minuteman project and Waco type events thread
Originally posted by HuntTech@Oct 17 2004, 08:39 AM
JOB:? 3 months in downtown DC: Web editor/producer
The Washington Office of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, a global
communications firm, is seeking a Web site Editor/Producer for a high
profile 3-plus month project. This position will design content for a
network news-like Web site that will be used during a nationwide
government training exercise, overseeing a staff of seven news writers
reporting developments involving emergency response, public health, law
enforcement, and public policy during the exercise itself. Duties will
be split between developing story ideas, assigning stories, editing,
managing editorial content, and making sure that stories stay in line with exercise objectives.
Requirements: Requires a minimum of a bachelor's degree in
communications, journalism, English or related field, and five years of
related professional experience including both writing and management.
This company has been hired by Homeland Security to "sell" the need to prepare for a major terrorist attack. It has a "Public Affairs Practice" division with clients such as DuPont, Earthlink, and Intelsat, with "Areas of Specialization" including "Crisis Management" and "Grassroots Advocacy." One of its stated purposes is "...communicating policy to the public in behalf of governments."
It helped to stage a major "exercise" last month which was supposed to be nationwide.
Some excerpts from its website:
We run our Public Affairs campaigns as if they were political campaigns, orchestrating a wide range of strategies and tactics ? such as forming alliances, mobilizing stakeholders, engaging the media and implementing grassroots activities ? across the United States, Europe and Asia.
At Ogilvy PR, we understand public policy ? who influences it and who decides it. We also understand how to communicate effectively about policy ? whether working for an energy company to influence the outcome of a legislative battle, establishing a leadership position about Internet policy for an e-business or communicating a policy to the public on behalf of governments.
?.
Within our practice areas, we offer a variety of specialty communication capabilities, which include but are not limited to:
? Media relations
? Special events
...
? Strategic planning and counseling
...
? Communications audits/market research
...
? National road shows
...
? Coalition-building/grassroots mobilization
? Crisis and issues managementInteractive communications
...
? Public education and social marketing
? Cause-related marketing
? Catalogue and broadcast location shoots
Elsewhere in the news and on the internet:
National Groups, States and Companies Come Together for National Preparedness Month
Thursday September 9, 2004 12:22 pm ET
Campaign Mobilizes Private Sector to Help Americans Prepare for Disasters
NEW YORK, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- The America Prepared Campaign (APC), a non-profit, non-partisan
effort to help Americans prepare for terrorist attacks and other disasters, will launch National Preparedness Month (September) with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and The American Red Cross on the grounds of the United States Capitol at 11:00 a.m. today. ...
"It sends a great message to the country," said Steven Brill, Chairman of The America Prepared Campaign, "that all of these organizations, led by a bi-partisan group of four members of Congress who have been heavily involved in Homeland Security issues, are getting so involved in
encouraging all Americans to take the easy steps necessary to prepare themselves and their families."
For National Preparedness Month, The America Prepared Campaign galvanized the private sector to participate in key initiatives that include:
* Facilitating the availability of
all-in-one "Ready Kits" at major
retailers, including BJ's Wholesale Club, Costco, Gracious Home, Home
Depot, Wal-Mart, and Sam's Club. The inexpensive kits contain all the
home-preparedness supplies recommended by the Department of Homeland
Security. "This will remove the two main barriers that families have
told us have prevented them from having 'Ready Kits,'" Brill explained.
"They've told us they take too much time to assemble and that they are
too expensive."
* Developing
a family communications plan pamphlet to be distributed
through companies including Discovery Communications, Delta Air Lines,
Nextel, Starbucks Coffee, and Pfizer;
* Creating
broadcast and print PSAs, which were developed and produced pro
bono by Ogilvy & Mather and distributed through the nation's leading
media outlets.
* Organizing
a short-film contest on preparedness judged by Miramax's
Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein;
* Creating
a 16-page educational supplement on preparedness aimed at
school children, which will appear in newspapers across the country
through the Newspapers in Education program;
* Announcing
the "Ready Deputy" in-school contest where the two schools
that get the most families prepared (one based on percentage and one
based on numbers) win $10,000 for its library and Homeland Security
Secretary Tom Ridge as "principal" for a day;
* Releasing
a 70-page report on Preparedness in America's Schools: A
Comprehensive Look at Terrorism Preparedness in America's Twenty Largest
School Districts.
...
"Ogilvy jumped at the chance to create a campaign that will truly motivate the public to take action to get themselves and their families prepared." -- Bill Gray, President, Ogilvy & Mather NY
...
The America Prepared Campaign (APC) is a non-profit, non-partisan initiative that uses the expertise and energy of national leaders in emergency preparedness, media, marketing, government, and business to give citizens tools and information for preparing their homes and families for disaster, with a focus on terrorism preparedness. America Prepared supports the work already begun by the Department of Homeland Security Ready campaign and the American Red Cross to give Americans useful recommendations for emergency readiness.
http://www.americaprepared.org
.....
Crisis Communications
An update from Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide/Washington
For more than 15 years, the Washington, DC office of
Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide has specialized in disaster and crisis communications. From fires and floods, to chemical spills and bioterrorism, Ogilvy PR has helped inform and protect the American people.
Two recent assignments illustrate the unique breadth and depth of this capability:
? Health crisis communications. A long time client,
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), called on Ogilvy PR to help educate and reassure the American people on the pressing health issues of West Nile Virus, anthrax terrorism and now, SARS.
? Preparing for terrorist events. With the threat of large-scale terrorist acts on American soil remaining very real,
the Department of Homeland Security turned to Ogilvy PR for comprehensive communications planning and support for TOPOFF2, the most ambitious terrorism response exercise ever conducted in the U.S.Working with these Federal clients, Ogilvy PR has
eased public anxiety while making sure agencies are ready in the event of serious threats to safety.
CDC:maintaining credibility and public trustAs the nation's premier source of public health information, the CDC has worked overtime in recent years. In 2001, anthrax terrorism spread uncertainty. In Spring 2002, West Nile Virus became epidemic. And in Spring 2003, the worldwide outbreak of the acute respiratory disease SARS created nationwide anxiety.
In all three crises, the CDC and Ogilvy PR worked together to get the truth out and dispel misinformation.
Highlights of Ogilvy PR's support for CDC to these health crises included:
?
Producing a video news release and B-roll package featuring CDC's top scientists to help the public better understand anthrax, the investigation process and prevention measures
?
Producing radio and television public service announcements on West Nile Virus for state health departments to route to broadcast outlets
?
Producing a video on SARS to be shown in airlines landing in the U.S. from Asia
?
Conducting live daily "telebriefings" and web casts (a first for CDC) to update the media and public on anthrax, West Nile Virus and SARS
As a result of its work on anthrax and West Nile Virus, CDC and the Washington office of Ogilvy PR was awarded a Silver Sabre, one of the most prestigious awards in public relations, in May 2003.
But the agency's principal reward was in knowing its work had helped
to educate and reassure a worried nation.
TOPOFF2:Creating a news network to exercise the nation's crisis response
Conducted in Seattle and Chicago in May 2003, TOPOFF2 was the most comprehensive terrorism response exercise in the nation's history-and the first large-scale exercise of its type conducted since the attacks of 9-11-01. The Department of Homeland Security spearheaded this weeklong exercise to train not only front line responders but top federal, state and local officials to deal with attacks of weapons of mass destruction, including bioterrorism and a "dirty bomb" detonation.
Ogilvy PR took on the challenge of creating a broadcast news operation that would both test how information would be provided to the public and help train participants nationwide.
Dubbed the Virtual News Network (VNN), the organization provided 31 hours of TV coverage for TOPOFF2, with live reports from across the country and interviews with both government officials and outside experts. VNN
produced stories that spurred decisions and sent satellite feeds to the White House, U.S. Capitol and emergency responders nationwide. To provide coverage, Ogilvy PR created a team of nearly 60 writers, producers, studio crewmembers, anchors, field reporters and exercise coordination specialists.
Beyond creating VNN,
Ogilvy PR produced an open letter from Homeland Security Secretary Thomas Ridge for placement in Seattle and Chicago newspapers. A pre-exercise seminar was designed for public information officers, along with a program of VIP visits to exercise sites and a behind-the-scenes documentary to aid future training.
Recent work and many years of experience confirm the role of Ogilvy PR as a
leader in crisis communications. From potential terrorist attacks to the SARS outbreak, Ogilvy PR is engaged helping to protect and prepare government, businesses and the American people from serious threats.
Rob MathiasManaging DirectorOgilvy Public Relations WorldwideWashington, DCE-mail:
[email protected]
I have emboldened certain parts to highlight the purposes and techniques of Ogilvy, which are entirely devoted to a multimedia campaign in service to government-- in other words, it is a propaganda arm of Homeland Security. It does absolutely nothing to protect Americans from terrorist attack; but, then again, neither does the rest of the government.
