Dealbook blogged yesterday about comments delivered by Citigroup chairman Winfried Bischoff at a financial conference in Brussels.

“Mr. Bischoff said transparency had become a ‘totally misused concept’ and a catchphrase,” says the blog entry, apparently a reference to calls from US government officials to improve transparency at banks and sovereign wealth funds.

Has the word “transparency” lost a bit of its potency? Yeah, I would agree. I hear it used all the time and it seems to have become slightly diluted of its meaning. (Kind of like “interactive.”) But whether it has lost some of its punch or not, banks and other financial institutions are very much lacking in it. As we edge closer to recession, policymakers are now promising to Americans, cash in hand, while stories are being published about just how inadequate a solution that is given the housing problems at hand. They talked about how little is known about these sovereign wealth funds in Davos. Even the is getting involved, trying to sort out who may have done what in this subprime mortgage mess.

You can frown on the word “transparency,” but everyone outside of the financial inner circle could use more information about how modern-day business is done.

Sears has been all over the media for a variety of reasons lately. First, it made news and our Book of Lists for a 99% drop (!) in year-over-year third quarter profits in 2007. Then last week, there was the announcement about an internal reorganization into five business units. The latest came this morning with a press release from OgilvyOne announcing its selection as the direct marketing and CRM AOR for Sears and there’s the bigger announcement (here’s the story) that CEO Alwyn Lewis will step down this week with Bruce Johnson replacing him on an interim basis.

“Chaos” is the word mentioned a couple of times by analysts watching the Sears situation. Poor financial results, a search for a CEO, and continued reports about a lack of investment in the look and feel of Sears and Kmart stores will continue to damage the brand if the company doesn’t take action ASAP.

Last week, we reported that Tommy Hilfiger was working with the Brunswick Group and that the clothing company was planning on an IPO in Amsterdam. News today is that Apax Partners, the private equity owners of Hilfiger have put off the IPO. This story from today’s talks about the impact that the volatile economy is having on a few high-end labels, companies that were once untouched by something as tacky as “the market.”

Reid Walker, VP of global communications and sponsorships at Lenovo, is blogging from Davos. I also have it on good authority that Mark Stouse, global communications leader at BMC Software, is there. And, of course, Richard Edelman is there. Anyone else?

The New York Times Company has made an investment in Automattic [no sic], the provider of the WordPress blogging software that powers our blogs. I’ve long suspected that the NYT used WordPress, and . Although the Times Company is only a small investor in the latest round, it’s a great move for them. I, for one, welcome our new blogging overlords.

This week my news analysis covered the latest battle in what some have dubbed the “format wars” between Toshiba’s HD DVD format and Sony’s Blu-ray disc format. Shortly before the HD DVD Promotional Group was set to hold a press conference at the CES in Las Vegas, Warner Bros. announced it was pulling out of its partnership with HD DVD and switching over to Blu-ray. While the people I spoke with at Blu-ray are downplaying any kind of final victory in the format wars, some influential bloggers have already opined that Warner’s shift to the Sony format tips the balance in Blu-ray’s favor too far for HD DVD to recover. Toshiba, apparently not going down without a fight, put out a string of press releases, citing their disappointment with Warner’s pullout, but trumpeting their recent slash in prices for the HD DVD player.

I spoke with both sides of the battle field, Andy Parsons, and Michael Hoog, for Blu-ray disc, and Ken Graffeo from the HD DVD Promotional Group. Here are some of the additional comments from both entities, that wound up on the cutting-room floor. A little long for a standard blog, but I figured, if they took the time to go on the record and say it, I might as well publish it.

I asked Hoog, Co-Owner, Corporate Advocates, the agency that represents the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) what the format’s communications efforts will be going forward.

“I think the biggest piece is two-fold,” Hoog said, “One, we’re still helping consumers understand that Blue-ray is a safe buy. The big issue going forward is helping them understand the benefits of hi-def, and getting them to move to Blu-ray.”

“I expect that there will be significant efforts…to continue in the consumer education front,” Hoog added. “When a consumer comes in and plays with it, the value is apparent. Part of the effort is ‘how do you expose consumers to the product?’ I think you’ll see a big push for that in 2008.”

Hoog also talked briefly about the efforts on the other side to downplay the loss of Warner Bros. and hype its plans to adjust the prices.

“Their message has been fairly consistent,” Hoog said. “They talk about themselves as the less expensive format. Yes it’s a cheaper unit, but I think that’s a tough proposition for them now. To a certain extent they kind of have to be.”

Andy Parsons, chair of BDA’s US promotions committee, spoke similarly of HD DVD’s messaging.

“Toshiba probably has a lot of players to move. It’s a tough sell; they just lost a little less than half their content. If I were in their shoes I would do something similar because they have a lot of players to sell. People aren’t necessarily convinced that increased advertising can pull a rabbit out of their hat. We don’t want to give them any indication that we’ve won, hooray, hooray, but it’s tough to imagine how the other side is going to overcome this.”

On the BDA’s reaction to winning Warner Bros. and the media’s role in analyzing the format wars, Parsons said:

“We were quite excited for a number of reasons. We’re now 70 percent of the Home Video content, by the end of May, there’s going to be a clear message to consumers where their purchase should go. Consumers shouldn’t worry about jumping into Blu-ray. For a while people were advising consumers to avoid going with one or the other, we’re at a point where consumers can say Blu-ray is most likely to prevail. We feel good about not having to do that any longer.”

“Ironically [the media's declaration of victory is] being done already. The articles that are hitting…seem to be proclaiming the end of the format war more than we have. [The media] is saying: ‘It looks like it’s over, HD DVD is not going to make it work.’ We’ve been monitoring the blogs and comments on these stories and they seem to be convinced that we’ve won. We’re going to have to continue to tell our story.”

Ken Graffeo, co-president of the HD DVD Promotional Group said his partners are “staying the course” since Warner Bros. pulled out. He said internally, the timing of Warner’s announcement actually created a bit of an advantage, because all of the principal players were either in Las Vegas or en route to the CES, so they were able to get on the same page. Graffeo said the group remains committed to their format.

 ”The message we have always focused on is a consistent experience at an affordable price. The HD DVD player plays every DVD. You’re still getting a better experience. Toshiba’s prices are half the price on the Blu-ray side.”

In addition to the pricing difference, Graffeo said he wants communications to center on the way the format war is being reported in the media. Namely that few consumers have even made the switch to hi-def, and that Toshiba’s efforts are still focused on grabbing a greater market share of mass consumers.

“It’s very important to look at how it’s being interpreted. The 70 percent figure is not about where the business is. What needs focusing is ‘how are people going to get the best experience?’ From a press standpoint, there’s been so much about a format war, but the consumer doesn’t view it that way. People are looking for movies in the best quality. What we need to do is focus with the consumer, so they understand the attributes of HD DVD. The press needs to have a broader scope of consumer awareness. We’re going after mass market.”

Graffeo concluded that they will be reaching out to bloggers to straighten out what they perceive are inaccuracies in reporting.

“We’ve always been very aggressive. When we’re actively communicating, we’re communicating the facts,” he said.

Let no one say that Golfweek is not a champion of issues. Actually, everyone can say that. After publishing a cover with a noose on it - related to a tasteless comment by golf commentator Kelly Tilghman suggesting lesser skilled golfers lynch Tiger Woods - the magazine has replaced the editor responsible for the image. The goal of the cover? To  provoke a discussion, said now displaced editor Dave Seanor.

The discussion now only involves Golfweek’s poor taste - as Tilghman apologized both publicly and privately to Woods, who accepted. The final word goes to PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem:

In a statement, he said: “Clearly, what Kelly said was inappropriate and unfortunate, and she obviously regrets her choice of words. But we consider Golfweek’s imagery of a swinging noose on its cover to be outrageous and irresponsible. It smacks of tabloid journalism. It was a naked attempt to inflame and keep alive an incident that was heading to an appropriate conclusion.”

Target reportedly produced a less-than-desired response to a blogger request, according to .

Good Morning Amy,

Thank you for contacting Target; unfortunately we are unable to respond to your inquiry because Target does not participate with non-traditional media outlets. This practice is in place to allow us to focus on publications that reach our core guest.

And .

The PR battle between the San Francisco Zoo and the survivors of last month’s tiger attack took a new turn yesterday with the release of the victims’ 911 calls. The SF Zoo’s PR team — led by Sam Singer — has widely discredited the three victims by implying they used drugs and taunted the Siberian tiger. But the PR team may now find itself on the defensive, as the 911 tapes show the zoo workers dismissive to cries for help.

According to the San Jose Mercury News:

The calls appear to show that:

•Paul Dhaliwal - who was already slashed across the head and bleeding profusely - and his older brother Kulbir asked for help and towels at a zoo cafe that had just closed, but were not allowed inside.

•With the tiger on the loose, zoo employees locked down the zoo and at first would not allow police, paramedics or anyone else to enter. A 911 dispatcher in a calm tone tried to assure Kulbir Dhaliwal they were trying. “We have to make sure that the paramedics don’t get chewed on, because if the paramedics get hurt, then nobody’s going to help.”

Singer’s response:

Zoo spokesman Sam Singer said the tapes show the zoo responded appropriately. He said the cafe manager, who was not sure what had happened, called zoo security.

“The only thing he was responding to is that after he’d closed his business, two boys were banging on the doors to get in,” Singer said. “He did the appropriate thing, which was to call and notify zoo security.”

Singer also said the zoo “shut its gates temporarily to ensure Tatiana would not escape and get out into the streets and possibly further harm members of the public, shutting the gates to protect the public as well as police and fire.

For PRWeek’s coverage on the SF Zoo tiger attack click here.

Last week, unveiled their new logo, the first step in a major rebranding effort taking place over the next 18 to 24 months. Switching up the logo was a big move for the company, whose name has become a synonym for photocopying.

“We wanted to force the general audiences to sort of take a mental pause when they’re thinking about Xerox and think, ‘Has something changed? Maybe I need to take another look,’” said Mike Moeller, director of corporate PR for Xerox.

With 50,000 employees, educating them about the effort is a massive task, but one the company wants to accomplish first with Webinars and other tools. The Web site, marketing and signage is already transitioning to the new logo. In case you haven’t seen it, here it is on the homepage.

While there are grander plans in the works, it still seems a lot of hullabaloo for a logo switch. I asked Moeller about that directly and he said, “It’s the front and center, one of the most immediate mechanisms to set the perception of the company. Is it as major as changing business strategy? No. We didn’t feel it necessary to start from scratch. It was necessary to modernize and evolve. We’re not running from our iconic status, we’re just trying to get people to understand that our past is not all that we’ll ever do.”