We have our first winner in the Tiger Woods floozy epidemic of 2009: The University of California at Davis. Two economics professors at the school have calculated that the Tiger Woods scandal “may have cost shareholders of companies endorsed by the world’s No. 1 golfer up to $12 billion in losses.” True? Probably not. Easily reported tidbit that keeps the Tiger scandal in the news another few days during this holiday drought? Absolutely.
Month: December 2009
Denver PR Jobs
Among those hiring this week are ICON Advisors, DirecTV Home Services, Turner PR, CSG | PR, Westin Consulting, Clear Channel, ITT Visual, Merkle, Penton Media, RICHO | IBM, Starz, URS, Atmos Energy (Greeley), Harlem Ambassadors (Fort Collins), and the American Institute of Architects (Washington, D.C.).
Linhart Promotes 3, Hires 2
Linhart PR promoted Ashley Campbell, Amanda Meyer and Russ Rizzo to senior account executives and hired Dayna Davis and Quinn Kelsey as account associates. Davis formerly was with Be-teen.com and Kelsey is a recent graduate of the University of Missouri at Columbia.
What’s Behind CBS4’s Surprise Ratings Win?
Congratulations to CBS4, which posted its first 10 p.m. newscast ratings win in years. 9News GM Mark Cornetta blamed his station’s second-place performance on “re-runs, specials and football (that) tend to skew the ratings results at this time of year,” but we all know that the real reason CBS4 landed in first place is because of Misty Montano’s twitter presence.
Michele Wells to Return to JohnstonWells
The changes continue at JohnstonWells. Michele Wells will return as a senior consultant to the firm that carries her name starting in January. The combined JohnstonWells was formed in 1993 when Gwin Johnston’s firm acquired Wells Communications, and Wells then worked at the firm until 1996.
Wells’ return follows this month’s announcement that JohnstonWells CEO GG Johnston has decided to leave the firm to pursue other opportunities and that founder and chairman Gwin Johnston will return to her role as CEO. Said Gwin, “Michele and I have sustained a friendship and maintained a working relationship these past several years. We’ve talked about working together again and now is the perfect time. It will be great to have her energy and experience.”
Denver PR Jobs
Among those hiring this week are University of Denver, Investment Management Consultants Association, Vail Resorts, 9News, GTRI, Robert Half International, Teletech, URS, Rocky Mountain Health Plans (Grand Junction), Montrose County, Colorado State University School of Global Environmental Sustainability (Fort Collins), American Lung Association (Washington, D.C.), Forest City Corp. (Cleveland, Ohio), Sandia National Labs (Albuquerque, N.M.), Tru Value (Chicago, Ill.), Union Pacific Corp. (Omaha, Neb.) and Walsh Construction (Chicago, Ill.),
Dumbest Moments in Business 2009
Fortune Magazine publishes its annual list.
Top Ten PR Blunders of 2009
The list, compiled by Rich Robinson of Robinson Communications, includes Fox News, Kanye West, Balloon Boy, Gov. Mark Sanford and Tiger Woods.
The New ‘Cheetah Woods’ Logo
With 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 women claiming extramarital affairs with Tiger Woods, it was only a matter of time before someone channeled their inner 8-year-old and took a crack at updating Woods’ logo. Ji Lee does the honors:
(Hat tip: The Denver Egotist)
Denver PR Jobs
Among those hiring this week are TIAA CREF, Starz, First Bank, Metro State College, Pearson Media, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Seattle), Crete Carrier (Lincoln, Neb.), Nintendo of America (Redwood City, Calif.) and The Wilderness Society (Bozeman, Mont.).
‘True Spin’ PR Conference Scheduled for January
The mostly annual True Spin Conference, which bills itself as a national conference on communications for Progressives, is Jan. 21-22 in Denver. In addition to Denver’s own Jason Salzman, speakers include representatives from GLAAD, the Center for Media Justice and ProgressNow. The conference costs $400 to attend if you register by Tuesday, Dec. 15. Click here for more details.
Jeffco Introduces Nation’s First Hybrid Snowplow
Screw your Prius; I want one of these. Congrats to Jefferson County’s Jenn Kostka for television and print coverage of the nation’s first hybrid snowplow.
SWA’s Berg to Join Linhart?
Is Paula Berg, Southwest Airlines’ manager of emerging media, leaving the airline to join Linhart PR in January? This Linhart blog post, which has since disappeared, implies she is.
RIP, Editor & Publisher
“America’s oldest journal covering the newspaper industry” realizes the same fate of so many newspapers it covered.
10 Reasons Media Relations Will Get Easier in 2010
Journalistics is feeling optimistic this morning, and offers its “10 Reasons Media Relations Will Get Easier in 2010:”
- Social Media
- Research Tools
- Commercial PR Products
- Analytics
- Collaboration Tools
- Diminished Reliance on the Press Release
- Expanded Media Options
- Mobile and the Rise of Location-aware Apps
- Improved Distribution
- Improved Filtering
104 West Adds Two Clients
104 West Partners added Mojofiti and SharedBook as clients. Both companies specialize in social applications.
Vail Resorts Playing Hardball Over Coverage of Skier’s Death?
Did Denver’s Vail Resorts threaten to pull its advertising from Ski Magazine after the publication blogged about the death of a 14-year-old girl on one of its slopes? The New York Times reports it did.
SE2/City of Loveland Media Training Open to the Public
From SE2’s blog:
We do a lot of media trainings, but most aren’t open to the public. An exception is Wednesday, Dec. 9, when I’ll be presenting at a training hosted by the City of Loveland. The city has opened up registration, which costs only $25. I’m excited to participate with James D. Cope, who will be speaking specifically on crisis communications. Cope knows his subject; he handled media relations around the Tylenol murders in 1982.
Interesting PR Fact of the Week
MGA Communications’ Sarah Rasmussen grew up in a small, electricity-less cabin outside a small town in rural British Columbia, Canada. During the winter months, the family’s well often would freeze, so Sarah and her brother survived for months at a time drinking nothing but Moosehead beer.
SSA Rebrands to InView Communications
If you see Carey Madsen any time soon, you might want to buy her a triple-shot espresso to keep her going. Her firm, SSA Public Relations, has just completed a rebrand to InView Communications, hired Joe Ricciardi as senior director, and added short-film Blake’s Ballad and agricultural, cooperative and financial organization consultant FCCServices as clients.
Is Denver a ‘Best Bang for Your Buck’ City?
Sort of, according to Forbes. The Denver Business Journal has the details.
DBJ Launches New Blog
The Denver Business Journal has launched a new blog that features many of its reporters, including Mark Harden, Bruce Goldberg, Greg Avery, Boots Gifford, Bob Mook and Renee McGaw.
Andrew Hudson’s Latest Project
Congratulations to Denver jobs guru Andrew Hudson and his wife Christine, who are the proud new parents of Julia Nicole Hudson. Julia was born Thursday at 12:33 a.m. Mother and daughter are doing well, but I hear Andrew is on medication for excessive giddiness.
Denver PR Jobs
Among those hiring this week are the Orton Family Foundation, Medical Group Management Association, 9Health Fair, Bishop Machebeuf High School, Donor Alliance, Lockheed Martin, PSA Security Network, Thomson Reuters, Memorial Hospital (Colorado Springs), Cartoon Network (Atlanta, Ga.) and Pizza Hut (Dallas, Tex.)
10 Brands That Will Disappear in 2010
The end of the year is near, so the 2010 business death watch has begun. Here are 10 brands predicted to disappear in the new year:
- Newsweek
- Motorola
- Palm
- Borders
- Blockbuster
- Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac
- Ambac
- Eastman Kodak
- Sun Microsystems
- E*Trade
(Hat tip: Jon Pushkin)
Bawmann Adds New Clients, Launches
The Bawmann Group recently added Lifeloc Technologies, CoverColorado, Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence, Total Community Options, TCO Foundation and Angus Mohr as new clients. TBG also led the launch of Colorado’s Campaign to End Childhood Hunger, an initiative designed to end hunger in our state by 2015.
GG Johnston to Leave JohnstonWells; Gwin Johnston Returns as CEO
JohnstonWells founder and chairman Gwin Johnston will return full-time to the agency following her daughter GG Johnston’s decision to step down as president and CEO. GG joined JohnstonWells 15 years ago and was promoted to president and CEO in February when Gwin decided to step back from the day-to-day operations of the business.
The split is being described as amicable, and a statement from GG on the JohnstonWells Web site says:
“My decision to leave JohnstonWells and venture into the world outside family business is both exciting and sad for me. For 15 years, I have worked alongside Gwin and the talented team at JW. I am grateful for every minute of time I’ve spent here. I am well-prepared for whatever adventures are coming my way. I’m excited about what’s next for all of us.”
MGA Launches Updated Web Site, Blog
MGA Communications has launched a new Web site that includes its new blog, “Conversations that Matter.”
Vladimir Jones Land $5M State Contract
Congratulations to Joe Hodas and the team at Vladimir Jones, who nabbed a $5 million contract to help educate Coloradans on ways to save energy. Cathy Proctor at the Denver Business Journal has the details.
Obama Address Bumps ‘Charlie Brown Christmas’
When preschoolers across the country tune in to ABC tonight to watch “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” they may wonder why Franklin is getting all the air time. Imagine their disappointment when they finally realize that President Obama’s prime-time address on the war in Afghanistan has bumped the Charlie Brown tradition until next week. But not everyone is happy about the scheduling conflict.
Great Moments in Journalism XXII
A digital billboard that combines an ad for the WPMI-TV news team with the station’s live Twitter feed goes bad.
(Hat tip to Dan Welch)
Denver Public Relations Blog 