War Needs Good Public Relations

[Doug Millison]

October 26, 2001

War Needs Good Public Relations

By Normon Solomon

For some people, war is terror, disaster and death. For others, it's a PR
problem.

At the Rendon Group, a public-relations firm with offices in Boston and
Washington, pleasant news arrived the other day with a $397,000 contract to
help the Pentagon look good while bombing Afghanistan. The four-month deal
includes an option to renew through most of 2002.

This is a job for savvy PR pros who know how to sound humanistic. "At the
Rendon Group, we believe in people," says the company's mission statement,
which expresses "our admiration and respect for cultural diversity" and
proclaims a commitment to "helping people win in the global marketplace."

A media officer at the Pentagon explained why Rendon got the contract. "We
needed a firm that could provide strategic counsel immediately," Lt. Col.
Kenneth McClellan said. "We were interested in someone that we knew could
come in quickly and help us orient to the challenge of communicating to a
wide range of groups around the world." [...]

http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2001-10/26solomon.cfm