The New York Times with drug makers, a consumer watchdog group, the FDA, and Google about how a lack of specified rules for Internet marketing conflicts with the print and TV rules that the FDA currently applies to new media.

Fourteen pharmaceutical companies were warned by the FDA earlier this month for failing to include risk information in search ads. The consensus among communications professionals who spoke with PRWeek is that the FDA needs to develop a clear policy for digital communications. Search ads are used, in part, by pharmaceutical companies as part of a reputation management strategy.

The same sentiment was echoed in today’s story.

Mary Ann Belliveau, health industry director at Google, told the NYT that “… the sense in the industry was ‘that the F.D.A. sent letters about ‘you shouldn’t do this, you shouldn’t do that,’ as opposed to issuing clear digital guidelines that the companies should follow.’”

Now, companies will only use “generic-sounding Web addresses that redirect users to the brand’s site,” an allowance only made for pharmaceutical companies, and are questioning the FDA to evaluate the difference in online marketing techniques.

As Hillary Clinton, now Secretary of State, works to clear the debt from her presidential bid, it appears that Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, the WPP polling firmfounded by Mark Penn, is the only remaining creditor.

It is owed $2.3 million, down from $5.4 million as reported at the end of 2008.

The Wall Street Journal takes a look at Ben Bernanke’s PR campaign and how it has placed him in the “starring role” as he tries to clearly communcate the Federal Reserve’s role, the paper .

According to Reuters, the Fed is reworking its communications strategy, as part of a transparency push that may include regular news conferences and increased availability of information, possibly online.

In recent months, Bernanke has discussed the economic crisis to audiences ranging from college students and the general public to the media and Congress, and he tells the WSJ: “‘I think it is important for the public to understand what is going on and to know that the government is trying to solve the problem … They should know we have a plan and a strategy.”‘

Yet, the paper also notes that Bernanke may placing himself at the heart of the PR effort to ensure his position as chairman of the Federal Reserve is secure. Within the year, President Barack Obama will decide whether or not to reappoint Bernanke.

With technology changes on the horizon for the healthcare industry, Dell launched a social media site to generate ideas and solutions that would improve the improve the “delivery, efficiency, and quality of healthcare using IT,” the company said on April 6.

The site, called IdeaStorm for Healthcare and Life Sciences, is a branch of IdeaStorm, a brainstorming site which was launched in 2007.

Kerry Bridge, head of digital media communications for Dell, told PRWeek that the site is targeted at large healthcare organizations as well as influencers and key stakeholders in the healthcare blogging industry.

“It’s a huge social media community, specifically looking at healthcare IT,” she says. “And these are the people we want to be talking to, share ideas with. Dell would like to be a valuable member of that community.”

Dell plans to promote the site within healthcare social media communities, on its blog and company Web site, and through the newsletters that the sales force distributes.

“It’s definitely a stake in the ground,” she says. “…[to show] that we’re committed to the healthcare industry.

Much has been made about how to communicate with women, especially those who are considered healthcare decision makers, but an April 8 story in The Boston Globe at a look at the way men communicate health news.

The story says: “Men are raised with inhibitions or ‘rules of manhood’ that may keep them out of the healthcare system, Zoske explains. He says that most health messages are expressed in a ‘feminine form.’ The basic public health theme, he says, is, ‘Notice your body, pay attention when something isn’t working well, and seek help when needed.’ But, Zoske says, this statement doesn’t really speak to guys. He points out that men may be deaf to their body’s symptoms because they are brought up to ignore factors such as vulnerability and pain.”

Other key points include engaging men in a dialogue by letting them know that other men have similar symptons or ailments; communicating health messages by framing them in terms of safety, strength, and performance; and using numbers, statistics, and metaphors because men respond to those communications tools.

Last week, I wrote about how labor and business organizations are using PR to communicate their positions on the Employee Free Choice Act, or “card check.”

Today, The Washington Post has a story about how Whole Foods, Starbucks, and Costco are proposing a third solution to the debate. By proposing a compromise, the companies are able to “to project a progressive image,” says the newspaper.

According to the Post, the companies are opposed to two of the bill’s provisions - in short, allowing workers to form a union without having a secret-ballot election and imposing binding arbitration when a contract is not reached after 120 days.

But, these three companies would keep the third provision that toughens penalties for companies that retaliate against workers.

Clinical trial recruitment firms and the PR firms that offer this service are starting to look at social media as a means to better reach potential patients that may not be aware of certain trials, or that they could qualify for them.

Last week, the Los Angeles Times on the number of clinical trials that are postponed because enrollment numbers have not been met. And a March 10 Newsweek story at the types of social media networks that pharmaceutical companies are tapping into to recruit patients.

While Facebook and Web sites have been two major for pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies to recruit patients, one firm is eying Twitter - specifically because it is already a public forum, unlike a private Facebook page, says Carmen Gonzalez, manager of strategy and communications for Healthcare Communications Group.

“It’s a way to cut through the noise,” she notes.

The clinical trial recruitment firm recently drafted a set of guidelines to provide to clients who are considering Twitter as a part of their strategy.

I didn’t know what to expect going into the PRWeek Awards last night - it was my first year attending the event - but I have to say that I was impressed with how excited every single person I spoke to was.

My highlights for the night?

The guy from LaunchSquard conducting video interviews and asking which firm would win Boutique PR Agency of the Year. (His firm did!) Meeting Shannon Riggs, this year’s Young PR Professional of the Year, who flew in all the way from Oregon to attend the awards.

And, Coyne PR, this year’s Awards darlings. I met Tom Coyne for the first time early in the night and the first thing he did was let me know that his tables would be having a pretty good time. He was right. Coyne’s sheer excitement, I think, made everyone remember how lucky they are that they get to be a part of this industry.

PepsiCo is scrapping a redesign of its Tropicana packaging because of consumer complaints, the company The New York Times.

The redesign, which kicked off in January, also included a new advertising campaign, which will continue as planned “although future elements of the campaign” will be updated.

The brand plans to contact the consumers who called or wrote to the company about the changes to explain what Tropicana is doing, going forward.

Other companies, like and Johnson & Johnson, have faced situations where consumer complaints, some fueled by the visibility that social media provides, have caused companies to make immediate changes, says the Times.

that the Killeen Furtney Group had stepped down as the PR firm for Nadya Suleman, mother of the octuplets born in January, first came out a week ago.

Joann Killeen, president of the Los Angeles-based firm, later told Larry King that both her office and Suleman had received death threats. Suleman has received criticism from the public and media for reasons ranging from from the fact that she is currently unemployed and had six children being giving birth to the octuplets.

Killeen has not been available for comment this week; the firm’s voicemail remained full as of February 20.

Killeen Furtney Group began work with Suleman on January 30. A donation Web site still lists the firm’s address.