- Gary Condit launches a media blitz with a letter to his constituents, blaming the press for turning Chandra Levy's disappearance into a scandal. At press time, Connie
Chung was scheduled to interview Condit on "Primetime Live," and he was on the cover of People.
- In a shrewd business move, Edie Fraser, president and CEO of Best Practices in Corporate Communications, Washington, DC, bought back her company from MCG Capitol just
weeks before the latter foreclosed on the publisher of Working Woman magazine, which folded last week. Fraser then sold BPCC to iVillage.com. Praising iVillage CEO Doug McCormick,
she noted, "he built Lifetime and has strong backing from Hearst."
- Schwartz Communications launches a brand management practice headquartered in its San Francisco office. Gary Thompson, EVP and co-manager of the SF office, says the new
practice reflects the growing involvement of PR in brand strategy.