New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg (that’s “The Dictator” to his haters and “El Bloombito” to fans of his poorly spoken Spanish) seems to be losing his ongoing PR war with the American waistline. Today, however, the big dog gained some unexpected corporate support for his controversial “soda ban”, which will be subject to a vote by the city’s Board of Health next week. (We should note that the members of this board were appointed by the mayor himself.)

After declaring victory over the mighty forces of tobacco and trans-fatty acids, the mayor has dedicated his latest salvo in the obesity battle to manipulating consumer behaviors by limiting the size of sugary drinks served at restaurants, movie theaters, sports venues and other common soda spots. His proposal makes sense in a way: Everyone agrees that Americans drink far too much soda, and reducing our dependence on sugary drinks may be the easiest way to lower our calorie count.

But the move also tickled New York’s famously independent (dare we say Libertarian) streak. It led to the creation of a group called New Yorkers for Beverage Choices, inspired Coca-Cola to run a PR counterattack and even convinced some opponents to drag their not-quite-obese bodies down to city hall for a good old protest. Will the words of Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig soften their convictions? Probably not.

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Today in Negative Retail News, New York State’s attorney general is investigating the makers of popular caffeinated energy drinks like Amp, Monster and 5 Hour Energy for playing a little loose with their facts and ingredients. On the other side of the grid, nearly every opinionator across the board—and yes, that includes Fox News—has pointed out a series of glaring inaccuracies in the speech that Republican VP nominee Paul Ryan gave at his party’s convention last night (while also noting that his presentation was impressive and that he hit all the right notes for the home team).

How do these stories relate? They both highlight the role of the independent fact-checker, and they raise a series of questions about the value of accuracy and transparency in public relations. So:

• Does the additional of “herbal supplements” like guarana allow 5-Hour Energy and Monster drinks to contain “undisclosed” amounts of caffeine large enough to raise eyebrows?
• Are they particularly dangerous when paired with alcohol?
• Are big soda makers like Pepsico and Coca-Cola downplaying the unhealthy aspects of their most popular get-up-and-go products?

And:

• Did Paul Ryan serve as the best-known Republican representative on the bipartisan debt commission that he just excoriated President Obama for ignoring?
• Did he in fact vote against the very proposal that he seemed to suggest the President should have followed?

The answer to all these questions is yes. But in the interests of the brands in question, does it even really matter?

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A fascinating story in The New York Times today considers a strangely uneven relationship: Despite the fact that rapper, producer and super-mogul Sean “Jay-Z” Carter owns only a fraction of a percent of the NBA’s Brooklyn-bound Nets franchise, his heavy hand is visible in nearly every corner of their re-branding project.

Not only is Jay-Z headlining opening week at Brooklyn’s monster Barclays Center venue, aka the Nets’ new home field; he also helped design the team’s logos and advised their PR squad on everything from music selections (more indie, “less Jersey”) to security practices (“be sensitive” when checking attendees for weapons).

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CEO visibility, or lack of it, is an ongoing PR issue and one that has been frequently mentioned at media industry events. Examples abound of corporate leaders who are tight-lipped during tough times or deliver misleading comments. Many CEOs only make a public appearance when the news is favorable or prefer to network with each other at gatherings such as the annual summer conference in Sun Valley for media and tech leaders.

Instead of covering this topic in our usual manner, we’re borrowing an alternate approach from Calvin Trillin. As an author, humorist and longtime contributor to The New Yorker, Trillin often wrote poems about politicians and current events. Inspired by his rhyming wizardry, we thought this would be an effective style for tackling the CEO dilemma.

CEO (In)visibility

The problem:

CEOs are ultimately accountable
Even when issues seem insurmountable
In the business world there is constant disaster
If not handled well, things get worse much faster

CEOs collect exorbitant pay
But when crises hit most have nothing to say
Or if they do it is after delay
Or they use stand-ins who get in the way

Richard Edelman, a renowned PR pro
Thinks CEO public face-time has hit a new low

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ACRO, the Association of Clinical Research Organizations, has a very serious issue with the new Toshiba ad. So outraged is the organization that the executive director, Douglas Peddicord, PhD, sent a letter to Toshiba executives asking them to join the conversation about a global problem that the group is addressing.

You see, in the ad (above), the main character refers to clinical trial participants as “guinea pigs” and “test monkeys.” Offended yet?! Because that’s it.
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Goldman Sachs has a new Twitter account, launched on Friday for its shareholder meeting. And what did we learn from those meeting updates? That the account was live, shareholders support everything the company is doing, and the meeting is over. Riveting.

The other four tweets have focused on the company’s CSR efforts — investments in clean tech and renewable energy — and its work with small businesses. The company has nearly 12,000 followers.

The account is part of a new PR campaign launched by the financial firm’s communications head, Richard Siewert Jr., who started just as Greg Smith blew our minds with his New York Times resignation letter to the world. Siewert has been holding internal meetings explaining the new strategy, which is based on increased transparency. We’ll need a little more than these first few tweets.

*Make that seven times, as of 5/29 a.m.

When being interviewed, it’s OK to admit that there are things you don’t know or need to follow up on. But when you’re the CEO of a company and you’re unaware of the big things happening in your industry, that’s a big ‘ol fail.

Case in point: Time Warner Cable’s CEO Glenn Britt says he has a dream to put the Internets in the TV. “Britt went on to lay out his vision for the future, seemingly oblivious to the fact that it basically reads like a product description for AirPlay, a service that wireless[ly] streams videos from your iPhone, iPod or iPad to your television via the Apple TV box,” Business Insider reports. And also, The New York Times reported it. Zoinks.

So Scott Thompson is out, adding to the growing list of CEOs who simply couldn’t hang on to their job at Yahoo. Not only did hedge fund Third Point get the ouster it wanted, it’s also getting three board seats. Adding to Thompson’s woes, the now former CEO revealed the awful news to the board that he has thyroid cancer, which is part of the reason he’s resigning. He had been in the job since January.

Ross Levinsohn (left), the company’s head of global media, is taking the CEO seat on an interim basis. Does anyone want this job?!

On the positive side, shares of Yahoo stock rose with the news that Thompson was leaving the company. On the negative side, this latest changing of the guard doesn’t change anything for the company just yet. It’s still behind the curve from a tech standpoint and its still got troubles with an unpopular patent infringement suit against Facebook.

It will take time to turn around business fortunes entirely, but the company needs to start by offering up stability.

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Patti Hart, a Yahoo board director who helped with the decision to hire CEO Scott Thompson, will announce today that she won’t seek re-election following the eruption over Thompson’s resumé shenanigans. The company will also create a three-person committee that will look deeper into the hiring process.

The trouble started last week when activist hedge fund Third Point uncovered an inaccuracy on Thompson’s CV. Since then, they’ve called for his ouster and, when that didn’t happen yesterday, an investigation and greater transparency. Hart’s resumé was also called into question.

Thompson himself has apologized to employees for the brouhaha.

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After first accusing Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson of lying about his educational record, the activist hedge fund investor Third Point is now demanding that the CEO step down by Monday.

Thompson’s claim was that he held a bachelor’s degree in both accounting and computer science from Stonehill College. Actually, he only has the accounting degree. A Yahoo spokesperson called it an “inadvertent error,” but Third Point, which has gone after the Yahoo board in the past for its poor performance, is having none of it. They want Thompson to resign as well as another board member, Patti Hart, who Third Point also accused of having discrepancies in her educational record.

AllThingsD has called Thompson out, saying the “error” goes back years, when he was CTO at PayPal. Business Insider is calling Yahoo’s response “outrageous and insufficient.”

So Yahoo’s latest CEO could be brought down by a resumé scandal. That position should just remain vacant forever.