Tag Archives: PR

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Berkshire Income Realty Announces Year End Funds from Operations of $10,443,094

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By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

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Berkshire Income Realty Announces Year End Funds from Operations of $10,443,094

BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Berkshire Income Realty, Inc. (NYSE Amex Equities: “BIR_pa”), (NYSE Amex Equities: “BIRPRA”), (NYSE Amex Equities: “BIR-A”), (NYSE Amex Equities: “BIR.PR.A”) (“Berkshire” or the “Company”) reported its results for the year ended December 31, 2012. Financial highlights for the year ended December 31, 2012 include:

– The Company’s Funds From Operations (“FFO“) grew approximately 6.9% for the year ended December 31, 2012 – The Company’s FFO, a non-GAAP financial measure, for the year ended December 31, 2012 was $10,443,094 compared to $9,766,693 for the year ended December 31, 2011. Solid gains in rental revenue and lower interest expenses helped drive the Company’s FFO growth.

– Same Property Net Operating Income (“Same Property NOI”) increased approximately 6.7% – Same Property NOI, a non-GAAP financial measure, increased as a result of growth in revenue for properties acquired or placed in service prior to January 1, 2011 (“Same Property”). The Same Property portfolio had a total revenue increase of approximately 4.7% for the year ended December 31, 2012 compared to the same period a year ago. Strong revenue growth outpaced increases in operating expenses for the Same Property portfolio.

– A presentation and reconciliation of net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure, calculated and presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP“), to FFO and Same Property NOI, is set forth on pages 2 and 3 of this press release. For the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, the net income (loss) was $29,021,154, $1,922,299 and $(25,726,511), respectively.

– Development Activities – The Company owns interests in three development joint ventures, of which two were nearing completion at the end of 2012 and the third was progressing through the regulatory entitlement process. The 2020 Lawrence development, a mid-rise, 231-unit LEED-gold certified multifamily building, located in downtown Denver, Colorado, has been well received by the market and leased its first units in late December 2012. The Trilogy NoMa development is a three building multifamily community in downtown Washington, DC, and also leased units as of the end of 2012. The lease up of both projects is ongoing and substantially in line with operational forecasts. The Walnut Creek development, located in Walnut Creek, California, is nearing the completion of the regulatory and environmental entitlement processes. Start of construction activities is anticipated to begin in late 2013.

– Economic Conditions – During 2012, on a national basis, the multifamily sector continued to exhibit strong fundamentals and improved performance due to sustained increases …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Sequestration Stories: How Are Spending Cuts Affecting You?

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By Bruce Watson

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Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesAir traffic controller specialist Mamie Ambrose worked at the Frederick Municipal Airport control tower in Frederick Maryland prior to its shutdown. The U.S. closed 149 air-traffic control towers run by contractors at small and mid-sized airports on April 7 as a result of sequestration.

It’s been just over a month since the automatic federal spending cuts — better known as “sequestration” — kicked in. In that time, most public discussion has focused on the whether or not the spending cuts will actually make a difference. After all, skeptics have argued, the cuts “only” account for 0.5 percent of GDP. Their effect will be minor, these pundits have claimed, slicing less than 7 percent from the Pentagon, 2 percent from Medicare, and so on.

On those rare occasions in the last month when sequestration had an immediately noticeable effect — when the White House canceled tours, for example, or when the National Park Service closed campgrounds — critics have argued that these cuts were largely enacted for PR value, and that the federal government, if it wished, could actually have avoided them.

But the cuts are expanding, and, to paraphrase MTV’s The Real World, this is where they stop being polite and start getting real. That 2 percent Medicare cut, for example, started to have a major effect last week when, as The Washington Post‘s Sarah Kliff noted, cancer clinics across the country had to turn away patients because they could no longer afford to give them medicine.

The Medicare problem was caused by a shortsight over which portion of the program was being cut. Medications are usually covered under Medicare Part D, which wasn’t affected by sequestration cuts. Unfortunately, however, the cancer meds in question must be administered by a doctor, which puts them under Part B — which was affected by sequestration.

For many cancer patients, the Medicare problem can be dealt with by getting their medications at hospitals rather than at smaller clinics. In a larger context, however, the Medicare cancer problem is a canary in a mine, an early indication of some of the looming problems that are likely to develop if sequestration remains in effect.

Other effects have started to creep up. Health care providers have been laid off around the country. So have teachers and child care workers. People who work for the military, even indirectly, are having to dust off their resumes, and the unemployment benefits that many are counting on are starting to dry up. And this only scratches the tip of the iceberg.

So, how has sequestration affected you? Have any of your local services had to cut back on hours or have you faced a furlough from your job …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Procter & Gamble Gives Back to Miami with Help from Hispanicize 2013 Conference Attendees

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By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

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Procter & Gamble Gives Back to Miami with Help from Hispanicize 2013 Conference Attendees


P&G commits to deliver $200,000 in product to Miami-based Latino organizations

CINCINNATI–(BUSINESS WIRE)– As part of its presenting sponsorship of Hispanicize 2013, the annual Miami-based Latino trends event, Procter & Gamble (NYS: PG) , the world’s largest consumer packaged goods company, today announced it will donate more than $200,000 in P&G product to two Miami Hispanic charities, La Liga Contra el Cáncer and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)- Miami. The product donations will be used to provide needed goods and support to Miami-based residents served by the two organizations.

Now in its fourth year, Hispanicize 2013 is the largest annual event for Latino trendsetters and newsmakers in social media, journalism, advertising, PR, film, music and innovation. In addition to offering conference attendees the opportunity to experience the effects of some of P&G’s most adored brands and products, including Pantene®, COVERGIRL®, Crest® and Tide®, those visiting the P&G Everyday Lounge will be able to cast their vote to determine how P&G distributes $200,000 worth of P&G products between La Liga Contra el Cáncer and LULAC- Miami. The product donation is the latest show of support in P&G’s longstanding relationship with both organizations.

“While we’re here in Miami to engage hundreds of Hispanic bloggers and trendsetters at this important event, we want to ensure our presence helps deliver a meaningful impact in the everyday lives of Miami‘s vibrant Hispanic community,” said Karen Schlosser, Associate Marketing Director for North America Brand Operations. “Throughout our 175-year history, one constant has been our belief that behind every P&G product innovation is a single focus – to make life better. Whether it’s helping a baby get a good night’s sleep or taking the drudgery out of laundry, our goal is to touch and improve the lives of our consumers. That’s why by working with Hispanicize attendees to determine how we allocate our product donations, we can continue to fulfill our mission, improve the lives of thousands of Miami families and help make their everyday a little more extraordinary.”

La Liga Contra el Cáncer is a non-profit organization comprised of over 350 Florida physicians who volunteer their services to provide low to no-cost treatments and services to cancer patients – primarily Hispanics – with no financial resources or health insurance. Since it opened its …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Apple's $5 Billion Mistake

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By Tim Brugger, The Motley Fool

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With its stock price down 35% over the past six months, and concerns about a lack of innovation and growing competition, Apple doesn’t need the PR nightmare that its new uber campus will likely become. According to an “anonymous insider,” who spoke with Businessweek, Steve Jobs‘ dream of “building the best office building in the world” will become a reality — for what’s estimated to be a staggering $5 billion price tag. The money itself isn’t the problem, of course; Apple has that in its petty cash drawer. But the timing of the project? That’s another matter altogether.

The new digs
Four months before Apple guru Steve Jobs passed away, he gave a presentation to the Cupertino, CA city council. Along with several architectural renderings, Jobs described what he envisioned as a self-sustaining, four-story circular structure, large enough to house as many as 12,000 employees. With 2.8 million square feet, acres of trees, and imported 40-foot panes of glass, this was never going to be a cheap proposition.

Initially, Jobs and Apple were working with about a $3 billion budget. Now, with projected costs ballooning to $5 billion, Jobs’ dream campus would cost about three times that of your typical downtown commercial high-rise building on a per square foot basis. According to the aforementioned “insiders,” part of the delay in breaking ground — Jobs had hoped for a 2012 start date — lies in Apple CEO Tim Cook and his team’s attempts to shave $1 billion in costs.

Cook’s found himself between a rock and a hard place. Altering Jobs‘ vision for the new campus would enrage Apple fans, who still revere Jobs as an iconic, larger-than-life figure. But proceeding with a $5 billion project when shareholders are sitting on massive losses, and big hitters like David Einhorn are screaming for Apple to share some of its $137 billion in cash, has the makings of a publicity disaster.

What should really concern investors
As competitors across the mobile space have continued rolling out new designs that have narrowed — or in some investor’s views, surpassed — Cupertino’s offerings, Apple investors are left waiting for something —  anything — they can sink their teeth into. There’s no arguing with Apple’s profitability, or its strong financials, but its product introduction cycle, historically a little over 300 days for the iPad line, needs to tighten up. By comparison, Samsung and Nokia  seem to have a new smartphone coming out weekly.

As for Microsoft  and Google , both have entered the mobile hardware side of the market, but neither are hamstrung by having to build their own devices to expand offerings as Apple is with its iOS, so bringing the “next great thing” to market takes nothing more than an OS licensing deal. Microsoft recently released its own Surface Pro and, while it’s expensive, hopes are high. Microsoft’s RT tablet is another story, as poor sales by its RT partners have some discounting RT by as …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

A Big Win for Reed Hastings and Netflix Stockholders

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By Tim Beyers, The Motley Fool

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Chalk one up for Reed Hastings. Months after he posted what regulators considered material information for Netflix stockholders to Facebook , the Securities and Exchange Commission now says that such disclosures are legal.

Going forward, large-scale networks such as Facebook and Twitter will count as much as a press release when it comes to informing investors. You’d think that would be good news. Yet as of this writing, neither Facebook’s nor Netflix’s stock price has recovered from recent sell-offs.

But the real loser here is probably PR distribution services such as BusinessWire, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett‘s Berkshire Hathaway , says Tim Beyers of Motley Fool Rule Breakers and Motley Fool Supernova in the following video.

Do you agree? Will you spend more time on social media searching for investment news? Please watch Tim’s take and then leave a comment to let us know what you think of the SEC‘s ruling.

Thanks to the savvy of investing legend Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway‘s book value per share has grown a mind-blowing 586,817% over the past 48 years. But with Buffett aging and Berkshire rapidly evolving, is this insurance conglomerate still a buy today? In The Motley Fool’s premium report on the company, Berkshire expert Joe Magyer provides investors with key reasons to buy as well as important risks to watch out for. Click here now for instant access to Joe’s take on Berkshire!

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

News, Politics, Government

The Easy Way To Psyche Yourself For A Great Job Interview

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By Susan Adams, Forbes Staff

Shortly before your next job interview, try this exercise: Sit down at your computer or take a pen and a pad of paper and write about a situation where you were in a position of power. If you’re a parent, it could be a time when you were telling your kids to do their chores. If you’re a journalist like me, it could be a moment when you decide whether you’re going to write about a PR person’s pitch. If you were ever in a club like a fraternity, it could be a time when you were deciding whether to admit another member. Or if you teach, you could imagine calling your class to order. Note some details about the situation, so that you can describe it vividly. …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

SEC Makes a Boneheaded Call on Social Networking

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By Rich Smith, The Motley Fool

The SEC has just given companies carte blanche to issue important news announcements on their Twitter and Facebook feeds — maybe even on Google‘s Google+ service, if anyone still uses that. 

On the one hand, this is a bonanza for the social networkers, who can expect to reap big business from more active use of their sites. It’s also good news for corporate PR folk, who can reach more customers and investors through social media — not just with corporate news, but with corporate advertising.

But what does it mean for you and me, the ordinary investors of the world? Fool contributor Rich Smith explains…

The Motley Fool’s chief investment officer has selected his No. 1 stock for the next year. Find out which stock it is in the brand-new free report “The Motley Fool’s Top Stock for 2013.” Just click here to access the report and find out the name of this under-the-radar company.

The article SEC Makes a Boneheaded Call on Social Networking originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Facebook and Google. The Motley Fool owns shares of Facebook and Google. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Automobiles

Breaking: Fisker PR team and many other employees face layoff this morning

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By Chris Paukert

Fisker logo

Filed under: , , , , ,

The entirety of the public relations team at Fisker is about to be laid off. That’s according to an email Autoblog received this morning from a credible source, stating that the entire PR team, along with a large number of other Fisker employees will be furloughed at 8am PST today.

The luxury plug-in-hybrid car startup launched with a splash with the sexy Karma sedan just a few years ago, but since then it has struggled to collect government financing, it has been battered by natural disasters, supplier issues and the recent departure of its namesake, designer and founder Henrik Fisker. The company has been in talks with possible investors, but thus far that has amounted to nothing, and officials are said to be in discussions with bankruptcy experts.

Fisker PR team and many other employees face layoff this morning originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 05 Apr 2013 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Emera Q1 Earnings Release and Conference Call

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By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

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Emera Q1 Earnings Release and Conference Call

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia–(BUSINESS WIRE)– (EMA-TSX): Emera’s Q1 2013 earnings will be released on Tuesday, May 7, 2013. The company will be hosting a teleconference at 3:00 pm Atlantic time that day (2:00 pm Toronto/Montreal/New York; 1:00 pm Winnipeg; 11:00 am Vancouver) to discuss the Q1 2013 financial results.

Analysts and other interested parties wanting to participate in the call should dial 1-866-225-0198 (in Toronto 416-340-8061) at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. No pass code is required. The teleconference will be recorded. If you are unable to join the teleconference live, you can dial for playback, toll-free at 1-800-408-3053 (in Toronto 905-694-9451), access code 6247187 # (available until midnight, Tuesday, May 21, 2013). The teleconference will also be web cast live at emera.com and available for playback for one year.

About Emera

Emera Inc. is an energy and services company with $7.53 billion in assets and 2012 revenues of $2.1 billion. The company invests in electricity generation, transmission and distribution, as well as gas transmission and utility energy services. Emera’s strategy is focused on the transformation of the electricity industry to cleaner generation and the delivery of that clean energy to market. Emera has investments throughout northeastern North America, and in three Caribbean countries. More than 80% of the company’s earnings come from regulated investments. Emera common and preferred shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and trade respectively under the symbol EMA, EMA.PR.A., and EMA.PR.C. Additional information can be accessed at emera.com, or on sedar.com.

Emera Inc.
Jill MacDonald, CA, (902) 428-6486
Manager, Investor Relations

KEYWORDS:   North America  Canada

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:

The article Emera Q1 Earnings Release and Conference Call originally appeared on Fool.com.

Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Articles of Interest

Prince Harry’s New Secretary Is A Public Relations Expert, Thankfully

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By The Huffington Post News Editors

File this under news that should have happened a looooong time ago: Prince Harry finally hired a personal PR guy.

Well, kind of. The Telegraph reports that the party boy has just hired Edward Lane Fox, a senior associate at communications firm RLM Finsbury, as his very own private secretary. The two actually met during their military days (Fox is a former captain in the Household Cavalry) and both have ties to the Burnaby Blue Foundation, so they’ll definitely have plenty to chat about.

Harry’s new “right hand man” will join the 28-year-old’s team after his royal tour through the US in June. Not to rehash old issues, but don’t you remember what happened the last time the prince came stateside? Perhaps Harry should take up Chris Christie on his offer to babysit…

Read More…
More on Prince Harry

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post

News, Politics, Government

Rumours Of Two New Apple Phones This Year: iPhone 5S And A Cheap iPhone For Emerging Markets

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By Tim Worstall, Contributor The Wall Street Journal is reporting that there are plans for Apple to release two new iPhones this year. This is at the stage of “people say that” but the WSJ has a pretty good track record on such rumours from Apple. Apple Inc. plans to begin production of a refreshed iPhone similar in size and shape to its current one in the second quarter of the year, according to people familiar with the device’s production, teeing up a possible summer launch for the next version of its flagship device. At the same time, Apple continues to work with its manufacturing partners in Asia on a less expensive iPhone that could be launched as soon as the second half of this year, these people said. The four-inch device likely will use a different casing from the higher-end iPhone. Apple has been working on different color shells for the phone but its plans remain unclear. Apple has a rather strange relationship with the technical press. At The Register, where I also freelance, it’s well known that Apple will never respond to any sort of query from anyone connected to it at all. Apple has been known to brief the WSJ though: so when the WSJ says that it’s been told such and such about Apple I’m tempted to believe them. That Apple talks to the WSJ and not to the tech press could be taken as an indication that their PR is directed at the financial markets not geeks. …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Allison+Partners' C-Factors Survey Ignites Discussion Among Communicators in Atlanta

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By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

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Allison+Partners’ C-Factors Survey Ignites Discussion Among Communicators in Atlanta

ATLANTA–(BUSINESS WIRE)– This past quarter Allison+Partners’ Atlanta office conducted two presentations leveraging the findings of the agency’s annual C-Factors survey. This study samples C-level executives to learn their thoughts on creativity’s definition, demands for consumer engagement and how this drives increased business performance. It also demonstrates the extent to which creativity, collaboration and culture are infused in the communications functions of many businesses.

The majority of executives surveyed agree that we’ve entered an engagement economy where communications is no longer just for awareness, but to drive powerful responses. To do this it needs to become a critical component throughout the organization and deliver the level of experience consumers require. Central is the role of social media providing immediate feedback as to where brands stand with those they are trying to reach.

Spearheaded by Katharine Mobley, vice president of Allison+Partners in Atlanta, the first area presentation was held in collaboration with PRSA in January of this year. “Consumers are demanding that businesses create experiences that engage them, verses just sell them a product,” said Mobley. “The challenge of developing real connections is the reason we conducted these programs. As our survey findings aligned with the growth plan of the Metro Chamber and the City of Atlanta, Bari Love, senior vice president of communications for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce was a natural fit for moderator.”

“While the audiences have changed and the channels have broadened, the importance of the message remains the differentiator,” said Bari Love. “It must resonate through your culture, be a driver of your creativity and widen your collaborations, enabling you to stay ahead of your competition.”

The second presentation was hosted in mid-March by BPRS Atlanta where Mobley and Alicia Thompson, vice president of communications and public relations at Popeye’s Chicken provided insight into the importance of creating brand ambassadors, how to get upper management to participate in current trends, why brands must provide consumers winning experiences and how to develop innovative content, take creative risks and deepen engagement.

“The public relations industry is evolving in an interesting and challenging manner,” said Alexis Davis Smith, president and CEO of PRecise Communications and president of BPRS Atlanta. “The goals of BPRS are to help members stay abreast of the changes and offer them best practices to succeed in it. Katharine’s presentation was insightful to understanding how today’s C-suite views PR and believes that our role must change to better connect consumers and brands in meaningful ways.”

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

From Osborne to iPad: 3 Decades of Portable Computing

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By Alex Planes, The Motley Fool

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On this day in economic and business history …

The world’s first mass-produced “portable” computer (a computer in the true sense, and not just a big calculator) was introduced to the tech public on this day in 1981. Engadget has the backstory:

On April 3rd, 1981, Adam Osborne unveiled the Osborne 1 at the West Coast Computer Faire in San Francisco. It had a 4 MHz Zilog Z80 CPU, two single-sided floppy drives, 64K of RAM, and a five-inch monochrome CRT display. Nothing particularly special there, even back in the day. No, what made the Osborne 1 extraordinary was the fact that the 24-pound plastic machine had a carrying handle on the back — and at the bargain price of $1,795 with software included, it became one of the first mass-produced portable computers to succeed. Which, of course, spurred competitors to create an army of even more luggable, loveable machines.

The rise of Osborne Computer on the back of the Osborne 1 was dizzying, as Technologizer recounts in a comprehensive piece on the company and its groundbreaking founder:

The fact that the Osborne 1 was a fully functioning personal computer in a portable case captured the imagination of techies in 1981. … The first Osborne 1 units shipped to dealers in June 1981. In August 1982, the company sold $10 million worth of computers; for the fiscal year that ended in February 1983, its revenues reached $100 million.

This incredible growth was followed by an equally stunning collapse, which has since given rise to the cautionary “Osborne Effect,” which warns tech companies against preannouncing ambitious projects that are still far from market-ready, as vendors and consumers will hold off on buying existing models in anticipation of a newer, better machine. However, it’s debatable whether Osborne’s too-soon PR campaign is solely to blame for the company’s failure. After all, by 1983, Osborne had to compete with the IBM PC, which was released in 1981 and quickly became the closest thing computing had to an industry standard, thanks to a relatively easy reverse-engineering process.

The Osborne 1 was good enough, but it wasn’t great, and so it was extremely vulnerable to products that seemed even a little better and a little cheaper — products like the Compaq Portable, the first IBM-compatible portable PC. Compaq’s early portable success brought it to even greater heights than Osborne would ever reach, leading to a $25 billion combination with Hewlett-Packard in 2001. HP is still one of the world’s leading laptop vendors, but in recent years, nearly all laptop manufacturing has shifted to a handful of Chinese companies.

The world offered the portable form factor a resounding vote of confidence three decades after Osborne practically invented the category. More than 230 million laptops were bought around the world in 2010 — but just as the Osborne was made obsolete by smaller, better, cheaper portables, …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

News, Politics, Government

Do Nice Companies Finish First?

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By Elaine Pofeldt, Contributor It didn’t surprise me that Peter Shankman, the visionary founder of  Help A Reporter Out, would write a book like his new release Nice Companies Finish First. It looks at how treating customers really well can bring huge dividends. His free site, which connects reporters to sources using Twitter, has helped democratize access to the media for folks who can’t necessarily afford a PR firm–generating deep reservoirs of good will since it was founded in 2008. And, along the way, building has helped Shankman, a daredevil who enjoys skydiving in his spare time, to become a sought-after speaker. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Articles of Interest

“Rainbow Journalism” Is The New Enemy Of Children

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By Kevin Banet

2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid

Dan Savage writer of sex column perverting young minds

In this column we coin the term “rainbow journalism.”

If you’re young, trendy and hip, and are strolling through downtown Minneapolis, you might grasp a copy of City Pages from the newstand. Its stories, appealing graphics, attractive restaurant ads and reviews of the local night club scene would seem to set you up for an upbeat weekend.

But look a little further, and you’ll uncover a fanatically-driven editorial policy that promotes sleeze and liberal causes. For example, “Savage Love” is a weekly sex advice column by the notorious sex activist Dan Savage. His recent advice includes using online resources to find a worker in the sex industry for a reader’s 22-year old mentally-ill brother. Ugh. The column is filled with trashy advice and crude language.

City Pages is part of a chain of 16 “alternative” free weekly papers around the country with a hefty combined circulation of 1.8 million. You wonder, an alternative to what? It’s an alternative to what is wholesome and true; City Pages promotes strip clubs, homosexuality, and condemns any moral message of Christianity. It scorns patriotism as well. One front-page display contained a mock-up photo of the Statue of Liberty with the words, “One nation under tacos.”

Screamed at readers

Around 1900, yellow journalism screamed at its readers with sensational headlines, weakly-supported facts, with a show of being legitimate by claiming to champion the underdog. Today’s yellow journalism jabs at morality, criticizes Christian organizations, all with name-calling and mockery. The only underdog it champions is the radical homosexual who demands that all of his sexual practices become codified in law, while crushing those with contrary beliefs.

It’s a kind of news adolescence that never grows up. Let’s call it “rainbow journalism.”

More than one hundred years ago, newspapers of integrity separated themselves from yellow journalism, and medical professionals likewise distanced themselves from snake-oil salesmen and abortionists. It was a time for the growing professions of the day to disavow themselves from shady and base practices.

But some news outlets never grow up. Like the crowd that shouted for Christ’s condemnation on Good Friday, City Pages relies on a lot of emotion, few facts, and is quick to slam anyone who stands for morality.

Hate-mongering

It’s no wonder then, that every few weeks New City trots out hate-mongering articles against Christian rock musician and preacher Bradlee Dean and his ministry, You Can Run International, based in Annandale, just outside of Minneapolis. (Disclosure: You Can Run International is a client of our PR firm.) New City has covered Dean’s defamation lawsuit against MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow in snarling tones. They accuse his ministry of not only gay-bashing, but now have made dangerous accusations about his family.

I don’t care what your politics are, but going after your enemy’s family is just plain evil. What could be done against the paper if it were not protected by a too-broadly defined First Amendment interpretation today that allows the big media to destroy …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Western Journalism

News, Politics, Government

Why I'm Logging Off For April Fool's Day

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By Ewan Spence, Contributor

UAW President Bob King

Oh great, it’s April Fools Day. I might as well not bother, because a tech commentator’s lot is not a happy lot on a day like today. We deal in the dreams of developers, the impossibilities of the internet, and play with the emotions of the engaged… except today, where everyone just throws ideas at their PR teams and blogs like it’s the pitch episode of Bravo’s ‘Start-Ups: Silicon Valley’. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Are Cruise Lines a Disastrous Investment?

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By Caroline Bennett, The Motley Fool

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If there’s one company that’s been making headlines lately for all the wrong reasons, it’s Carnival . This year the cruise-ship company has had to answer for six large-scale malfunctions within its fleet, and its ship Triumph left more than 4,000 passengers stranded at sea for days. Since then cruises have been cancelled, S&P ratings have lowered, and the company has turned into a laughingstock of its former self. Is Carnival’s stock breaking down as badly as its ships?

Sinking prices
Wall Street hasn’t exactly responded favorably to Carnival’s headline-making Triumph disaster. After the news hit, the cruise line’s stock took a dip from $39 to $34.43. The price rose shakily afterwards, reaching a peak of $36.24. Sadly, when Carnival came back into the national spotlight for more ship troubles, Mr. Market gave up. Carnival’s price went on to hit its lowest point of the year.

Surprisingly smooth sailing
Carnival’s price might be struggling, but its financials have stayed surprisingly sharp. On March 15, the company released its Q1 earnings call, which stated that its quarterly revenue was $3.59 billion, up 1% from where it was this time last year. In addition, Carnival’s earnings per share rang in at a remarkable $0.08 per share. That’s a 300% jump from last year’s $0.02 per share, and it trampled analyst estimates, which predicted that the company would ring in $0.03 per share.

This all means that Carnival was able to retain revenues more effectively this quarter than during the same time last year. A clearer explanation can be found by taking a look at the margins. Carnival’s operating margin in particular was 150 basis points (or 1.5%) higher than in Q1 of 2012, which means the company is using a smaller chunk of its revenue to run and maintain its fleet. Of course, if Carnival is cutting the percentage of money it spends on the upkeep of its ships, there may be a reason they keep breaking down.

Clearer skies elsewhere?
Carnival’s latest trajectory has been rocky, but if you’re an investor with a passion for cruise lines, there are plenty more hopeful prospects out there. Fellow Fool contributor Sean Williams has sung the praises of Disney‘s cruise-ship service. Besides having a name even your 2-year-old niece recognizes, Disney has a much stronger reputation for safety, and it dodges consumer backlash by arranging its summer bookings months in advance.

Times are anything but a triumph for Carnival right now, but with a little bit of time (and perhaps some PR tweaking), the company may be able to move past its recent controversies. In the meantime, try sticking your investor dollars in less stormy seas.

It’s easy to forget that Walt Disney is more than just the House of Mouse. True, Disney amusement parks around the world hosted more than 121 million guests in 2011. But from its vast catalog of characters to its monster collection of media networks, much of Disney’s allure …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Articles of Interest

Google Glass Will Be Made In America

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By The Huffington Post News Editors

Sure, Google Glass is cool, but it’s also weird looking. In an effort to get Google Glass on more people’s heads, the company has a new strategy to make Glass more likable: Slap a “Made in America” sticker on it.

Google will (at least initially) manufacture Glass in the U.S., The Financial Times reports. Google is working with Foxconn to make Glass in Silicon Valley, near Google headquarters. This gesture is, arguably, one in a long line of brilliant PR moves that Google has employed to get Glass to be seen as hip.

Google has been creating partnerships between Glass and trendy companies like Warby Parker, and it has been tweaking the design to make the device more fashionable. The company is also controlling exactly who is seen wearing Glass — just this week, Google started to announce the winners of their “#IfIHadGlass” campaign, in which Google chose people who it deemed cool enough to be one of the first few thousand to try Glass.

Read More…
More on Google’s Project Glass

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post

News, Politics, Government

The Anti-Yahoo Wunderkind, 19 Year Old Flees America and Skips College to Bootstrap a Real Startup That's Profitable in Bosnia

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By Cameron Keng, Contributor

There’s a growing trend for children to be used as “PR tools” to raise funding or sell companies.  Yahoo’s recent acquisition of Summly is the perfect example.  A company built entirely off licensed intellectual property and questionable numbers of active users was purchased for “x millions of dollars.”  In reality by the admission of insiders to the deal, the real value behind Yahoo’s purchase was improving their “PR image” and “human resourcing” to make Yahoo a popular company for developers to work for.  It’s no secret that Marissa Mayer is making hiring the central piece of her management focus. “Nick will be a great person to put in front of the media and consumers with Mayer to make Yahoo seem like it is a place that loves both entrepreneurs and mobile experiences, which in turn will presumably attract others like him.” An example of this strategy imploding is Andrew Hsu, founder of Airy (Comparing the current site to the previous version, it may be reasonable to assume that Airy has joined the deadpool) and a Thiel Fellow.  Andrew was a kid that succeeded in grabbing the limelight, but failed in creating a real company or product.  In the end, he became a puppet to older stakeholders – his father. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

News, Politics, Government

Are China's Leaders Serious About Tackling Corruption? Nomura Says Yes

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By Simon Montlake, Forbes Staff

When Xi Jinping ascended to China‘s top political rung last November, he called a halt to excessive banquets. The policy is known as four dishes and a soup, named for the modest meals that awaited Communist cadres. It’s a catchy populist slogan for a public fed up with reports of spendthrift officials wasting public funds. But it’s only a modest entree compared to the far greater challenge facing President Xi and his political peers in curbing corruption in public life. Xi and others have identified widespread corruption as a grave threat to China‘s political stability. So, too, did their predecessors, which is why cynics had assumed that Xi’s anti-graft drive was a temporary PR stunt. However, investment bank Nomura doesn’t think it’s all flim-flam . In an equity strategy report, its analysts argues that, four months on, Xi’s crackdown looks and feels like a genuine attempt at reform by leaders who prefer structural changes over economic growth. If so, luxury retailers and overpriced liquor would be the losers, while mass-market brands should be more resilient. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest