Eric Dezenhall

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Eric Dezenhall[1]

Born September 9, 1962 (1962-09-09) (age 45)[2]
Education Dartmouth College[1]
Occupation public relations
Employers Dezenhall Resources
Title Founder and CEO[3]

Eric B. Dezenhall (born September 9, 1962) is the American founder and CEO of public relations firm Dezenhall Resources, which represents high-profile clients facing "crisis, conflict, and controversy."[4]

Prominent clients of Dezenhall include ExxonMobil/Public Interest Watch, Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling, Michael Jackson/Mark Geragos, Eli Lilly and Company, Motel 6/Accor,[3], Procter & Gamble, General Electric,[5] and Community Financial Services Association of America.[6]

Dezenhall's published writing on public relations focuses on how a celebrity or corporation can successfully defend their reputation in the face of "a lawsuit, a sex scandal, a defective product, or allegations of insider trading," among other crises.[7] He is also considered a TV pundit and has written several mystery novels.[3][8]

Contents

[edit] Life and work

Dezenhall grew up in New Jersey and studied news media and political science at Dartmouth College.[1] Dezenhall worked briefly in President Ronald Reagan's White House communications office.[3]

He has been contracted by the Association of American Publishers to run an up to half million dollar campaign against the open access movement.[9] In a series of emails that were leaked to the journal Nature, Dezenhall concedes that "it's hard to fight an adversary that manages to be both elusive and in possession of a better message: Free information," and suggests joining forces with think tanks like the American Enterprise Institute and National Consumers League in an attempt to persuade key players of the potential risks of unfiltered access. "Paint a picture of what the world would look like without peer-reviewed articles," he added.[10]

[edit] Writing

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He wrote about mobster Meyer Lansky in the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, The Baltimore Sun, The New Republic, and Ethical Corporation. His book Nail 'em: Confronting High-Profile Attacks on Celebrities and Business, deals with public relations damage control.[11]

Dezenhall's mystery novels include Turnpike Flameout, Shakedown Beach, Money Wanders, Jackie Disaster, and Spinning Dixie.[8]

[edit] Criticism

Kevin McCauley from O'Dwyer's PR Report called Dezenhall "the pit bull of public relations", and journalist Bill Moyers, discussing Dezenhall's firm's involvement with the chemical industry stated, "I consider [Dezenhall Resources] the Mafia of the industry."[3] Dezenhall has been criticized for being a "spin doctor" who lowers the quality of public debate for the sake of protecting business interests.[12] His effort on behalf of Exxon to pressure the Internal Revenue Service to evoke Greenpeace's tax exempt status was roundly condemned by environmental advocates.[13] His efforts on behalf of traditional publishers to combat open access to scientific research have been an ongoing source of controversy in the academic community.[14]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c About Eric. Eric Dezenhall (2006). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
  2. ^ Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2002
  3. ^ a b c d e Javers, Eamon (2006-04-17). "The pit bull of public relations". BusinessWeek online. McGraw-Hill. Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
  4. ^ Dezenhall Resources
  5. ^ Sachs, Andrea. "The new world of crisis management", TIME, 2007-04-19. Retrieved on 2007-12-30. 
  6. ^ Schor, Elana. "Consumer groups team with Pentagon on interest rate caps", The Hill, 2006-09-06. Retrieved on 2007-12-30. 
  7. ^ Damage Control - Eric Dezenhall - Penguin Group (USA)
  8. ^ a b Fiction by Eric Dezenhall. Eric Dezenhall. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
  9. ^ Giles, Jim (2007-01-25). PR's 'pit bull' takes on open access. Journal publishers lock horns with free-information movement.. news @ nature.com. Nature Publishing Group. Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
  10. ^ David Biello (26 January 2007). Open Access to Science Under Attack. Scientific American. Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
  11. ^ Eric Dezenhall biography. Dezenhall Resources. Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
  12. ^ The perils of PR pitbulling - Information World Review
  13. ^ Spinwatch - "The Pit Bull Of Public Relations"
  14. ^ Open Access to Science Under Attack: Scientific American

[edit] External links