Guest guest Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 13 Jul 2005 15:42:01 -0000 weekly-spin The Weekly Spin, July 13, 2005 THE WEEKLY SPIN, July 13, 2005 --- sponsored by the nonprofit Center for Media and Democracy http://www.prwatch.org To support our work now online visit: https://www.egrants.org/donate/index.cfm?ID=2344-0|1118-0 --- The Weekly Spin features selected news summaries with links to further information about media, political spin and propaganda. It is emailed free each Wednesday to rs. SHARE US WITH A FRIEND (OR FIFTY FRIENDS) Who do you know who might want to receive Spin of the Week? Help us grow our r list! Just forward this message to people you know, encouraging them to sign up at this link: http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/_sotd.html --- THIS WEEK'S NEWS == BLOG POSTINGS == 1. Surveying the Fake News Scene 2. Rhetoric vs. Reality in London == SPIN OF THE DAY == 1. Sierra Club: Is Selling Fords Selling Out? 2. ...Then the Lobbying Group Will Go to the Mountain 3. Greasing the Wheels of Government 4. Making the Supreme Court Nominee Their Business 5. Pentagon Hires Shredder Expert 6. Your Government on Drugs 7. A Lobbyist with Supreme Access 8. Unions' And Bosses' Lawyers Unite 9. Pirated Radio 10. Jeepers, Creepers, What'd You Do to NEPA? 11. Move Kurdistan Forward ---- == BLOG POSTINGS == 1. SURVEYING THE FAKE NEWS SCENE by Diane Farsetta What do you think about fake news? That's what the Center for Media and Democracy has been asking our readers for the past two weeks. We surveyed people about what the disclosure guidelines should be for video news releases (VNRs) and audio news releases (ANRs). (We do define " fake news " more broadly, as not just TV and radio segments provided by outside parties, but also pundit payola and any other media manipulation falsely presented as independent journalism. However, brevity is the soul of good survey response rates!) Our survey's not-unexpected results can be summed up in one sentence. People want unambiguous disclosures to accompany fake news, and they're willing to take action to make that happen. For the rest of this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3845 2. RHETORIC VS. REALITY IN LONDON by Sheldon Rampton I've had the pleasure of visiting London on several occasions. I've ridden the subways and walked the streets where Thursday's awful terrorist attacks occurred. I have nothing but sympathy for the innocent people who were slaughtered, and nothing but contempt for the perpetrators of these crimes. According to pro-war bloggers like Jeff Jarvis, however, people like me belong to the " bomb-us-please crowd. " For the rest of this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3833 == SPIN OF THE DAY == 1. SIERRA CLUB: IS SELLING FORDS SELLING OUT? http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/12/automobiles/12ford.html Readers of the Sierra Club's magazine know it runs glossy full-page ads from car companies selling hybrids. Now the Sierra Club is also mobilizing its members and launching a marketing campaign to help Ford peddle its latest SUV whose reported best fuel efficiency is 33 city, 29 highway miles per gallon. Has the Sierra Club's love of hybrids devolved to greenwashing Ford? The Club's Dan Becker says, " If we can work with Ford to make their Mercury Hybrid a hit, Ford will be convinced that you can make money and make a vehicle that's clean. " But Rainforest Action Network director Michael Brune counters, " It's a nice gesture, but we think it's more PR than progress. " With the PR firm Fenton Communications, RAN and Global Exchange are cranking up their Jump Start Ford campaign, shaming Ford for having the worst fuel efficiency of any major car company. SOURCE: New York Times, July 12, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3849 2. ...THEN THE LOBBYING GROUP WILL GO TO THE MOUNTAIN http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Jul-07-Thu-2005/news/26841248.html The Yucca Mountain Task Force, " a national lobbying group that formed this spring " to advocate for long-term nuclear waste storage at the Nevada site, is traveling to the Yucca Mountain region, " to begin building ties " there. The task force includes " state utility regulators and nuclear industry executives, including the Nuclear Energy Institute. " NEI also pays for " a consultant in Nevada, former governor Robert List. " The trip's organizer is " the U.S. Transport Council, an organization of nuclear waste shipping firms and equipment manufacturers that plan to seek Yucca contracts. " Opposition to Yucca is strong in Nevada, but some rural officials say they need to secure " jobs and other economic benefits, " since the waste site may happen, " whether they like it or not. " Nevada's coordinator of Yucca opposition said the task force is trying to " get the local governments pumped up " and " show the project is not dead. " SOURCE: Las Vegas Review-Journal (Nevada), July 7, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3844 3. GREASING THE WHEELS OF GOVERNMENT http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2848243 " Consultants paid by the oil and gas industry have been volunteering to work for the Bureau of Land Management's Vernal [utah] office for the past five months, expediting environmental studies to keep pace with a glut of drilling requests in the region, " reports the Salt Lake Tribune. Five consultants paid by the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States are working through " a backlog of about 400 permits. " The Vernal BLM office receives the second-highest number of drilling applications in the country. The office says there are " a series of safeguards ... to guarantee the work remains objective. " But the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, which received details of the arrangement through a Freedom of Information Act request, compared the industry " volunteers " to " foxes guarding the henhouse. " SOURCE: The Salt Lake Tribune (Utah), July 9, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3843 4. MAKING THE SUPREME COURT NOMINEE THEIR BUSINESS http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/08/AR2005070801790.\ html? " Business advocates are raising millions of dollars, plotting major lobbying campaigns, and quietly working to influence the president as he ponders a replacement for [retiring Supreme Court] Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, " reports the Washington Post. Big business groups want favorable future rulings on pensions, taxation and product liability, among other issues. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been preparing for the past two-and-a-half years by giving White House staff private " in-depth analyses of decisions rendered by federal appeals court judges - the most likely pool of high court candidates. " The reports run around 20 pages, for each judge. The National Association of Manufacturers will also " likely ask its lobbyists and its members back home to urge swing senators to vote for Bush's nominee. " C. Boyden Gray, also of the Committee for Justice, " has become the unofficial liaison on judgeships between the White House and the corporate community. " SOURCE: Washington Post, July 9, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3842 5. PENTAGON HIRES SHREDDER EXPERT http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-contra10jul10,1,3642720.sto\ ry?coll=la-headlines-nation " In 1987, Robert L. Earl told a grand jury that he had destroyed and stolen national security documents while working for Lt. Col. Oliver L. North during the Iran-Contra scandal, " reports John Hendren. " Now, he sits in one of the most coveted offices in the Pentagon as chief of staff to Gordon R. England, acting deputy secretary of Defense. Earl has clearance to review the kinds of classified documents he once destroyed. " SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, July 10, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3841 6. YOUR GOVERNMENT ON DRUGS http://www.publicintegrity.org/rx/ The Center for Public Integrity (CPI) has released the results of its year-long investigation into lobbying by the pharmaceutical industry, which found that the industry has spent more than $800 million since 1998 on lobbyists and political campaigns. In the past year alone, the industry hired nearly 1,300 lobbyists, including hundred of former public officials. " It is astonishing to learn that no other interest has spent more money to sway public policy in this time period, " said CPI executive director Roberta Baskin. In addition to lobbying for industry-favorable policies domestically, the drug industry's trade lobby has enlisted the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to pressure pressure foreign governments into removing price controls on pharmaceuticals and restricting sales of lower-priced generic drugs. SOURCE: Center for Public Integrity, July 7, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3840 7. A LOBBYIST WITH SUPREME ACCESS http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/07/AR2005070701973.\ html " Ed Gillespie, who will help promote President Bush's future nominee to a vacancy on the Supreme Court, is a top-tier lobbyist who represents a host of clients with direct and indirect interests in the outcome of Supreme Court decisions. " Gillespie's task is " to use the tools and techniques of a presidential campaign to put together a conservative political machine equipped to take on the alliance of groups on the political left. " But his firm, Quinn Gillespie & Associates, " represents corporations and trade associations with strong bottom-line interests in court rulings involving corporate liability, tort reform, antitrust and securities issues. " Clients include the American Petroleum Institute, Microsoft, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Gillespie refused to discuss " the conflict-of-interest rules that will govern his activities, " but others say " he is likely to give up active representation of clients " while he works for the nominee's confirmation. SOURCE: Washington Post, July 8, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3837 8. UNIONS' AND BOSSES' LAWYERS UNITE http://afr.com/premium/articles/2005/07/07/1120704487680.html Australian Financial Review legal editor Marcus Priest notes that in " what some unionists are calling an unholy alliance, " the giant Australian forestry company Gunns is " using industrial tort avenues employers have traditionally used against workers engaged in industrial action " against 20 environmentalists and environmental groups. Gunns' legal team comprises EMA Legal, a law firm that works only for employers, and two " well-known union barristers, " Stephen Howells and Mark Irving, who defended the Forestry Division of the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union in a case brought by environmentalists several years ago. Gunns legal action is seeking A$6.3 million in damages from the " Gunns 20 " activists for damaging its profitability by campaigning against the logging of Tasmania's environmentally important forests. SOURCE: Australian Financial Review (sub. req'd.), July 8, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3834 9. PIRATED RADIO " Tune into the power of radio, " writes Betsy Goldberg in Tactics, the Public Relations Society of America's newsletter. " Radio enables you to better target your audience and skip TV's high production costs. " Her list of radio PR tools includes audio news releases ( " These 60-second stories feature your message, narration and a sound bite from your client or supportive third party ... distributed to thousands of stations through networks such as the Associated Press " ), interviews on airlines' in-flight audio ( " a solid way to reach a business-oriented, higher-income audience. There are no surprises, because you script the questions " ), and public service announcements (limited to nonprofits, " but nonprofits often need corporate partners " ). Goldberg also touts " the potential of satellite radio. " The two major satellite radio companies, with more than 5 million rs, " produce little original news or talk programming, " she notes. SOURCE: Public Relations Tactics, July 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3831 10. JEEPERS, CREEPERS, WHAT'D YOU DO TO NEPA? http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-nepa7jul07,0,877606.story The 35 year-old National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which allows public input on environmental reviews of federal actions, " is facing strong challenges from the Bush administration, Congress and business interests who say the law has been holding up progress. " The energy bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives " would exempt many oil and gas exploration projects from NEPA review. " Representative Richard Pombo formed a NEPA task force that's holding public hearings, " with the stated intention of changing how the law works. " NEPA " has been used as a stick in the spokes of the wheels of progress, " said the conservative Pacific Legal Foundation's Russ Brooks. But law professor Bradley Karkkainen said, " the general thrust of the administration's proposals is not to produce information more efficiently but to produce less information. " SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, July 7, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3830 11. MOVE KURDISTAN FORWARD http://www.odwyerpr.com/members/0705kurds.htm " The Kurdistan Regional Government has hired Republican lobby firm Russo Marsh & Rogers to get 'free media' to promote the interests of the Kurds in the post-Saddam Hussein Iraq, " reports O'Dwyer's. One goal of the Kurdish leaders is " the return of Kirkuk, " an oil-rich northern Iraqi city populated by Kurdish and Turkmen people. O'Dwyer's notes that the head of RM & R, Sal Russo, is no stranger to international politics, having " worked on the campaign of Violetta Chamorro in Nicaragua. " The Kurdish contract was announced as Move America Forward, a group RM & R helped found and whose " chief strategist " is Russo, is going to Iraq. Move America Forward's " Truth Tour " is bringing conservative talk radio hosts to Iraq, to " report the good news on Operation Iraqi Freedom you're not hearing from the old line news media. " SOURCE: O'Dwyer's PR Daily (sub. req'd.), July 5, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3821 ---- The Weekly Spin is compiled by staff and volunteers at the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), a nonprofit public interest organization. To or unsubcribe, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/_sotd.html Daily updates and news from past weeks can be found at the " Spin of the Day " section of the Center website: http://www.prwatch.org/spin/index.html Archives of our quarterly publication, PR Watch, are at: http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues CMD also sponsors SourceWatch, a collaborative research project that invites anyone (including you) to contribute and edit articles: http://www.sourcewatch.org PR Watch, Spin of the Day, the Weekly Spin and SourceWatch are projects of the Center for Media & Democracy, a nonprofit organization that offers investigative reporting on the public relations industry. We help the public recognize manipulative and misleading PR practices by exposing the activities of secretive, little-known propaganda-for-hire firms that work to control political debates and public opinion. Please send any questions or suggestions about our publications to: editor Contributions to the Center for Media and Democracy are tax-deductible. Send checks to: CMD 520 University Ave. #227 Madison, WI 53703 To donate now online, visit: https://www.egrants.org/donate/index.cfm?ID=2344-0|1118-0 _____________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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