details Philip Morris’s current public relations activities to modify existing regulation of the tobacco industry in the United States, and (I believe) provides a most interesting backstage analysis of our profession—very stimulating food for thought for all of us.

Research report on sustainability reporting in Canada

Earlier this week Benita Steyn asked me if I knew of any research relating to “enterprise strategy in Canada,” for use in her current research. Although information on that specific area seems light on the ground at this stage, I did recall the detailed research report conducted two years ago by our national body, the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada. From its June 7, 2005, media release: “There is a widely recognized global movement...

The Fork in the Road to PR Research

Management wants data. How can anybody think otherwise in a business world ruled by six sigma, key performance indicators, balanced scorecards, dashboards and ROI. Yet studies continue to show that many public relations practitioners still do not use research

Weekly callout of PR campaigns, “Touchdowns and Fumbles”

Readers of PR Conversations (particularly those involved in media relations or media coaching) might find the weekly e-newsletter, Touchdowns and Fumbles, produced by Veritas Communications to be just the ticket for a Friday half-time break. Its game is to provide a brief analysis of select news stories from a PR perspective. As indicated in last week’s issue (July 6th), “…we only comment on the communications play, not on the substance of the issue.”

1982 Tylenol case a misleading myth: O’Dwyer takes on Fortune, J& J and the public relations establishment!!

My good and esteemed friend, Jack O’Dwyer, has overturned yet another rug from the dainty sitting room in which our professional community enjoys talking to herself in the mirror in the most onanistic of behaviours (not that, as bloggers, we act differently…) and the air does not smell so good…. Just in case, according to Wikipedia, Onan is a person described in the book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. The word onanism, an older...