Hill & Knowlton
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| Industry | Public relations Marketing services |
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| Founded | Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. (1927) |
| Founder(s) | John W. Hill |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Number of locations | 81 offices in 44 countries (2010) |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Key people | Paul Taaffe, Chairman and CEO |
| Services | Marketing communications Corporate communication Digital marketing Full list of services |
| Parent | WPP Group |
| Website | www.hillandknowlton.com |
Hill & Knowlton is a global public relations company, headquartered in New York City, United States, with 79 offices in 44 countries. Hill & Knowlton was founded in Cleveland, Ohio in 1927 by John W. Hill and is today led by Chairman & CEO, Paul Taaffe. It is owned by the WPP Group.
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[edit] History
Hill, a former reporter and financial columnist, started the firm in Cleveland in 1927; it became Hill & Knowlton when a public relations director for a defunct bank, Donald Knowlton, joined shortly thereafter. Hill moved the headquarters to New York in 1934 and managed the firm until 1962.[citation needed]
Hill, a pro-business Republican, made his mark representing steel companies in labor disputes during the 1930s.[1] His firm later became known for serving a series of highly controversial customers.
[edit] Controversies
[edit] Tobacco industry
In 1953, members of the tobacco industry hired the firm to help counteract then recent scientific findings that suggested cigarette smoking led to lung cancer. As a result “A Frank Statement” was released to nearly every major newspaper and magazine, which suggested that cigarettes had no verifiable links to cancer.[2] The tobacco industry remained a Hill & Knowlton client until 1968.[3][4]
[edit] Government of Kuwait
In 1990, H&K led over 20 other American PR firms in the "largest foreign-funded campaign ever aimed at manipulating American public opinion", according to the liberal Center for Media and Democracy[5] H&K earned over $10.8 mm for their work, paid by "Citizens for a Free Kuwait", an organization funded almost entirely by the Kuwaiti government.[5]
One controversial maneuver was the arrangement of the testimony of the Kuwait ambassador's daughter as “Nurse Nayirah” to the Congressional Human Rights Caucus on October 10, 1990. Nayirah falsely testified that she had witnessed Iraqi soldiers killing hundreds of premature babies at the al-Addan hospital in Kuwait City.[6] This lie had an enormous emotional impact on the decision in US-American politics and public to support the war against Iraq.[7] It was mentioned several times by president George H.W. Bush and other war-supporting people to manipulate the public opinion.[8][9][10]
[edit] Governments around the world
The company has frequently been criticized for its work with governments that tried to improve their reputation when they were accused of human rights violations such as Indonesia, Turkey, and the Maldives.[1] Hill & Knowlton were found through WikiScanner, to have edited a Wikipedia article in a way favorable to the government of the Maldives.[11][12]
[edit] Bank of Credit and Commerce International
H&K represented the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) following its drug-money laundering indictment. According to the BCCI affair report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the United States Senate, H&K's actions raised questions concerning a conflict between H&K as a public relations firm and the public interest.[13][14]
[edit] Russia's entry into the EU
The company also has pushed for Russia's inclusion in the EU as a result of their engagement with pipeline project Nord Stream, promoting Nord Stream as a vehicle for EU energy diversity. The company has flown members of the European Parliament to Siberia on a private jet for Russian oil giant Rosneft.[15]
[edit] Trade Association Membership
Hill & Knowlton Communications is a member of The International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC)
[edit] References
- ^ a b Goodell, Jeffrey (9 September 1990). "What Hill & Knowlton Can Do for You, (And What It Couldn't Do for Itself)". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/09/magazine/what-hill-knowlton-can-do-for-you-and-what-it-couldn-t-do-for-itself.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
- ^ "Hill & Knowlton: 1994 Waxman Committee
- ^ Text from H&K's smoking release "A Frank Statement to Cigarette Smokers"
- ^ Richard W. Pollay, "Propaganda, Puffing and the Public Interest", Public Relations Review, Volume XVI, Number 3, Fall 1990.
- ^ a b Stauber, John; Rampton, Sheldon (1995). "How PR Sold the War in the Persian Gulf". Toxic Sludge Is Good For You: Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry. Common Courage Press. ISBN 1567510604. http://www.prwatch.org/books/tsigfy10.html.
- ^ "Deception on Capitol Hill" (New York ed.). New York Times. January 15, 1992. http://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/15/opinion/deception-on-capitol-hill.html.
- ^ "When contemplating war, beware of babies in incubators". Christian Science Monitor. September 6, 2002. http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0906/p25s02-cogn.html/%28page%29/2.
- ^ John R. MacArthur, "Remember Nayirah, Witness for Kuwait?", Op-Ed, New York Times, A17, January 6, 1992.
- ^ http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/listeningpost/2011/01/2011187029114467.html
- ^ Knightley, Phillip (October 4, 2001). "The disinformation campaign". London: Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2001/oct/04/socialsciences.highereducation.
- ^ http://minivannews.com/politics/former-hill-knowlton-employee-now-working-for-government-4797
- ^ http://www.kinbidhooonline.com/?p=1365
- ^ http://www.prsa.org/AboutPRSA/Ethics/ProfessionalStandardsAdvisories
- ^ http://fas.org/irp/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/
- ^ Russia hones new image among EU elite. Euobserver 09.02.2009
[edit] Further reading
- Miller, Karen S. (1999). The Voice of Business: Hill & Knowlton and Postwar Public Relations. The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0807824399. http://books.google.com/books?id=XD3PkYdP9O8C&dq=The+Voice+of+Business:+Hill+%26+Knowlton+and+Postwar+Public+Relations&hl=sv&source=gbs_navlinks_s.
