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Shortly after being hired by ALEC, Edelman began an aggressive PR campaign against a number of people associated with investigations into ALEC, including freelance reporter Bo Hodai, ''The Nation's'' Lee Fang, Color of Change staffer Gabriel Rey-Goodlatte, and the Center for Media and Democracy's Nick Surgey. Its efforts focused not on any factual errors made in reporting on ALEC, but on the personal backgrounds of investigators and reporters.<ref>Lisa Graves, "[httphttps://www.prwatch.org/news/2012/08/11717/alec-goes-after-center-media-and-democracy ALEC Goes After the Center for Media and Democracy]," Center for Media and Democracy, PRWatch, August 29, 2012. Accessed August 12, 2014.</ref>

Edelman represents the [[American Petroleum Institute]] (API), which pays the firm about $52 million a year according to reporting by ''The Nation's'' Investigative Fund.<ref>Lee Fang, "[http://www.theinvestigativefund.org/investigations/politicsandgovernment/1929/the_shadow_lobbying_complex?page=5 The Shadow Lobbying Complex]," ''The Nation'', Investigative Fund, February 20, 2014. Accessed August 12, 2014.</ref> Edelman helped API organize the astroturf group [[Energy Citizens]] in 2009, according to ''Vice'' and the ''Washington Post''.<ref>Steven Mufson and Juliet Eilperin, "[http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/post/american-petroleum-institute-auditions-do-not-stick-to-script/2011/12/09/gIQAy3nliO_blog.html American Petroleum Institute auditions do not stick to script]," ''Washington Post'', December 9, 2011. Accessed August 12, 2014.</ref><ref name="vice firm promotes">Brian Merchant, "[http://motherboard.vice.com/read/how-the-largest-pr-firm-in-the-world-promotes-climate-change-denial How the World's Biggest PR Firm Helps Promote Climate Change Denial]," ''Vice'', August 5, 2014. Accessed August 12, 2014.</ref> Energy Citizens ran a national ad campaign in 2012 that attempted to create the appearance of mass grassroots support for fracking, which Edelman helped coordinate,<ref>Anne Landman, "[httphttps://www.prwatch.org/node/11216 Timely Spoof Mocks Oil Drilling Front Group's New Ads]," Center for Media and Democracy, PRWatch, January 6, 2012. Accessed August 12, 2014.</ref> and lobbied hard to prevent Congress from passing legislation to address climate change in 2012.<ref name="vice in denial"/>

ALEC has produced a number of model bills aimed at promoting dirty energy and preventing government at the local, state, and federal levels from addressing climate change.<ref name="surgey alec">Nick Surgey, "[https://www.prwatch.org/news/2014/08/12569/alec-and-edelman Edelman Makes a Climate Change Pledge, But Forgets About ALEC]," Center for Media and Democracy, PR Watch, August 14, 2014. Accessed August 21, 2014.</ref><ref>ALEC Exposed, "[Environment, Energy, and Agriculture httphttps://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/Environment,_Energy,_and_Agriculture]," Center for Media and Democracy, accessed August 12, 2014.</ref> ALEC has worked closely with the [[Heartland Institute]] in its attempts to deny and spin climate change, for example drafting model legislation that would require schools to teach climate denial to children.<ref>Steve Horn, http://www.desmogblog.com/alec-model-bill-behind-push-require-climate-denial-instruction-schools ALEC Model Bill Behind Push To Require Climate Denial Instruction In Schools]," DeSmogBlog, January 26, 2012. Accessed August 12, 2014.</ref>

In August 2014, CMD reached out to Edelman repeatedly for comment about its relationship with ALEC, but received no response.<ref name="surgey alec"/> '''Read more about ALEC's climate change denial [httphttps://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/Environment here].''' ==Other News and Controversies== ===Edelman Advises Businesses to "Seize the Day" After Robin Williams' Death=== On August 12, 2014, the day after the death of comedian Robin Williams, Edelman executive vice president Lisa Kovitz published a blog post advising businesses and mental health organizations on how to use the actor's suicide to build publicity, calling it a "carpe diem moment."<ref>Lisa Kovitz, "[http://www.edelman.com/post/carpe-diem/ Carpe Diem]," Edelman official blog, August 12, 2014. Accessed August 13, 2013.</ref> As described by ''Business Insider'', "Kovitz urged mental health organizations and businesses to take a "visible and aggressive approach" and create content for their websites and social media pages tied to Williams' death.<ref>Hunter Walker, "[http://www.businessinsider.com/edelmans-guide-for-robin-williams-death-2014-8 World's Largest PR Firm Has A Guide For Turning Robin Williams' Death Into An Opportunity]," ''Business Insider, August 13, 2014. Accessed August 13, 2014.</ref> ===Edelman China CEO Disappears Amid Corruption Investigation=== On August 1, 2014, news surfaced that Edelman China's CEO, Steven Cao, had disappeared amid an investigation by the Chinese government "into services the agency supplied a Chinese TV station at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2009 and 2010," according to ''PR Week''. Cao reportedly had been cooperating with the investigation.<ref name="ceo disappeared">Steve Barrett, "[http://www.prweek.com/article/1306130/edelman-china-ceo-steven-cao-disappeared Edelman China CEO Steven Cao has disappeared]," ''PR Week'', August 1, 2014. Accessed August 13, 2014.</ref> In 2007, Edelman had become majority shareholder in Pegasus Communications, of which Cao was co-founder. As of mid-August 2014, the subject of the investigation had not been made public. ''Ad Age'' noted that Cao had close ties to new anchor Rui Chenggang, another co-founder of Pegasus. Chenggang was detained by Chinese authorities in July 2014, which is "widely assumed to be part of a larger probe into allegations of corruption at his broadcaster, state network CCTV," according to ''Ad Age''.<ref>Angela Doland, "[http://adage.com/article/global-news/ceo-edelman-s-china-holding-company/294387/ Where Is the CEO of Edelman's China Holding Company?]," ''Ad Age'', July 30, 2014. Accessed August 13, 2014.</ref> The ''Wall Street Journal'' reported that Chenggang had held a financial stake in Edelman at the time when Edelman was providing services to CCTV.<ref>John Chin, "[http://online.wsj.com/articles/edelman-discloses-links-to-detained-chinese-news-anchor-rui-chenggang-1405441718?cb=logged0.5411504551302642 Edelman Discloses Links to Detained Chinese News Anchor]," ''Wall Street Journal'', July 15, 2014. Accessed August 13, 2014.</ref>

The solution, it argues, are partnerships between NGO's and business. "Our experience to date is positive," they say, citing examples such as "Chiquita-Rainforest Alliance" and "Home Depot-Forest Stewardship Council." [httphttps://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2001Q3/endangered.html] (Download a copy of the February 2001 [httphttps://www.sourcewatch.org/images/f/ff/EdelmanNGOPresentation_-_2-28-01.pdf Edelman presentation] 347k pdf file).

A media release issued by Edelman touting for business described their advocacy of "partnerships" between business and environmental groups more bluntly. "You've got an environmental disaster on your hands. Have you consulted with Greenpeace in developing your crisis response plan? Co-opting your would-be attackers may seem counter-intuitive, but it makes sense when you consider that NGOs (non-governmental organizations) are trusted by the public nearly two-to-one to 'do what's right' compared with government bodies, media organizations and corporations." [httphttps://www.prwatch.org/spin/2000.html]

The [[American Council for Fitness and Nutrition]] (ACFN) -- a coalition of food and beverage companies -- in November 2002 selected Edelman and Dittus Communications to counter calls for regulatory action to deal with the obesity epidemic in the US. ACFN funders include American Frozen Food Institute, [[Altria Group|Kraft Foods]], Chocolate Manufactuers Assn., Sugar Assn., Grocery Manufacturers of America, National Restaurant Assn., National Council of Chain Restaurants, and the Assn. of National Advertisers. [httphttps://www.prwatch.org/spin/November_2002.html]

In October 2002, Edelman signed a pledge that it would not work for tobacco companies when it won the account with the non-profit group, the National Dialogue on Cancer. However, the specialist publication, ''The Cancer Letter'' (TCL), revealed in July 2003 that Edelman had undertaken work for [[British American Tobacco]]&#8217;s Malaysian subsidiary in promoting its social reporting project. Edelman&#8217;s Vice Chairman, Leslie Dach, told TCL that the contract with BAT Malaysia had &#8220;slipped through the cracks&#8221; and had been cancelled when it was drawn to their attention. [httphttps://www.prwatch.org/spin/July_2003.html]

Edelman was called on by the French-owned [[Sodexho Alliance]] to defeat proposals by a Republican congressman to strip the company of its $880 million food service contract with the Marines and award it to a US owned company. [httphttps://www.prwatch.org/spin/March_2003.html]

As the leader in pharmaceutical PR, Edelman is a leader in managing crises for clients and development partnerships between drug companies and patient groups. &#8220;So what does PR stand for?&#8221; asked Nancy Turett, the president and global director of Edelman Health. &#8220;It stands for powerful relationships. The heart of PR is third-party credibility,&#8221; Turett wrote in ''[[Pharmaceutical Executive]]'' in September 2002. &#8220;Third-party messages are an essential means of communication for validating scientific credibility, for legitimizing products, for building brand and disease awareness, and for building defenses against crises,&#8221; Turett wrote. &#8220;As advocates develop louder voices, pharma companies must forge alliances and win allies.&#8221; [httphttps://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2003Q1/top5.html]

* The [[Boeing]] Company

 ===Past===<br>