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===Edelman Goes After Reporters Investigating ALEC===
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>
==Clients, Practice, and Earnings==
===Edelman and API Partner on Climate Denial Astroturfing===
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"/>
===UK Climate Activists Target Edelman on E.ON===
Edelman PR tells clients that activists are winning because "they play offense all the time; they take their message to the consumer; they are ingenious at building coalitions; they always have a clear agenda; they move at Internet speed; they speak in the media's tone."
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 [https://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]
In 2001 they launched a short-lived series of "Edelman NGO Seminars" to "discuss the ramifications of the NGO phenomenon." [http://www.edelman.com/people_and_perspectives/insights/the_edelman_ngo_seminars.asp]
Wampler had claimed in a media release that "no illnesses associated with the listeria strain in the Northeastern U.S. outbreak have been linked to any Wampler products" and argued that listeria often occurs naturally in the environment. [http://www.odwyerpr.com/members/archived_stories_2002/october/1016wampler.htm]
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]]’s Malaysian subsidiary in promoting its social reporting project. Edelman’s Vice Chairman, Leslie Dach, told TCL that the contract with BAT Malaysia had “slipped through the cracks” 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. “So what does PR stand for?” asked Nancy Turett, the president and global director of Edelman Health. “It stands for powerful relationships. The heart of PR is third-party credibility,” Turett wrote in ''[[Pharmaceutical Executive]]'' in September 2002. “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,” Turett wrote. “As advocates develop louder voices, pharma companies must forge alliances and win allies.” [httphttps://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2003Q1/top5.html]
In February 2004 the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' reported that Edelman's Chicago office had contributed $32,600 to Illinois Democratic Party Governor Rod Blagojevich. The story also reported that Edelman's contract with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Development (DCED) to promote tourism had been renewed despite competition from rival PR companies [[Ketchum]] and [[Ruder Finn]]. The three-year contract was reported to be worth $6.2 million with $12.2 million having been paid to the company since 2000.
