First came the outrage over companies submitting information to bloggers that was repeated nearly verbatim in blogs all across the Internet. Now, a similar phenomenon is raising questions in the media about so-called grassroots campaigns.

In his PBS blog, called MediaShift, journalist Mark Glaser cites a practice that has become known as "Astroturf"-a fake grassroots campaign which is, according to Glaser, "organized by political professionals who want the appearance of a groundswell of public opinion." Through this technique, special-interest groups provide content for letters to the editor, which are then e-mailed to various publications from individuals who supposedly have composed the letters themselves.

Glaser asserts that the liberal group MoveOn "got at least six letters published that aped its talking points on fixing Medicare," while the conservative Focus on the Family organization "got dozens of letters to the editor published using its letter generator that lets you pick and choose pre-written paragraphs to create a Frankenstein-ian letter."

Defending the practice after being singled out by the Seattle Times, Focus on the Family Media Director Gary Schneeberger wrote, "If it's unethical for someone to sign his or her name to a letter largely written and/or edited by someone who writes and/or edits for a living, then where's the outrage over commentaries that appear on this page under the name of a congressman or senator? Those pieces aren't written by the congressman or senator him/herself but by a staff member who helps compile the lawmaker's convictions into a well-written whole..there is nothing fake about that."

Glaser responds that "there is something very fake about politicians using speech writers, but something even more fake about letter writers, appearing to be just average citizens, using word-for-word talking points from advocacy groups without disclosing that information."

"As do most other public relations firms, Airfoil regularly writes bylined articles on behalf of clients; but the thoughts, opinions and recommendations are those of the client, whom we generally interview extensively," said Airfoil Account Director Leah Haran. "Grassroots campaigns, on the other hand, only will be effective if the particular publics involved express their interests in their own individual voices. PR's role is to provide the facts, the arguments and the call to action for individuals to draw on. Public relations best fulfills its role when it can uncover and communicate with a developing groundswell, supporting its voices with persuasive information."

How do major media outlets come up with ideas for all those stories that don't center on "breaking news"-the features, analysis and profile articles that go beyond and behind the hottest stories of the day? Corporations sometimes would like to believe their news releases are on top of the editors' desks and the top of their minds when they look for these "enterprise" story ideas. But if the New York Times is any indicator, these stories almost always come from an idea put forward by a reporter or an editor, rather than a release.

Times Public Editor Byron Calame, the readers' representative for the paper, decided to examine where enterprise stories are born. He looked at the front pages of eight major sections of one edition of the Sunday Times and found 23 enterprise articles (which excluded breaking news and columns). He asked reporters to recount how the initial idea originated for each piece. Of the 23 stories, 16 came from ideas generated by reporters and five from editors. None "came down from on high" from the 13 top editors on the paper. Only two of the 23 started with ideas from PR practitioners, Calame reports.

Managing Editor Jill Abramson said, "By far, the greatest percentage of ideas comes from reporters. They bubble up." Calame added, "While public relations professionals can play a key role in the journalistic process, I was encouraged to find that the ideas for only two articles came from them."

"The findings at the Times illustrate the importance of consistent contact with reporters to offer information on trends and developments as groundwork for story ideas," advised Airfoil Vice President Tracey Parry. "Public relations professionals understand the value of establishing one-to-one relationships with editors and reporters to help populate the ideas the journalist develops with examples and insights from clients and to help shape the journalist's perceptions of an industry or marketplace. Simply sending out news releases is not sufficient. The PR practitioner must become a true resource for reporters to help them flesh out their ideas by offering new environments, new agendas and new trends from clients that may stimulate their thinking."

No one doubts that technology has changed our lifestyles, but the pace of that change seems to be accelerating as we enter the second half of 2006. For example, Podcasting-which exploded in popularity immediately after its introduction-has been around for a while now, but the latest trend is videocasting. Web sites like YourTube enable everyone to create their own video content and post it on the Web. In effect, now anyone can produce a broadcast video program accessible through computers instead of TV sets.

An even more significant trend is in the making, however: the convergence of all sorts of communications and entertainment in mobile devices, allowing people to do more when they are on the road. With smartphones, individuals have been able to stay in touch with the world through e-mail and Internet browsing. Now, companies are providing video downloads daily to mobile phone users, with sports and entertainment highlights, music videos, movie trailers, news and weather on their wireless phones. Windows Media Player 10 Mobile is just one application enabling mobile entertainment.

In the latest expansion of mobility, consumers actually can use their mobile phones to buy products they see in magazine ads, TV spots or on billboard displays through "text to pay" services, like PayPal Mobile. They can even use their phones to transfer money to other people through simple text messages.

Airfoil recently conducted research on the mobile market and found:

• 77 percent of respondents carry their phone or other phone-enabled mobile device on their person at all times
• 13 percent browse the Internet on their phone or mobile device
• 4 percent make purchases on their phone or mobile device

The mobile phone has become the link to lifestyles for consumers, and we'll be eager to track the development of its usage as capabilities expand rapidly.

During the 20^th century, businesses targeted their marketing and communications mainly to male audiences, who were perceived to be the "breadwinners" and the source of the disposable income for conspicuous consumption. Women were viewed as a niche market more appropriate for marketing food, home appliances and cosmetics.

The automotive industry ignored women for years, until the emergence of the dual-income family meant two cars in every driveway. Then automakers began assembling teams of women to design their cars and SUVs. Technology gave women short shrift as well, until the rise of online shopping and the capability for social networking. Now women play a much more prominent role on the Web. More recently, women have made their marks among building-supply stores, freight carriers, highway crews and a host of other once-macho vocations and venues.

Women have tremendous spending power, and increasingly they are determined to maintain their economic status by managing full careers at the same time they balance their home life-financially, domestically and even structurally.

A much broader cross section of marketers now are targeting these active women, who balance work and family life, through traditional media and newer forms of communication. Airfoil recently conducted research with a select group of working moms to examine their media habits. Not surprisingly, we found their favorite types of publications were food and home-entertaining magazines, and their top priorities were spending time with family, along with children's health and safety. But local broadcast news and newspapers were very important as well. Two thirds of them set aside time each day for news and entertainment, despite their hard-charging schedules.

Perhaps most revealing to some marketers may be the fact that 80 percent of the working mothers in our study are on the Internet daily. They have incorporated it into their office and home life just as resolutely as the stereotypical male executive has.

Three out of four of the women responding said they are in charge of most household duties, and two thirds of them involve significant others when making major purchases. Clearly women have become a lead partner in the buying decisions of today's families, and every marketer should be communicating in ways that meet the needs and preferences of the women taking charge of their families and their careers.

In the June issue, available online at www.UpstreamCIO.com, Editor Jeanne M. Perdue cites a quarterly study of news coverage relating to the 100 top U.S. companies, conducted by media analyst Delahaye, and ponders why technology giants are profiled so much more positively than oil companies:

"Microsoft was the top company to benefit from positive media coverage from January to March of this year. IBM took third place, and Intel was ranked fourth. HP's new line of digital products advanced the company six rungs up the ladder to seventh place, its highest score since its CEO turmoil in 2005.

"These technology companies know how to get good ink!"

"But how did Big Oil fare in the Index? Constant news coverage about consumer backlash against huge profits and high gasoline prices pushed ExxonMobil back two places to 21st place...

"Delahaye President Mark Weiner stated: '. The tech sector continues to be one of the strongest and most stabile since the Index began in 2000. Across 21 quarters of research and analysis, companies such as Microsoft and IBM have consistently demonstrated their ability to very effectively "manage" their reputations through the media.'"

Perdue concludes in part with this plea:

"Here's an idea for the oil companies: Find out who the PR agencies are for Microsoft, IBM and Intel and hire them to replace your current agencies!"

Airfoil Vice President Eric Kushner, who oversees the agency's work with Microsoft, advises, "Media coverage is the frontline of corporate reputation. Rather than hunkering down when times are bad or working to ward off news interviews, every corporation should be proactive in communicating effectively and openly through the media."

Just as the Web was about to pound the final nail through old-fashioned subscriptions to newspapers and magazines, subscriptions have come roaring back-Internet style- in a format that few anticipated just a couple years ago. One of the hottest Web trends these days is subscribing to RSS feeds and podcasts, which allow computer users to have the specific categories of news, information and entertainment they are looking for delivered directly to their desktops, as soon as they are "published."

Many newspapers have incorporated RSS feeds on their sites, but few are podcasting yet. It's a different story for conventional broadcast news and cable news networks, however. While the audience for their on-air programs are evaporating, broadcast-news organizations have taken the lead in offering podcasts and RSS text for a now seemingly endless range of topics and tastes, supplementing the video they make available on their home pages.

ABC News appears to be out front on the Web with the greatest variety of podcasts. It's one of the few organizations sending out video podcasts-half a dozen direct-to-your-computer videocasts titled World News Now; Good Morning, America; Extreme Video; Ahead of the Curve; Buzz Cut; and Fresh Trax. Its audio podcasts-some of them bilingual-number no fewer than 43, including 17 from ABC affiliates in New York, Houston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. They range from news to entertainment, from "Medical Minute" to "Desperate Housewives Minute," from money advice to movie reviews. They're joined by 16 different RSS feeds.

CBS runs a dozen podcats-from "60 Minutes" and "Face the Nation" to Frommer's Travel and Larry Magid's Tech Report-along with 18 various RSS news feeds and 30 more just devoted to sports. NBC and its MSNBC online site have come up with a total of 13 podcasts-newscasts, "Meet the Press," "Hardball" and the like, plus a podcast where its White House-beat correspondents answer listener mail. These are supplemented by ten RSS feeds.

CNN is deeply in the game as well, but with somewhat fewer RSS feeds and podcasts than the over-the-air nets, and the Fox News homepage offers links to RSS feeds but no podcasts.