- Fleishman-Hillard cofounder Robert Hillard dies at 82 in Caledonia, Mo.
Hillard launched the agency in 1946 and retired in 1974.
- A cornerstone for PR: The city of Chicago renames a street, "Daniel J.
Edelman Way" in honor of Edelman PR's namesake founder. - As the election year heats up, AARP, AOL and MCI WorldCom aim to win "good
citizen" stars and stripes with the collaborative launch of BeAVoter.org,
a Web site and campaign geared toward increasing civic involvement and voter
turnout. - With Australia's Olympic festivities six months away, Sydney officials
struggle to regain public trust in the wake of a fiasco involving tickets
reserved for corporate bigwigs. Meanwhile, the city's transit and emergency
workers are considering strikes during the games - a threat that IOC director
general Francois Carrad downplayed last week as a ploy to gain exposure for
their cause, AP reports. - Ketchum establishes an entertainment marketing division with offices in
New York and L.A...Fleishman-Hillard restructures its HR team and forms a
talent development group to focus on recruitment and retention. - Mindbridge.com plans to blow part of its ad budget on philanthropic PR.
In April, the company will donate $100,000 to buy computers for disadvantaged
students who enter its essay contest, "What I Would Do With a New Computer."