Newsweek D.C. media manager to become PR VP for White House anti-drug campaign

Raw Story | June 7 2005

Rosanna Maietta, Newsweek’s Washington media relations manager leaves the magazine to join a public relations firm as Vice President for the White House's Anti-Drug campaign tomorrow, RAW STORY has learned.

The move was announced Friday in an email to the press. She will join the international public relations firm Fleishman-Hillard.

“After five years at Newsweek, I'm leaving on Monday to pursue a new adventure at PR firm Fleishman-Hillard,” she wrote. “It's been a great pleasure to work with you over the years, and I hope we will continue to do so in my new capacity: VP for the White House's anti-drug campaign.”

Maietta told RAW STORY Monday she will take her new post in July. In a followup call, she stressed that she was not working for the White House, but rather for a firm that handles the anti-drug account.

The U.S. Office of National Drug Policy, she said, has its own spokeperson.

She declined to comment further, referring questions on a Monday ruling that overruled state medical marijuana laws to her new firm.

Fleishman-Hillard has been an architect of the White House’s aggressive anti-drug campaigns, particularly with regard to marijuana. They pioneered a campaign which encouraged parents to engage their children about drug use.

The firm asserts they have successfully changed perceptions about marijuana, “providing a counter-point to the many pro-marijuana messages in the media.” During a 2002 run, the proportion of stories favoring an anti-drug message increased from 26 percent to 78 percent, while the proportion of unfavorable stories decreased from 30 percent to just seven percent.

The campaign’s leading messages include “the power of parents to prevent youth drug use,” “outdated perceptions about marijuana contribute to increased use,” “marijuana is addictive,” and “marijuana is riskier than you think.”