Guest guest Posted July 20, 2005 Report Share Posted July 20, 2005 20 Jul 2005 15:42:01 -0000 weekly-spin The Weekly Spin, July 20, 2005 THE WEEKLY SPIN, July 20, 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 == SPIN OF THE DAY == 1. Exxon Wants To Save the Tigers 2. Top GOP Donor Favored As Next CPB Head 3. Industry Lobbyist Blows Smoke For Medical Marijuana Advocates 4. EPA Seeks to Protect Its Own Image 5. Dr. Pitchman Sells More Drugs 6. Judge Says Loggers SLAPP Suit " Embarrassing " 7. Lobbyists Without Borders 8. Coke's Sweet Intentions 9. Doctored Health News ---- == SPIN OF THE DAY == 1. EXXON WANTS TO SAVE THE TIGERS Recognizing Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Washington, ExxonMobil ran a quarter-page ad on the op-ed page of Monday's New York Times headlined " Saving Tigers. " According to Exxon's website, the company has given more than $9 million since 1995 to efforts to save endangered tigers. Exxon has claimed the tiger as its brand mascot since the 1930s. While " preserving the endangered Bengal tiger " did make its way in to an early State Department press release on the summit, India's nuclear industry, the global war on terrorism and foreign investment in India were the dominate themes of the meeting. The agreement to help India further develop its nuclear energy capacity is part of a larger U.S.-India Energy Dialogue that also includes an Oil and Gas Working Group that " will endeavor to strengthen mutual energy security and promote stable energy markets. " Several NGOs have targeted ExxonMobil, criticizing the company for violating human rights and destroying the environment. SOURCE: For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3858 2. TOP GOP DONOR FAVORED AS NEXT CPB HEAD http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/14/AR2005071402099.\ html " A leading Republican donor who once suggested that public broadcasting journalists should be penalized for biased programs is the top candidate to succeed the controversial chairman at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, " the Washington Post reports. Bush-appointee Cheryl F. Halpern has sat on the CPB board for three years and is slated to replace Ken Tomlinson, a close ally, as the agency's head. Besides being a top Republican financial supporter, Halpern has served - with Tomlinson - on the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees US international broadcasting services like Voice of America and Al-Hurra. Halpern sits on the executive board of the right-leaning think tank the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and is a board member of the International Republican Institute. SOURCE: Washington Post, July 15, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3857 3. INDUSTRY LOBBYIST BLOWS SMOKE FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADVOCATES http://www.latimes.com/features/health/medicine/la-me-potduo18jul18,1,4361326.st\ ory?coll=la-health-medicine Jim Tozzi, the industry friendly lobbyist who helped create the little-known " Data Quality Act, " is offering his assistance to medical marijuana advocates who are using the Act to undermine government claims that marijuana has no accepted medical value. Enacted in 2000, the Data Quality Act has been used by businesses to challenge government reports on such things as climate change and diet. The Los Angeles Times writes that Tozzi's support of medical marijuana " had more than just altruistic motives. Since its inception, the Data Quality Act has been under attack as a weapon of big business, a stealthy way to keep federal agencies tied in knots over what constitutes sound science. Eager to blunt such criticism and dash attempts to thwart his law in Congress, Tozzi has pushed public interest groups to start deploying the act against the bureaucrats. " SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, July 18, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3856 4. EPA SEEKS TO PROTECT ITS OWN IMAGE http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/18/politics/18contracts.html " The Office of Research and Development at the Environmental Protection Agency is seeking outside public relations consultants, to be paid up to $5 million over five years, to polish its Web site, organize focus groups on how to buff the office's image and ghostwrite articles 'for publication in scholarly journals and magazines,' " the New York Times reports. But the non-profit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility has asked the agency's Inspector General to investigate the request for proposals. PEER questions the " appropriateness of using funds for image enhancement that would otherwise be available for public health and environmental research, " citing current laws that prohibit the use of tax dollars " for publicity or propaganda purposes. " The EPA has recently awarded two PR contracts totaling $150,000 for the writing and placement of " good stories " about EPA's research office in consumer and trade publications, the Times reports. SOURCE: New York Times, July 18, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3855 5. DR. PITCHMAN SELLS MORE DRUGS http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112138815452186385,00.html?mod=todays_us_page\ _one Drug companies have new top salesmen: doctors. According to the Wall Street Journal, hiring a doctor to speak about drug therapies to other doctors has proven to be a " highly effective " way for the pharmaceutical industry to market its drugs. " An internal study done by Merck & Co. several years ago calculated the 'return on investment' from doctor-led discussion groups was almost double the return on meetings led by the company's own sales force, " the Journal reports. " According to the document, doctors who attended a lecture by another doctor wrote an additional $623.55 worth of prescriptions for the painkiller Vioxx over a 12-month period compared with doctors who didn't attend. Doctors who participated in the more intimate discussions wrote an additional $717.53 worth of prescriptions for Vioxx, which Merck pulled from the market last year over concerns about cardiovascular side effects. That compared to an increase of only $165.87 in Vioxx prescriptions by doctors who attended a meeting with a salesperson. " SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), July 15, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3854 6. JUDGE SAYS LOGGERS SLAPP SUIT " EMBARRASSING " http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Judge-hits-Gunns-bid-to-sue-green-groups/\ 2005/07/18/1121538912622.html Australian forestry giant Gunns has suffered a major setback in its $A6.3 million SLAPP suit against 20 environmentalists and environmental groups. Last December Gunns filed a 216-page statement of claim against the environmentalists and then, earlier this month, submitted a redrafted 360-page version. Supreme Court Justice Bernard Bongiorno told the company that unless it submitted a " radically altered " version of its claim within 28 days the case would be struck out. He described aspects of Gunns revised claim as " embarrassing " and said that " it would be a singularly unprofitable exercise to attempt to describe every defect in it which needs correction. " Responding to the decision Gunns Exective Chairman, John Gay, optimistically told reporters that " suggestions have been made for some redrafting. " SOURCE: The Age July 18, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3853 7. LOBBYISTS WITHOUT BORDERS http://thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/071405/wolf.html The " high-stakes public-relations campaign " the Chinese state-controlled oil and gas company CNOOC launched " to focus its bid for U.S. energy producer Unocal on shareholder value and away from politics " has hit a snag. Representative Frank Wolf (R-Va.) sent a " strongly worded letter " to Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld, expressing dismay that they're representing CNOOC. " During the presidency of Ronald Reagan, no major law firm or lobbying organization would have represented the Soviet Union if it had tried to take over an American oil company, " Wolf wrote. Akin Gump responded that lawmakers " should not be surprised " by its CNOOC work. In addition, Wolf is concerned that Bush intelligence adviser and Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board chair James Langdon " reportedly helped Akin Gump - where he also works as an energy lawyer - land the lobbying job for CNOOC. " CNOOC has retained Public Strategies Inc., for its " general media plan. " SOURCE: The Hill, July 14, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3852 8. COKE'S SWEET INTENTIONS http://prweek.com/news/news_story.cfm?ID=239635 & site=3 " Coca-Cola will work with Weber Shandwick this fall to promote its new, seemingly selfless, Live It children's fitness campaign in schools across the country. " The PR firm will " focus on generating local publicity for schools that participate in the week-long program. " Kirsten Witt, Coke's " nutrition communication manager, " said the $4 million Live It campaign would not address childhood obesity or encourage students to drink Coke, adding that " the company's logo will not appear on Live It materials. " In addition to PR and marketing, Coke is paying for campaign " posters, pedometers, and nutrition education materials along with prizes to offer children who meet the program's exercise goal of walking 10,000 steps in a week. " In other sugary news, the Center for Science in the Public Interest petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to require labels on sodas warning about " obesity, tooth decay and diabetes. " SOURCE: PR Week (sub. req'd.), July 13, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3851 9. DOCTORED HEALTH NEWS http://broadcastingcable.com/article/CA624546.html?display=Opinion " Health reporters should not rely on prepackaged stories, " writes Maria Dorfner, whose company NewsMD Communications produces health-related videos. " Physicians who migrate to television news ... lack actual reporting or producing skills. " According to Dorfner, this results in their " relying heavily on prepackaged content. They quickly learn all they have to do is retrack the video with their own voice - and, presto, they've got a health story for the day. " She calls this tendency " dangerous, " since health-related video news releases " are press releases promoting a product or service. " However, according to one online listing, NewsMD Communications also makes VNRs. SOURCE: Broadcasting & Cable (sub. req'd.), July 11, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3850 ---- 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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