P.R. on a Platter

frank-murkowski-1.jpg There are two tried-and-true routes to good P.R. You can earn it through effective spin, or buy it through effective advertising. Now Alaska Guv Frank Murkowski is testing a third way to creating a positive image: calling up newspapers and asking for sympathetic reporting.

Specifically, Murkowski wants to open the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. Some Alaskans believe that the local newspapers, which are owned by national chains, have been too critical of that position. Press outlets should "be advocates for what's good for the communities they represent and the communities that support them," Murkowski told the AP last week. "Just because they are part of a chain I don't think relieves them of the local responsibilities they have to represent the local communities in the state."

Murkowski says that he's not asking the press to adopt a pro-drilling slant. But it's hard to figure what else he could want when he says that he'll be contacting chains that own Alaska newspapers and asking them for assistance. Good luck there. Fortunately for the gov, his P.R. campaign has got some more traditional advertising and marketing components as well.