Grandly coiffed activist Al Sharpton spoke today at the offices of 5WPR, the agency led by that other noted civil rights activist, Ronn [sic] Torossian. Ronn's keeping busy, but we hear his firm has issues...

Despite my own promise to myself over the last few months not to write about Ronn and 5WPR unless they do something truly hilarioutrageous, the amount of disgruntled current and former 5W employees and exasperated reporters who continue to send tips never seems to decline. Just this week Ronn issued a bizarre press release saying his firm would be "making acquisitions" in 2009:

"We are targeting small firms and we are seeing a lot of Public Relations firms doing great work, but are facing tough times. We are very confident that we will continue to grow and view acquisitions as a component of that process. We are cash positive and want to invest in acquisitions to grow."

...he explained. This only prompted more people to point out to us:

  • There have been quite a few layoffs at 5W this holiday season, causing much of the staff to live in perpetual terror for their jobs.
  • 5W's LA office may or may not still actually exist, but it's not doing well. To say the least.
  • Ronn is renting out space in his own offices to anyone at all. Cheap!
  • Fun story from a tipster: In October, 5W's HR person—who replaced the last one, who Ronn sued—wanted to call in sick, but came into work, because her presence was requested. She went into a staff meeting, looking ill, and about 20 minutes into the meeting, "passed out, her back to the wall as she slithered to the floor." When she was revived, she finished the day at work. Then left the firm shortly after. Fun times.

But is 5W still sending out irrelevant press releases, which are then forwarded to us, constantly?

Re: Story Idea: OPRAH’S RECENT WEIGHT GAIN – THE FALL OF YO-YO DIETING AND THE RISE OF LIFESTYLE CHANGE

Hi [Reporter],

Oprah has hit 200 pounds and her image and dieting habits are now splashed across tabloids, gossip blogs and even mainstream columns. How does this influence ordinary Americans who are frustrated with their own weight loss struggles? To answer this question, I would like to suggest a panel of experts who can explain why all ‘diets’ are not created equal and why the only way to permanently lose weight is by changing your lifestyle:

Etc. Here's hoping for serenity in '09.