Huge article in NY Times' Sunday Business has Jack O'Dwyer's name written all over it.When it was revealed in early January that TV host Armstrong Williams had been paid $240,000 by the Department of Education to promote its "No Child Left Behind" initiative during radio and television appearances, newsletter editor Jack O'Dwyer was not satisfied with the coverage. Even after administration officials admitted the illegal arrangement with Williams, even after President Bush promised that it wouldn't happen again, even after similar arrangements with other government agencies and so-called independent reporters were uncovered, and even after extensive media coverage, including a lengthy Frank Rich New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times column condemning the incident, Jack O'Dwyer still was not satisfied. Why? Jack O'Dwyer's Newsletter, "The Inside News of Public Relations and Marketing Communications," wrote that none of the articles named the public relations firms involved in contracting the "undercover pitchmen." Federal law prohibits covert publicity or propaganda campaigns. O'Dwyer wrote extensively in his weekly and online newsletter all through January and February about the "sleazy" arrangements. The PR firm involved is Ketchum, one of the largest PR firms in the nation and a subsidiary of the giant advertising conglomerate Omnicom. In his weekly newsletter, Jack condemned the Ketchum principals for refusing to speak to the press. He called on the Public Relations Society of America The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), based in New York City, is the world's largest organization for public relations professionals. The organization has more than 30,000 professional and student members, and is organized into 112 chapters nationwide. to investigate these industry leaders' conduct, perhaps censure them, perhaps even expel them for allegedly illegal activities and violations of the PRSA PRSA Public Relations Society of America PRSA Personal Retirement Savings Account PRSA Puerto Rican Student Association PRSA Puerto Rican Studies Association PRSA Park and Recreation Service Area PRSA President of the Royal Scottish Academy Code of Ethics Code of Ethics can refer to:
Neither Ketchum nor PRSA answer Jack O'Dwyer's calls. Meanwhile, we confidently assume, Jack goaded goad n. 1. A long stick with a pointed end used for prodding animals. 2. An agent or means of prodding or urging; a stimulus. tr.v. the mass media to tell the full story--that is, Ketchum's complex contracts with the U.S. government. Enter The New York Times O'Dwyer's efforts paid off in a major article in The New York Times--about 100 column inches plus photos, sidebars and an illustration that dominates the first page of the February 13 Sunday Business section. The article, titled "Spinning Frenzy: P.R.'s Bad Press," by Timothy L. O'Brien Timothy L. O'Brien (1961- ) is an American journalist who has written for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Talk Magazine. A graduate of Georgetown University and Columbia University, O'Brien has specialized in articles about Russia, , explores unsavory contracts between the government and PR firms and also the debilitating de·bil·i·tat·ing adj. Causing a loss of strength or energy. Debilitating Weakening, or reducing the strength of. Mentioned in: Stress Reduction effects of the takeover of most PR firms by ad agencies since the 1980s. Yet, even the investigative reporter O'Brien was unable to reach Ketchum or Omnicom executives. That article put Jack O'Dwyer hammering out a 2-page Commentary that he e-mailed to his subscribers the next day, Monday, February 14. "We applaud the NYT NYT New York Times NYT National Youth Theatre (UK) NYT New York Transit (New York, USA) NYT New York Tribune for putting an excellent reporter on the story who had no previous prejudices and who wanted to give the field a fresh look,. "O'Brien even covered the history of PR dating back to the days of Ivy Lee at the turn of the last century," Jack wrote. "The Achilles heel of the PR industry was quickly encountered by O'Brien when he found that the leading players refused to be interviewed." "Gadfly gadfly, name for various biting flies, especially those that attack livestock, e.g., the botfly and the horsefly. " O'Brien wrote near the end of his long article, "Yet it is Ketchum's imbroglio im·bro·glio n. pl. im·bro·glios 1. a. A difficult or intricate situation; an entanglement. b. A confused or complicated disagreement. 2. A confused heap; a tangle. with Mr. Williams and the Education Department that seems to have struck a particularly indignant nerve among some longtime public relations analysts. "'This is the Three Mile Island of the P.R. business,' said Jack O'Dwyer, a public relations gadfly in New York who heads a research firm and publishes a newsletter bearing his name." We applaud Jack O'Dwyer for his dogged practice of the best in independent newsletter journalism--gadfly, relentless investigative reporter, advocate for the highest standards of the industry he covers, and goad to the big media. O'Dwyer, 271 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016, 212-679-2471, www.odwyerpr.com |
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