Last week, online retail behemoth Amazon received the kind of PR boost that any brand outside the Republican Party would kill for: President Obama visited its massive Chattanooga warehouse and used his media megaphone to promote the company for creating jobs fit for every politician’s favorite fallback character: the “middle class” American.

This is all well and good, but Amazon’s recent reputation management challenges are far more complicated…and less complimentary.

The real purpose of the President’s visit was to propose a bargain between the two political parties in which he would trade a cut in corporate tax rates for increased government investment in “education, training, and public works projects” designed to facilitate the creation of those precious middle class jobs. The event unsurprisingly attracted critiques of both the company and the President that highlight their unique PR struggles.

It’s true that Amazon’s planned hiring wave will create as many as 7,000 American jobs, but Obama’s visit raised several questions that the company would rather not address:

• Are these jobs truly “middle class?”
• Is Amazon the sort of company that will help strengthen the American economy at large?
• Will this PR stunt facilitate any truly meaningful political activity?

That’s easy: no, no, and…no.

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This week we posted on Weber Shandwick‘s decision to publicize its new content-creation wing, Mediaco, and what that means for the future of PR. This morning we had the opportunity to speak with Steve Rubel, chief content strategist at Edelman PR, to go over how his firm is addressing this newest chapter in the ongoing “PR vs. marketing vs. advertising” debate.

How does the Weber Shandwick announcement relate to recent “creative” moves by Edelman?

There’s a lot of hype in the never-ending hunt for shiny objects in marketing, but the bigger picture here is that the economics of the industry have changed – demand side platforms (ad exchanges) have made advertising more efficient, which caused the price of CPM (cost per impression) and ads themselves to plummet. This is good for the industry but bad for publishers, because media outlets squeezed by tech developments can’t make the leap to other revenue streams like subscription, video, etc.

This has led to a greater willingness to open their platforms to branded/sponsored content, thereby empowering marketers to make good on their longtime desire tell their stories their own way on some of world’s largest websites (Ed. note: see The Washington Post). That is the big change here.

Some people say this is all old news. How do you respond to that point?

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It was a headline destined to simultaneously inspire a dozen highfalutin op-eds and a million bitchy comments: Fox News Viewers Are the Dumbest. One problem, though: it was what we in the media world call “a bunch of BS.”

Here’s the funny thing: the “story” wasn’t some sort of stunt pulled by MSNBC or another one of Fox’s many ideological opponents in the so-called “lamestream media.”

No, this little bit of fakery came from the inside—its source, according to a Huffington Post follow-up, appears to be a longtime “PR guru” and dedicated Republican who wants his party of choice to loosen its ties to the Fox News brand in the interest of its future electoral fortunes. See, the purpose of the “study” wasn’t to call Republicans dumber than Democrats: it was to insinuate that conservative Americans who choose not to watch the Fox News Channel are smarter than those who do.

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Excuse us for the inflammatory headline courtesy of Guardian UK’s media commentator Roy Greenslade–but it certainly got our attention.

We agree with Michael Ramah of Porter Novelli when he reassures us that any report of an “impending meltdown” within the public relations industry is nothing but a bunch of noise—didn’t we tell you in August that the business is doing “just fine, thanks?”

Now here’s the key question: Is the PR field growing too large and influential for its own good?

The Guardian piece is far too short and lacking in specifics to truly facilitate an in-depth conversation on the topic, but we’d like to think it leads back to our piece about “brand journalism” and the role of a PR discipline blessed with growing influence in an increasingly fractured media world. Greenslade is primarily concerned with a series of studies showing that the numerical advantage PR pros hold over journalists continues to grow. In the United States, studies find the current ratio to be 4:1—and some authors advocate government subsidies to help keep the journalism profession viable.

Greenslade’s argument is that, as PR pros continue to outnumber journalists, the public will be deprived of a crucial filter (the press) that serves to hold the feet of politicians, businessmen, and publicists to the fire.

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Hill+Knowlton Strategies has announced that Amy McMichael Paddock, SVP and general manager of the firm’s Austin, TX office, will co-lead global client services with Vivian Lines, vice chair and co-head of client services. Paddock will work from Austin and report directly to H+K’s global chairman and CEO Jack Martin. In another shift, Bill Lauderback has also been named general manager of H+K Austin. Bill most recently worked as a senior advisor at Public Strategies, a role which allowed him to  counsel clients on strategic campaign development and execution with a particular emphasis on government relations. In his new role, he will draw on more than 25 years of senior-level experience in business management, government affairs, public policy and communications. (Release)

Australia’s DEC PR has named Kirsty McRae as client services director and “head of consumer.” In her new role, Kirsty will champion the provision of the highest levels of client service across the agency’s key clients and build on the agency’s successful consumer business. Kirsty has more than 10 years industry experience across consumer and corporate PR along with the attendant expertise in global and domestic market initiatives. Her client portfolio includes P&G, Unilever, Nike, Bacardi, Billabong, Danone, Premier Foods, BMW Mini and Intercontinental Hotel Group. (Release)

Zing’s two most senior executives, Robert McEwen and Preya McMahon, have created a second brand, McEwen McMahon, which will offer more corporate public relations services while Zing remains a consumer PR brand. “Zing will continue to focus on the beauty, fashion, lifestyle and entertainment work that has been its hallmark,” the two principals said in a release, “while McEwen McMahon will be more of a high-level consultancy, advising C-suite executives on internal and external reputation management issues.” (Release)

Huffington Post ad sales chief Moritz Loew has been dismissed by AOL. According to Adweek, Loew believes the dismissal was the result of a background check and an outstanding warrant from a 2003 DWI charge. A spokesperson from AOL told Adweek that “Recent information has indicated that Moritz’s hiring did not meet AOL requirements.” (Adweek)

Principals at big-time NY/LA-based PR firm Sunshine Sachs don’t like to bring too much attention to themselves, but that hasn’t stopped them from scoring great headlines and sponsoring A-list events with a focus on noble causes like, say…reducing poverty rates around the world. (Did you know that more than 1.3 billion people across the globe live on the equivalent of $1.50 a day? We need to get out more.)

The firm’s latest announcement is significant in a couple of ways. They’re publicizing a massive September 29^th concert in Central Park with headliners Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Foo Fighters, and The Black Keys, but the details of the event are even more interesting: As reported on the Huffington Post, the show’s 54,000 tickets will not be available through the usual channels. Fans will have to “earn” their way into a raffle by downloading an app from the Global Citizen website and accumulating points by performing acts like donating to charities, signing petitions, or sharing information about global poverty on social media channels.

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CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Norah O’Donnell has been named co-host of “CBS This Morning” replacing Erica Hill who first came to CBS News in 2008, while still with CNN, to co-anchor the weekend “Early Show.” In January, 2010 she joined CBS full time. (TVNewser)

Lauren Kapp, the former top communications and marketing executive at NBC News who left for a strategy and marketing position at Huffington Post in May, will be leaving that job this week. Reuters reports Kapp will leave Huffington Post Media Group August 1, three months after joining from NBC. Reuters says personal reasons are behind the change. (TVNewser)

Former Vice President Dick Cheney was interviewed by ABC’s Jonathan Karl. The interview, Cheney’s first since his heart transplant earlier this year, will be previewed across all ABC’s platforms today, and will air in its entirety on “Nightline” this evening. (TVNewser)

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has been making the media rounds to promote his new book, and one of the stops was C-SPAN. C-SPAN’s Brian Lamb asked Scalia about his recent interview with CNN’s Piers Morgan, and why Justices are usually so reluctant to do public appearances. (TVNewser) Video Below:

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For those making and breaking recent headlines, The Guardian Activate Summit held at New York’s Paley Center for Media was a venue of choice on Thursday. Notable media and social network executives were there to discuss openness, social good initiatives, and describe new offerings.

Among those making appearances were Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, whose company just purchased SlideShare; Arianna Huffington, whose Huffington Post is the subject of recent sale rumors; and Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian, the outlet that uncovered News Corporation’s wrongdoings. Nike’s recently unveiled sneakers designed for Olympians also debuted on stage. Below are key highlights.

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NY Times' Jill Abramson

Le Huffington Post made its debut on Monday in France with Anne Sinclair as editorial director. Sinclair, a former TV anchor, is the wife of infamous former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn, aka DSK. At the press conference Sinclair reassured the audience that there would be no conflicts of interest between her new role and her private life. (via New York Times)

ABC News‘ partnership with Yahoo! has spawned two new Web shows about politics that launched this week. The shows are extensions of long-running blogs from George Stephanopoulos and Jake Tapper. George’s Bottom Line debuted on Monday and Political Punch with Jake Tapper appeared on Tuesday. (via TVNewser)

NBC News established a new eBook imprint called NBC Publishing. The unit will release enhanced eBooks with videos inside, and the launch follows the media company’s success in the eBook business. (via GalleyCat)

Jill Abramson, executive editor at The New York Times, will make her grand entrance at the Davos World Economic Forum this week. She will be joined by NYT publisher Arthur Sulzberger, who is hosting a dinner on Abramson’s behalf. She will also lead a panel of women leaders in a discussion. (via Capital New York)

Newt Gingrich is continuing his attacks on the media. Last week Gingrich critiqued CNN for questioning him about his second marriage at the start of the South Carolina debate. After the Florida debate this week Gingrich complained that NBC did not allow the audience to clap, saying “Media doesn’t control free speech.” (via FishbowlDC)

Diane Sawyer was criticized by James Spann, chief meteorologist at Birmingham ABC-affiliate WBMA, for her report on the Alabama tornadoes on Monday evening’s World News. Spann took issue with Sawyer’s claim that there was no tornado warning, saying “This event was forecast days in advance.” (via TV Spy)

Click through for more media changes.

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The January 6, 1964 cover

Today commemorates 60 years on the air. TVNewser went to the party last night.

The New York Times‘ public editor Arthur Brisbane was feeling the heat yesterday over his take on whether reporters should be “truth vigilantes.” A lot of people thought that was a dumb question so Brisbane has come back to reiterate that it is not. Jill Abramson has also responded.

A Ron Paul super PAC has written a press release calling for CNN‘s Dana Bash to be taken off the campaign beat. CNN replied: “The notion that Dana is anything but objective is preposterous.”

Spin magazine has launched @SpinReviews. [via Fishbowl NY]

Newsweek plans to recreate the magazine’s 1960s design in the March 19 issue to commemorate the season premiere of Mad Men. [via Ad Age]

Pinterest says Martha Stewart, Real Simple, and Better Homes & Gardens are top pinners. [via minOnline]

The Huffington Post has launched a Good News channel for inspiration stories. Jessica Prois, who also heads the Impact section, will edit the new channel.

Click through for more media changes.

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