Organization:Singer Associates

From HandWiki
Singer Associates
Formation2000
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California
President
Sam Singer
CFO
Sharon Rollins Singer
Managing Partner
Adam A. Alberti
Websitehttps://singersf.com

Singer Associates is a public affairs firm in San Francisco, California.[1] Founded by Sam Singer in 2000, the firm specializes in crisis communications.[2][3] Its clients have included energy companies such as ChevronTexaco and Calpine, as well as the San Francisco 49ers and the San Francisco Ballet.[1]

History

The firm was founded by Sam Singer in 2000, after the sale of Kamer-Singer Associates to GCI Group in 1999.[1]

In 2022, the House Oversight Committee invited five PR firms, including Singer Associates, to testify on the role public relations firms have played in disseminating misinformation and disinformation about climate change on behalf of oil and gas companies. The firm did not show up to the hearing.[4][5][6] The committee published a report titled "The Role of Public Relations Firms in Preventing Action on Climate Change".

Singer Associates donated $2,500 to the campaign to recall (now former) Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao.[7]

Notable clients

Chevron

Singer Associates operates the Richmond Standard, a website owned by Chevron that says they cover news about Richmond, California, where Chevron owns and operates an oil refinery.[8] The website began operations in 2014, shortly after a fire at the refinery that "led roughly 15,000 local residents in a low-income community to seek medical treatment".[5]

Permian Proud, which began operations in August 2022, is owned by Chevron and operated by Singer Associates.[9] The site features stories from New Mexico and West Texas, "where Chevron has substantial drilling interests" and which are "home to the nation's highest-producing oil fields".[8]

Singer Associates began working with Chevron in Ecuador in 2008 amid ongoing litigation from environmental organizations.[10] Singer Associates runs The Amazon Post, a site similar to the Richmond Standard, but focused on Chevron's interests in Ecuador. The site began operations in 2009.[8]

San Francisco Zoo tiger attack

Singer Associates was hired by the San Francisco Zoological Society in the aftermath of an incident wherein a Siberian tiger mauled a teenage boy to death.[2] The subsequent investigation revealed that the tiger's enclosure wall was four feet shorter than recommended. In response, Singer Associates "urged the zoo to put up signs warning future visitors not to tease the animals" to prompt journalists to ask if the victim had been taunting the tiger prior to his death.[7]

Others

Wedgewood Properties

Wedgewood Properties is real estate redevelopment firm based in southern California that owned the house at issue in the 2019 Moms 4 Housing incident.[11]

Safe Embarcadero For All

Safe Embarcadero For All is a non-profit that was formed in 2019, and represented homeowners on San Francisco's embarcadero that wanted to stop a homeless shelter from being built nearby.[12] The group hired Singer Associates.[13]

Singer has also been hired by:[7][2][14][15][16]

  • Facebook
  • Oakland Police Union
  • Jack in the Box
  • The San Francisco 49ers
  • The San Francisco Bar Pilots Association after a ship crashed in 2009[17]
  • Former California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley
  • The Transbay Joint Powers Authority
  • Alex Tourk, Gavin Newsom's former campaign manager, after it was revealed Newsom had an affair with Tourk's wife
  • Tetra Tech after "Whistleblowers came forward with accusations that Tetra Tech falsified reports," while contracted to clean up the radioactive waste at the Hunters Point Shipyard[18]
  • Lennar
  • Don Fisher, the founder of Gap Inc.
  • Upper Fillmore Revitalization Project
  • Sapporo USA
  • Oakland NAACP
  • Ron Conway
  • Garry Tan, after he tweeted that some SF supervisors should "Die slow" in 2024[19]
  • Tartine, after the workers began a campaign to form a union[20]

Reception

Mother Jones reported that "Journalists have described Singer as 'the master of disaster' and 'one of the most influential behind-the-scenes shapers of public opinion in the Bay Area'".[7] The San Francisco Chronicle described Singer "as one of the – if not the – premier mouthpieces and spin doctors for companies doing business in San Francisco".[2]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Profile: Press experience hones Singer’s public affairs skills". PR Week. September 20, 2004. https://singersf.com/profile-press-experience-hones-singers-public-affairs-skills/. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Selna, Robert (Jan 7, 2008). "Sam Singer, zoo's crisis controller, keeps his cool when heat is on". The San Francisco Chronicle. https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Sam-Singer-zoo-s-crisis-controller-keeps-his-3299007.php. 
  3. ↑ Chan, Bonnie (2014-10-31). "The 'Master of Disaster' shapes public opinion in Richmond and beyond" (in en-US). https://richmondconfidential.org/2014/10/31/the-master-of-disaster-shapes-public-opinion-in-richmond-and-beyond/. 
  4. ↑ Cunningham, Nick. "House Committee Investigates the Role of PR Firms in Spreading Climate Disinformation | Sierra Club" (in en). https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/house-committee-investigates-role-pr-firms-spreading-climate-disinformation. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Hirji, Zahra; Taggart, Kendall (March 12, 2021). "A Large PR Firm Pledged To Fight Climate Change. Then It Took Millions From A Notorious Fossil Fuel Trade Group.". Buzzfeed News. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/zahrahirji/edelman-fossil-fuel-pr-climate. 
  6. ↑ Cunningham, Nick (2022-08-26). "House Committee Poised for Potential Subpoena of PR Firm for Climate Disinformation" (in en-US). https://www.desmog.com/2022/08/26/fti-consulting-fossil-fuels-work-climate-disinformation-house-natural-resources-subpoena/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Michaels, Samantha. "Oakland's merchant of bad vibes" (in en-US). https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/11/oakland-recalls-sam-singer-pr-crime-fears/. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Chevron owns this city's news site. Many stories aren't told" (in en). NPR. https://www.npr.org/2024/03/28/1239650727/chevron-fossil-fuel-richmond-standard-california-news. 
  9. ↑ Taft, Molly (2022-08-18). "Chevron Jumps Into Texas' News Desert With Stories About Puppies, Football, and Oil" (in en-US). https://gizmodo.com/chevron-local-news-texas-permian-proud-1849424317. 
  10. ↑ O’Hagan, Ellie Mae (2014-03-18). "In the Chevron court case, ordinary Ecuadorians' voices don't seem to count" (in en-GB). The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/18/chevron-court-case-ecuadorians-toxic-waste. 
  11. ↑ Hahn, Rachel (2020-05-12). "These Moms Fought for a Home—And Started a Movement" (in en-US). https://www.vogue.com/article/moms-4-housing. 
  12. ↑ Brinklow, Adam (2019-09-23). "Judge rules against homeowners trying to stop Embarcadero homeless center" (in en). https://sf.curbed.com/2019/9/23/20880167/homeless-center-embarcadero-sf-lawsuit-injunction-ruling. 
  13. ↑ Mojadad, Ida (2019-07-10). "Angry Embarcadero Neighbors Make Good on Threat to Sue City Over Homeless Shelter" (in en). https://www.sfweekly.com/archives/angry-embarcadero-neighbors-make-good-on-threat-to-sue-city-over-homeless-shelter/article_7cfedbb5-0660-5938-b1a2-2067886a6129.html. 
  14. ↑ Selna, Robert (Feb 8, 2007). "Newsom to pay ex-aide's salary / Mayor to provide $15,000 monthly out of his pocket". San Francisco Chronicle. https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Newsom-to-pay-ex-aide-s-salary-Mayor-to-provide-2618688.php. 
  15. ↑ TRAINA, CYNTHIA (2025-02-15). "A logo in lieu of action" (in en-US). https://newfillmore.com/2025/02/15/a-logo-in-lieu-of-action/. 
  16. ↑ Fingers, Dave at. "How a PR pro spun the Anchor story" (in en). https://www.fingers.email/p/how-a-pr-pro-spun-the-anchor-story. 
  17. ↑ Vo, Kim (2008-01-06). "Sam Singer: He's the guy they turn to in a Bay Area crisis" (in en-US). https://www.mercurynews.com/2008/01/05/sam-singer-hes-the-guy-they-turn-to-in-a-bay-area-crisis/. 
  18. ↑ "Cops tell Ninth Circuit to revive Hunters Point radioactive contamination case" (in en-US). https://www.courthousenews.com/cops-tell-ninth-circuit-to-revive-hunters-point-radioactive-contamination-case/. 
  19. ↑ "Three SF Supervisors Say They've Received Death Threat Mailers After Garry Tan's 'Die Slow' Tweet" (in en). 2024-01-31. https://sfist.com/2024/01/31/three-sf-supervisors-say-theyve-received-death-threat-mailers-after-garry-tans-die-slow-tweet/. 
  20. ↑ Batey, Eve (2020-02-11). "Tartine Owners Hire Controversial Crisis Flack to Fight Workers' Unionization Efforts" (in en). https://sf.eater.com/2020/2/11/21133479/tartine-union-management-sam-singer. 

See also

  • The Richmond Standard
  • San Francisco Zoo tiger attacks
  • Edelman
  • American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM)



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