It’s that CRAPPy time of year again, when PR people and the media in the U.K. come together to honor the box-clever, the most PR-friendly newspaper, and the least “twattish” on Twitter.  Agency 10 Yetis came up with the CRAPP Awards (Communicative Relations Awards from PR Professionals) last year for no other reason we can see than to get a bit of attention.  Over 12,000 votes were cast last year.  Submitting your email address puts you in a drawing for 3G Amazon Kindle, but such a contest could be bent.

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News yesterday that American Airlines’ parent company AMR filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy prompted lots of questions about frequent flier miles (answered in an email sent to customers; we got one), purchased tickets, and timing. There are also questions about AA’s branding and reputation to consider.

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The Public Relations Society of America has published a “snapshot” of what they’ve gathered so far from its #PRDefined initiative, and the results are a little… hmm…

Last week, the PRSA announced the initiative, which seeks to crowdsource a modern definition of public relations. The campaign has gotten a write-up in The New York Times and other outlets, and we’ve seen links and info about the campaign zipping around on Twitter.

So what words have people been submitting in order to redefine the profession, its purpose, and its place in the world? The top four words are “organization,”  ”public”, “communication,” and “relationships.”

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Yesterday we tweeted a story from TheGrindstone.com that has had more than a few people talking: “Are Women in PR Just Grown Up Mean Girls?”

PR pros of the female persuasion immediately took to the comments of that story to defend the ladies of public relations, emphasizing the stress and hard work that goes into their daily work. Sources acknowledged a  dog-eat-dog mentality among publicists, that is fostered in some ways by the industry.

On our Twitter feed, some answered the question with a definitive “yes”, others with a definitive “no”, and others with more nuanced explanation.

Picking up on one of the sources’ comments, TheGrindstone.com did a follow up asking whether PR needs a PR rep, a question we’ve heard asked before and one that is being addressed by the #PRDefined campaign.

Is this just a reputation issue? Or does the industry have a serious attitude problem? Is the culture out of whack? Share your thoughts.

WPP‘s Cohn & Wolfe is acquiring impactasia, a firm with expertise in healthcare, travel and tourism, art and design, and other areas. The new firm will be called Cohn & Wolfe-impactasia and it will have 80 employees, tripling the size of C&W’s presence in Asia, according to the announcement’s press release.

Susan Field and Sarah Woodhouse, founders of impactasia, will lead the newly formed firm, hanging on to their titles CEO and MD, respectively. Lydia Shen, MD of Cohn & Wolfe China and Fiona Ng, MD of impactasia, will be MDs of the new firm. All will report to C&W CEO Donna Imperato.

The deal doesn’t include impactasia’s Singapore office, which was bought out by firm partners Amy Wright and Kate O’Shea, according to The Holmes Report.

Photo: Stuart Ramson/Insider Images for Puerto Rico Tourism Company

The Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC) introduced its Winter/2012 U.S. marketing campaign last night at an event in Times Square. The weather was misty, but everyone walking around the Square was treated to wall-to-wall images of beaches, trees, and sunshine. The PRTC took over nine billboards to celebrate the campaign.

In addition to the billboards and the event, there will be a revamped website, Twitter feeds, apps, and multimedia on YouTube and Flickr for the campaign. Ogilvy PR is helping with promotions.

For more pics from last night’s event, click through.

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RadioShack is shifting its marketing around across disciplines.

The company has chosen Weber Shandwick as its AOR after a competitive review. Weber will work with other IPG firms Axis and Current Lifestyle Marketing on PR, digital, and CSR initiatives here and abroad.

And Ad Age is reporting that the company is looking for a new advertising firm after working with Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners for the past two and a half years.

First order of business may be to get rid of that rebranding campaign to call the store “The Shack.” Remember that?

Financial news from the company has not been positive of late. The S&P downgraded the company’s credit another “notch into junk territory,” Marketwatch reported a couple of weeks ago. And Q3 earnings were down 99 percent (!). The company is focusing on mobile, with a free phone promotion that has been extended through year-end.

Jason Chupick. Photo: Steve Bartel

A congratulations to one of our own: PRNewser contributor Jason Chupick has been named VP of PR for Harper’s Magazine. In this role, he’ll be heading up traditional consumer and trade PR and work closely with web editor Jeremy Keehn on community development and management. Chupick reports to John R. MacArthur, the magazine’s publisher and president. Great news!

Karen van Bergen has joined Porter Novelli as senior partner and MD of the New York office, effective January 1. She previously served as the leader of OneVoice, an Omnicom offering from Fleishman-Hillard and Ketchum. To assume this role, van Bergen will be relocating from Amsterdam. She is replacing assistant MD Joe Russo who has been filling the role on an interim basis.

Michael Bush has left MSLGroup for Edelman. He joined MSLGroup in February, serving as VP and comms director for the firm. Prior to that he was a reporter for Ad Age and PRWeek. At Edelman, he’s VP of media relations.

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