McCarthy Communications

McCarthy Communications is a Washington DC-based PR firm specializing in crisis management. "The agency has a diverse client list in sectors including biotech, athletics, high technology, industrial manufacturing, Indian affairs along with representation of individual public figures" - in addition to National Public Radio, according to testimonials posted on the firm's website.

The firm's principal, Jim McCarthy, previously handled industry and foreign government accounts at the larger Washington DC firms Ruder Finn and Nichols-Dezenhall. He also lectures at American University on "crisis management theory and case studies."

According to their website, the firm's philosophy is to fight back when activist "attack groups" work with sensationalistic reporters to criticize clients:

"The attack groups that foment these crises, and those journalists who abet them, are well organized and act in close concert. Activists provide ready-made outrage and formulaic storylines and the news organizations ride a high horse to the rescue. In this paradigm, the target is always wrong and the attacker always righteous. But activist groups can be confronted and news organizations held accountable. That's because what they all have in common is a belief that their targets will run, duck, or hide. Faced instead with a firm resolve, the dynamics can be forcibly changed...

"We believe that media confrontation must be consistent, adamant and assertive. Our unique strategies are based on sound theory and a proven track record of guiding clients through some of the most volatile media circumstances. We helped decriminalize the use of Peyote for American Indians despite the hysteria of the war on drugs. When Augusta National Golf Club came under attack from radical activist groups, we exposed bias in the press. When the federal government lost billions in a trust fund held for some of America's poorest citizens, we guided the story to the front page. We brought Title IX reform to the fore of the national policy agenda."

Contact details
14410 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. Suite 121 Washington, DC 20016 Phone: 202-333-8810 Fax: 202-318-1087 Email: info AT mccarthycommunications.net Web: http://mccarthycommunications.net

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Jim McCarthy
 * Managing Activism: A Guide to Dealing with Activists and Pressure Groups
 * media control

External articles

 * Jim McCarthy, "Responding to Augusta Coverage", The Washington Post, January 19, 2003.
 * Alan Shipnuck, "Taking on The Times: The New York Times was a powerful force in Martha Burk's war on Augusta National, until the club's hired gun shot holes in the newspaper's coverage", Sports Illustrated, April 6, 2004.