{"id":1467364,"date":"2022-05-07T08:44:36","date_gmt":"2022-05-07T12:44:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1467364"},"modified":"2022-05-07T08:44:38","modified_gmt":"2022-05-07T12:44:38","slug":"top-pr-firm-tells-clients-to-stay-out-of-roe-v-wade-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-pr-firm-tells-clients-to-stay-out-of-roe-v-wade-fight\/","title":{"rendered":"Top PR Firm Tells Clients to Stay Out of Roe v. Wade Fight"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftop-pr-firm-tells-clients-to-stay-out-of-roe-v-wade-fight%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1467364&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2022\/05\/GettyImages-1282374300-1-scaled.jpg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.3.0\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>In 2019, when Georgia passed a law that banned abortion after a baby\u2019s heartbeat can be detected, a number of high-profile businesses spoke out against it. Executives at companies like Coca-Cola and Amazon went so far as to put their names on a widely-publicized <a href=\"https:\/\/www.11alive.com\/article\/news\/amazon-coke-execs-send-letter-opposing-heartbeat-abortion-bill\/85-7a0443bb-ac15-421c-8090-adcd2c56011f\">letter<\/a> to GOP Governor Brian Kemp, warning that the legislation would take the state \u201cin the wrong direction.\u201d Since then, corporations speaking out on controversial topics has become a common occurrence.<\/p>\n<p>But according to an internal email obtained by the independent newsletter <a href=\"https:\/\/popular.info\/p\/pr-giant-advising-corporate-clients?s=r\">Popular Information<\/a>, one of the nation\u2019s top public relations firms is now telling companies that politics and business don\u2019t mix, especially when it comes to hot-button issues like abortion.<\/p>\n<p>Zeno, a firm that represents such blue-chip brands as Starbucks, Coca-Cola, Pizza Hut, and AT&#038;T is advising clients not to weigh in on a leaked draft of a Supreme Court opinion that would overturn <i>Roe v. Wade<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>Warning that abortion is a \u201ctextbook 50\/50 issue,\u201d Executive Vice President for Media Strategy Katie Cwayna says in the email template, drafted to share with clients, that \u201csubjects that divide the country can sometimes be no-win situations for companies because regardless of what they do they will alienate at least 15 to 30 percent of their stakeholders.\u201d She then cautions companies, \u201cDo not assume that all of your employees, customers or investors share your view.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The message specifically warns that the media will try to coerce businesses to speak out on the issue of abortion and says it would be a mistake to give in to that pressure.<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to the loud voices on social media who demand that companies take a stand on the draft SCOTUS opinion, the firm offers much the same advice, saying, \u201cDo not engage with direct questions about your company\u2019s position. Whether in direct messages or public-facing posts, do not respond to questions about where your company stands on this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Elements within the Popular Information report suggest author Judd Legum\u2019s purpose in writing it is to contribute to both the media and social media pressure big companies will feel to take a stand against overturning <i>Roe<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>In the article, Legum, who previously ran the leftwing news site ThinkProgress and worked for Hillary Clinton\u2019s presidential campaign, equates \u201cwomen\u2019s rights\u201d with being pro-abortion. He implies Zeno\u2019s advice is hypocritical because in the past the company has released generic statements cheering women\u2019s equality, but is unwilling to condemn the SCOTUS draft. He writes:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em>In a March 2021 statement posted to its corporate website, Zeno said that everyone must make \u201ca commitment to a gender equal world\u201d and that includes \u201cspeaking up in the face of inequality\u201d\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Now, with the constitutional rights of women in grave danger, Zeno is giving their clients \u2014 which also include Kia Motors, Astra-Zeneca, AT&#038;T, ASICS, Scotts Miracle-Gro, Phillips Health, Corona, Pizza Hut, Prudential, and Leveno \u2014 the opposite advice. If Edelman and other PR firms are doling out similar recommendations, it may explain why so few companies that publicly champion women\u2019s rights have spoken out about the expected repeal of Roe.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JuddLegum\/status\/1522567107149451264?s=20&#038;t=7vArePyx5AmoD8lImREuUg\">Multiple<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JuddLegum\/status\/1522567748030709763?s=20&#038;t=7vArePyx5AmoD8lImREuUg\">Twitter<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JuddLegum\/status\/1522569163784523776?s=20&#038;t=7vArePyx5AmoD8lImREuUg\">posts<\/a> from Legum similarly seem intended to inspire outrage against Zeno for its advice.<\/p>\n<p>Recent big business cautionary tales, however, suggest that companies that want to avoid angering their customers by taking sides on controversial subjects would do well to follow Zeno\u2019s advice.<\/p>\n<p>Since leftwing activists successfully pressured Disney to take a public stand against a Florida law that prevents public schools from speaking to children about sexuality and gender identity before fourth grade, the company has weathered a storm of negative press and faced boycotts from parents. CEO Bob Chapek\u2019s pledge to fight to overturn the law also cost the company government perks like a special tax district in the Orlando area where its Disney World theme park is located.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, Disney\u2019s stock has fallen roughly 19% since March, when it first reversed its initial policy of staying out of politics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 2019, when Georgia passed a law that banned abortion after a baby\u2019s heartbeat can be detected, a number of high-profile businesses spoke out against it. Executives at companies like<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":498,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1467364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1467364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/498"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1467364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1467364\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1467364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1467364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1467364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}