Melamine and the Public Relations Efforts

The melamine contamination in China could impact upon the profitability of international companies. One such example is Nestle, as the company mounts a security and public relations effort to control the quality and reputation of its products:

“The head of European food giant Nestle said Friday the company had mounted a “sizable effort” to ensure the safety of its dairy products in China, sending in scientists and specialized machines in the wake of the melamine contamination scandal.

“From the first moment, the first minute we heard about the problem, we mobilized quite a sizable effort,” CEO Paul Bulcke said at a news conference to inaugurate a research and development center in Beijing. “We mobilized close to 45-50 people worldwide to be part of the solution and containment of this problem.”"

link: Nestle sends experts for melamine tests in China

Nestle may have the appearance of good co-operation from the Chinese authorities. In the future, the Chinese government may have stringent checks of products before it reaches Nestle facilities. The same cannot be said for other manufacturers in China. The industrial structure in China is so vast that it may take years for adequate security controls to be implemented. The Chinese government may insist that the infrastructure is in place to guarantee product safety. However, the contaminated pet food, the contaminated milk, the contaminated eggs and other products provide contrary evidence to the government controlled reports.

Catherine Forsythe

Declining Revenue at the Washington Post

It is a dramatic decline. The Washington Post Company is yet another newspaper organization that is struggling:

“The Washington Post Co. today reported an 86 percent decline in third-quarter earnings compared with the same period last year, as a significant loss at the flagship newspaper offset gains at the company’s education and cable divisions.”

link: Washington Post Co. Earnings Plummet in Third Quarter

Circulation is declining and advertising has gone to find more viewers online. This decline is significant. The Christian Science Monitor has made a decision to focus on its online publication. How soon will other newspapers follow that business model?

Catherine Forsythe

Poisoning the Food Chain

The problem with the chemical melamine can to international attention when thousands of household pets died from contaminated food. Recently there has been concern about melamine being added to milk in China. Now comes reports that melamine is throughout the food chain:

“The toxic chemical melamine is probably being routinely added to Chinese animal feed, state media has reported.

Correspondents say the unusually frank reports in several news outlets are an admission that contamination could be widespread throughout the food chain.”

link: Chinese melamine scandal widens

This is obviously an international problem as well as a national crisis for China. Until China has stricter regulations that are enforced, it seems that all edible products that are animal derivative must be viewed as a possible source of contamination.

Catherine Forsythe

Toshiba and HP Recall Batteries

There is another recall of laptop batteries that may be a fire hazard:

“Laptop-makers including Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Toshiba are recalling 100,000 Sony-made batteries due to fears they may overheat or catch fire.”

link: Fire fear sparks battery recall

This may not be your laptop maker. However, one of your friends or members of your family may be using these batteries. There are concerns about some Dell, Acer and Lenovo products too. Please let people on your email list know.

Catherine Forsythe

School Dropout Rate Called “Outrageous”

No matter what one’s political persuasion, one is hearing campaign rhetoric about cutting government spending. One area where spending cannot withstand further financial trimming is in education. The school system simply is failing. There is ample evidence of this in the student dropout rate, which has been called “outrageous”:

“High schools are coming under pressure from the federal government to improve the nation’s dismal dropout rate — one in four students.”

link: New rules address ‘outrageous’ dropout rates

There is something wrong when one quarter of the children do not finish high school. The burden that this places on the economy is enormous. Gone are the days when one can strike out and follow one’s dreams without a high school education. The odds against success are overwhelming for dropouts. The technological age changes the employment dynamics. Higher education is needed. Sadly, for one in four children, the ‘American Dream’ is effaced during the teen years.

Catherine Forsythe

Tuition Rises in a Poor Economy

It is additional economic stress for families with university / college bound children. Tuition has increased and may rise again:

“Amid the economic turmoil, students and their families are getting little relief from rising college costs, which jumped 6.4 percent this fall, according to new figures out Wednesday.

And with states aggressively cutting budgets, big increases look almost certain next year, too — if not sooner…”

link: College prices up again as economy falters

This becomes a cyclical economic problem. With the increasing tuition fees in a faltering economy, some people simply will not be able to continue with their education. This, in turn, lowers the competitive abilities of the next generation and adds to the economic tensions as these non college people compete for employment in the technological age. These potential college students are the people expected to support social security, if the system survives that long.

Catherine Forsythe

Melamine Found in Eggs

Melamine was the chemical implicated in the tainted milk scandal that has made thousands of children sick in China. Some children have died as a result. Now, melamine has been found in eggs:

“Authorities in a northeastern Chinese city on Wednesday vowed severe punishment for those responsible for melamine-tainted eggs turning up in Hong Kong, as the health scare spread to another city in eastern China.”

link: China vows penalties as melamine eggs scare spreads

This could implicate a myriad of products. Consider the number of products that are made with eggs. These egg products have domestic and international distribution. The recall could cover a spectrum of products. The frightening variable is that the full extent of the problem may not be known because of China’s close control of the media.

Catherine Forsythe

The Christian Science Monitor Goes Online Exclusively

The Christian Science Monitor has had a longstanding reputation of excellence. It has garnered numerous Pulitzer Prizes. Now, the Christian Science Monitor will be available only on the internet:

“After a century of continuous publication, The Christian Science Monitor will abandon its weekday print edition and appear online only, its publisher announced Tuesday. The cost-cutting measure makes The Monitor the first national newspaper to largely give up on print.”

link: Christian Science Paper Ends Daily Print Edition

It seems inevitable, with circulation dropping and advertisers gravitating to internet sites. The Christian Science Monitor may portend a solution that other print publications may have to follow. Nevertheless, it ends a long tradition; and, for those who have an abiding affection for the printed dailies, it is a sad day.

Catherine Forsythe

Public Relations and Windows 7

Today there was a more detailed introduction to Microsoft’s Windows 7, the next offering of an operating system. During the keynote address, Steven Sinofsky was candid about some of the errors with Vista:

“…Sinofsky said Microsoft is learning its lessons from Vista, which was widely criticized by users and the press, and spoofed famously in humorous television advertisements by competitor Apple.

Sinofsky acknowledged that some of the criticism was deserved, particularly around Microsoft’s lack of preparing its hardware, software and peripheral partners for Vista’s release, even though it was more than five years in the making.”

link: Microsoft Vows Windows 7 Will Fix Vista Mistakes

A consequence of this presentation is that it has tapped into some of the anger and frustration of Vista users. Some openly wonder if Vista was some form of ‘beta’ for Windows 7. Vista has eroded consumer confidence in the product and some look with skepticism at the Windows 7 publicity. It seems that Microsoft has a public relations problem that still needs to be addressed. The wide acceptance of Windows 7 may depend upon that.

Catherine Forsythe

Park Bench Voting Addresses

A court ruling has not disenfranchised the homeless. Locations other than buildings can be used as addresses:

“A federal judge in Ohio has ruled that counties must allow homeless voters to list park benches and other locations that aren’t buildings as their addresses.”

link: Judge rules Ohio homeless voters may list park benches as addresses

While the court ruling speaks to the fairness of the voting system, it also opens up avenues of abuse. For example, can one list more than one park bench? Remember the old joke - ‘vote early and vote often‘.

Catherine Forsythe