PRSA local update VI: This Month in PR/Marketing History (by Jeff Rodriguez). Perhaps it was a typo. On May 1, 2003, President George W. Bush landed on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and, huge “Mission Accomplished” banner strategically in view, announced that the Iraqi army had been defeated.
In fact, the real hostilities had just begun — between the White House, the Navy and the media over whose idea it was to hang
that sign. • Give peace (protests) a chance. Confronted with a surprisingly stubborn enemy,
Gen. William Westmoreland, commander of U.S. troops in South Vietnam, made the daring decision April 24, 1967, to open up a second front, by criticizing the war protesters at home. Speaking
at a press conference, Westmoreland said he and the soldiers were “dismayed” by the “unpatriotic acts” of some Americans. This, too, was just the start of hostilities. And the war in
Vietnam escalated, too. • Looking for a few good men to evict: On May 29, 1932, in the depths of the Depression, about 1,000 World War I veterans arrived at
Washington, D.C., demanding early payment of their military bonuses. In the
weeks to come, the ranks of “Bonus Marchers” swelled to 20,000 men, most of them unemployed and desperate for money.
Congress later voted against paying the bonuses but agreed to cover the vets’ transportation home. When 2,000 angry soldiers refused to go, President Hoover forcibly evicted these brave and loyal veterans – with the assistance of the brave and loyal soldiers of the U.S. Army.
PRSA local update VII: Ketchum representatives James Peters and Stephanie Shaw will discuss “Writing to Win: From Traditional to Digital, a Guide to the Anvil” at the PRSA Dallas meeting Thursday, May 9. Info at prsadallas.org/meetinginfo.php?id=17&ts=1366663079.
Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas update: States may have little reason to restrict public records access to their own
residents, but the practice is not unconstitutional, the Supreme Court ruled
Aprtil 29. The unanimous decision goes against media organizations and
professional data miners that had sided with the law’s out-of-state challengers. During oral arguments in February, several justices
questioned whether the state’s law served any purpose, since non-residents can hire residents to get
information. In his ruling, Justice
Samuel Alito noted that much of the data is available on the Internet. Still, he said, the
state law “did not abridge any constitutionally protected privilege or immunity” because access to public records is not a “fundamental” privilege, such as employment. The decision was expected.
