Guest guest Posted August 9, 2006 Report Share Posted August 9, 2006 9 Aug 2006 15:37:01 -0000 weekly-spin The Weekly Spin, August 9, 2006 THE WEEKLY SPIN, August 9, 2006 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 " The Weekly Spin " ? 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. Half of Americans Still Believe In WMDs - They Saw Them on TV 2. Congresspedia/SourceWatch gets wiki-mania == SPIN OF THE DAY == 1. " Fiasco " Author Says Israel Allows Missile Attacks for PR Purposes 2. Making Radioactive Weather 3. Patient Lobbying 4. Who's Afraid of Eric Schlosser? 5. Did Consultants Cook the UK Nuclear Review Books? 6. No Green on the TV Screen - Networks Short the Environment 7. Climate Change Website Taken Off, Eh? 8. DuPont's Charity Begins at Home 9. Republican Criticizes Bush Over Secret WMD Propaganda 10. Doctors Addicted To Freebies 11. Viral Video Questioning Global Warming Linked to DCI 12. Former PR Executive's Wrongful Dismissal Suit Rejected 13. Forming " Deep, Emotional Bonds " To Shampoo, Copiers 14. Free-Market Fox Nominated to Henhouse Post -- == BLOG POSTINGS == 1. HALF OF AMERICANS STILL BELIEVE IN WMDS - THEY SAW THEM ON TV by John Stauber A recent Harris Poll reports found that while “the U.S. and other countries have not found any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, surprisingly more U.S. adults (50%) think that Iraq had such weapons when the U.S. invaded Iraq. This is an increase from 36 percent in February 2005.†This is terrible news. Even President Bush has been forced to admit that his administration's number one justification for attacking Iraq was wrong, because in fact there were no weapons of mass destruction. The Harris Poll didn’t attempt to analyze why the number of misled Americans has actually increased in the past year, but perhaps it is because Senator Rick Santorum held a news conference not long ago in Washington and announced that WMDs had just been found in Iraq. A bit like announcing that, science be damned, the Sun is revolving around the Earth! Pentagon officials quickly dismissed the Senator's claims, which were based on the discovery of some leftover, nonfunctioning weapons from more than a a decade ago. Sheldon Rampton and I examine this phenomenon in our next book, The Best War Ever, excerpted below. For the rest of this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/5067 2. CONGRESSPEDIA/SOURCEWATCH GETS WIKI-MANIA by Conor Kenny I’m currently at the Citizen Journalism " unconference " at the Wikimania 2006 conference in Boston with a joint team from the Sunlight Foundation and the Center for Media and Democracy. Wikimania is the gathering of the international horde of volunteers, citizen researchers and programmers behind Wikipedia and the many wikis it has inspired, including SourceWatch/Congresspedia. The " unconference " is being put on by our friend Dan Gillmor and his new Center for Citizen Media. For the rest of this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/5058 == SPIN OF THE DAY == 1. " FIASCO " AUTHOR SAYS ISRAEL ALLOWS MISSILE ATTACKS FOR PR PURPOSES http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0608/06/rs.01.html On his CNN TV program, Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post interviewed Thomas Ricks, the Post's Pentagon reporter and author of the book Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq. Ricks told Kurtz, " One of the things that is going on, according to some U.S. military analysts, is that Israel purposely has left pockets of Hezbollah rockets in Lebanon, because as long as they're being rocketed, they can continue to have a sort of moral equivalency in their operations in Lebanon. " Kurtz responded, " Hold on, you're suggesting that Israel has deliberately allowed Hezbollah to retain some of its fire power, essentially for PR purposes, because having Israeli civilians killed helps them in the public relations war here? " Ricks replied, " Yes, that's what military analysts have told me. " Kurtz remarked " that's an extraordinary testament to the notion that having people on your own side killed actually works to your benefit in that nobody wants to see your own citizens killed but it works to your benefit in terms of the battle of perceptions here. " Ricks replied " It helps you with the moral high ground problem, because you know your operations in Lebanon are going to be killing civilians as well. " SOURCE: CNN Reliable Sources, August 6, 2006 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/5066 2. MAKING RADIOACTIVE WEATHER http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/a-trump-card-in-the-nuclear-power-play/2006/0\ 8/07/1154802818599.html In a feature in the weekend magazine accompanying the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, scientist Tim Flannery extolled nuclear power as the solution to global warming. Flannery's book, The Weather Makers, was underwritten by businessman Robert Purves, the president of WWF Australia. Clive Hamilton, the Executive Director of the Australia Institute, a centre-left think tank, is critical of Flannery's reliance on individual responsibility and nuclear power as solutions to climate change. Flannery's reliance on individual responsibility " is music to the Government's ears, " Hamilton writes. " Alone among Australian environmental advocates, he has declared his support for the development of a nuclear industry. The Prime Minister, John Howard, now regularly buttresses his nuclear push by saying that even some environmentalists 'like Tim Flannery' support nuclear power, " Hamilton writes. WWF Australia's CEO and former BP executive, Greg Bourne, has also backed an expansion of uranium mining and nuclear power. SOURCE: Sydney Morning Herald, August 8, 2006 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/5065 3. PATIENT LOBBYING http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/mental-health-takes-industry-pills/2006/0\ 8/07/1154802820416.html Drug company funding for the Mental Health Council of Australia to run lobbying and disease awareness campaigns, The Age reports, raises " questions about whether the agendas of a consumer group and that of a multinational drug company are the same. " Some of the companies that have funded the council include Pfizer, Janssen-Cilag, Eli Lilly and Bristol-Myers Squibb. " Disease awareness campaigns are very important in countries like Australia where direct-to-consumer advertising is prohibited, " said Melissa Raven, adjunct lecturer in public health at Flinders University in Adelaide. A spokesman for the peak drug industry lobby group, Medicines Australia, defended patient groups working with drug companies. " Patient groups and pharmaceutical companies have common goals, including treating and managing disease, " the spokesman claimed. Others disagree. " The strategy is all about growing markets and increasing sales, " says Dr Jon Jureidini, the chairman of the global watchdog on drug industry marketing, Healthy Skepticism. SOURCE: The Age (Australia), August 8, 2006 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/5063 4. WHO'S AFRAID OF ERIC SCHLOSSER? http://www.forbes.com/business/forbes/2006/0619/056.html " Who made the edit? " asks Evan Hessel in his Forbes " OutFront " column. " The edit " in Wikipedia's entry on McDonald's Corporation erased a link to Eric Schlosser's highly critical assessment of McDonald's in Fast Food Nation, and replaced it with a link to a more academic tome. Schlosser, who is now coming out with a book and movie critical of the fast food industry aimed at younger audiences, has also driven the industry to create its own ongoing self-defense website, bestfoodnation. Hessel, like the Wall Street Journal reporter who recently discovered that the DCI Group concealed itself in a YouTube video to mock Al Gore, traced the Wikipedia " citizen journalist " Internet Protocol address to none other than...McDonald's. Hessel points out that, these days, " neither promotional fluff nor libel lasts long " on Wikipedia. The Schlosser link was quickly restored. McDonald's told Hessel that it has no policy regarding employee changes to Wikipedia. There is one PR strategist out there who seems to get it: Hessel quotes Edelman P.R.'s Steven Rubel as writing in his blog that " Marketing and Wikipedia are antonyms. " Marketers should limit themselves to editing inaccuracies and should identify their PR affiliation, Rubel writes. SOURCE: Forbes, June 19, 2006 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/5062 5. DID CONSULTANTS COOK THE UK NUCLEAR REVIEW BOOKS? http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1838079,00.html " I wondered why [nuclear power] was being pushed and pushed and pushed, " said British parliamentarian Dai Davies, in response to news that " key consultants " working on the UK National Energy Review " have strong links to the nuclear industry. " The Observer reports that AEA Technology handled public submissions for the review. AEA was formed by the Atomic Energy Authority, and while the firm " has sold most of its nuclear businesses, " it still " has a nuclear waste unit, and senior executives and staff have links to the old authority and other parts of the nuclear industry. " Some energy experts who made submissions " said they felt their evidence was underplayed and misrepresented. " AEA did publish a summary table, " which showed that nuclear power was the only one [of 15 low-carbon technologies] to get more opposition than support. " Prime Minister Blair nonetheless supports nuclear power, though " during the recent heatwave nuclear reactors in mainland Europe " and the U.S. " have had to be shut down, " due to high water temperatures. SOURCE: The Observer (UK), August 6, 2006 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/5061 6. NO GREEN ON THE TV SCREEN - NETWORKS SHORT THE ENVIRONMENT http://www.environmentwriter.org/resources/articles/0706_tyndall.htm " Environmental coverage -- not counting natural disasters and weather -- dropped nearly to record low levels in 2005 on the three national broadcast networks' weekday nightly newscasts, " according to a new study by Andrew Tyndall. Throughout 2005, the newscasts of ABC, CBS and NBC combined spent just 168 minutes on environmental news. Since 1988, the three networks have spent an average of two percent of their newscasts on environmental news and four percent on natural disasters. Another study, by the Pew Research Center, found that nearly half of U.S. residents spent at least 30 minutes a day watching TV newscasts. Fifty-four percent of respondents said they regularly watched local TV news, while 34 percent turn to cable TV news. News websites tend to be used " as a supplemental source, " and the audience " is skewing older, " with " fortysomethings " more likely than youths to read news websites, reported Reuters. SOURCE: Environment Writer newsletter (US), August 2006 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/5060 7. CLIMATE CHANGE WEBSITE TAKEN OFF, EH? http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_T\ ype1 & c=Article & cid=1154728213955 & call_pageid=968 The conservative administration " is trying to push global climate change off the federal map, shutting down the main federal website on the topic and removing mention of it from speeches and postings " -- in Canada. Two liberal officials have protested the demise of the website, along with other examples of Tories' " expunging previous government news releases and other climate change information from federal websites. " The defunct website directs people to two other sites, but neither provides the " detailed information on climate-change theories, measures to combat it, and how it might affect the economy, environment and health of Canadians, " that the old climate change site did. Canadian environmentalist John Godfrey said the Tories appear to be removing " as many references as possible on government websites to the Kyoto climate change protocol. " SOURCE: Toronto Star, August 5, 2006 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/5059 8. DUPONT'S CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003174044_dupont04.html In June 2005, the state of Rhode Island agreed to drop DuPont from its lawsuit against former makers of lead paint. As part of the deal, which likely saved the chemical company billions, DuPont agreed to donate $9 million to the Children's Health Forum, for efforts geared to avoid childhood exposure to lead. Now the Associated Press reports that the Children's Health Forum was founded by a consultant hired by DuPont, " to help the company address childhood lead poisoning. " It was initially incorporated as a lobbying group, but later became a nonprofit charity. Most of the money raised by the group has come from DuPont. Several board members have ties to DuPont; executive director Olivia Morgan works for the PR firm Dewey Square Group, which counts DuPont among its clients. Yet, the Children's Health Forum group claims to act independently of DuPont. Clean government activists are saying DuPont's settlement should have gone to the state. SOURCE: Associated Press, August 3, 2006 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/5057 9. REPUBLICAN CRITICIZES BUSH OVER SECRET WMD PROPAGANDA http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/04/world/middleeast/04intel.html The New York Times reports that " The Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee lashed out at the White House on Thursday, criticizing attempts by the Bush administration to keep secret parts of a report on the role Iraqi exiles played in building the case for war against Iraq. The chairman, Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas ... chastised the White House for efforts to classify most of the part that examines intelligence provided to the Bush administration by the Iraqi National Congress, an exile group. ... One completed section of the Senate report is said to be a harsh critique of how information from the Iraqi exile group made its way into intelligence community reports. " Funded with hundreds of millions of U.S. tax dollars, and created and assisted by the Rendon Group, Ahmed Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress was the source for the most compelling and higly publicized lies and deceptions about Iraq's non-existent Weapons of Mass Destruction program. SOURCE: New York Times, August 4, 2006 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/5056 10. DOCTORS ADDICTED TO FREEBIES http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/doctors-have-unhealthy-desire-for-gifts/2006\ /08/03/1154198272426.html A study published in the Internal Medicine Journal reveals that many Australian medical specialists seek gifts from drug companies. The study of 823 specialists, Melissa Fyfe writes in the Sydney Morning Herald, " found that personal gifts offered to doctors were valued up to $40,000 and included wine, flowers, a 'spa' dinner, harbour cruises, tickets to the movies, the circus, concerts, opera and sporting events. " Six specialists sought funding for the salaries of nurses, one for A$80,000 (US$60,000). The authors of the article argue that there is a need for " more conservative standards on gifts and support for travel. " A spokesman for the peak drug industry lobby group, Medicines Australia, said the group welcomed scrutiny of the " relationship between companies and health care professionals. " However, last week the industry objected to a new provision requiring disclosure of subsidies provided to doctors at 'educational' meetings. SOURCE: Sydney Morning Herald, August 4, 2006 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/5055 11. VIRAL VIDEO QUESTIONING GLOBAL WARMING LINKED TO DCI http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115457177198425388.html?mod=hps_us_editors_picks The video " Al Gore's Penguin Army, " which belittles the threat of global warming (suggesting viewers " stop exhaling " ) and makes fun of the former vice-president, has a " home-made, humorous quality. " Yet the filmmaker's email links him to " DCI Group, a Washington, D.C., public relations and lobbying firm whose clients include oil company Exxon Mobil, " reports the Wall Street Journal. Ads promoting the penguin video appeared to people searching for " Al Gore " or " Global Warming " on the Google search engine, but these ads " were removed shortly after The Wall Street Journal contacted DCI. " DCI's Tech Central Station website has also " sought to raise doubts about the science of global warming and about Mr. Gore's film. " The firm " declines to say whether or not DCI made the anti-Gore penguin video, " but an Exxon spokesperson said they " did not fund " and " did not approve it. " What is certain is that " political operatives, public relations experts and ad agencies " are increasingly using video-sharing websites like YouTube to shape public opinion. Ogilvy & Mather " plans to post amateur-looking videos on Web sites to spare word-of-mouth buzz about Foster's beer, " and AT & T has used YouTube to post videos against net neutrality. SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), August 3, 2006 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/5053 12. FORMER PR EXECUTIVE'S WRONGFUL DISMISSAL SUIT REJECTED http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/15182075.htm U.S. District Judge Margaret Morrow has thrown out a wrongful dismissal suit brought by Douglas R. Dowie against his former employer, the public relations company Fleishman-Hillard. In court documents, Morrow wrote that " no reasonable jury could conclude that Fleishman-Hillard lacked good cause to terminate " Dowie, who was general manager of the company's Los Angeles office. In late March 2005 Dowie filed a lawsuit claiming that he had been made a scapegoat in the controversy over the overbilling of the Los Angeles Power and Water Department. In April 2005, Fleishman-Hillard agreed to pay $5.7 million to settle a lawsuit brought against it by the city of Los Angeles. Dowie, who was paid an annual salary of $370,000, was seeking lost wages and other damages. SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, August 2, 2006 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/5052 13. FORMING " DEEP, EMOTIONAL BONDS " TO SHAMPOO, COPIERS http://www.prweek.com/us/news/article/575431/Xerox-CSR-campaign-reaches-troops/ Two corporate giants, Xerox and Procter & Gamble, are launching new corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaigns. The Xerox campaign, " Let's Say Thanks, " encourages customers to send postcards to U.S. soldiers stationed overseas. The postcards feature artwork by children; Xerox " is hoping to garner media coverage through the local drawing contests for kids. " The P & G campaign, " Pantene Beautiful Lengths, " encourages people " to grow, cut, and donate their hair to make wigs for women who have lost hair due to cancer treatment. " P & G's Anthony Rose told PR Week, " We created the program to form a deep, emotional bond between our consumers and Pantene. Increasingly, we are learning that mere awareness of the brand, its functionality, and performance are not enough. " Rose credited P & G's PR firm, DeVries Public Relations, with the idea for the campaign. SOURCE: PR Week (sub req'd), August 2, 2006 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/5049 14. FREE-MARKET FOX NOMINATED TO HENHOUSE POST http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115438386077322687.html?mod=todays_us_page_one Susan E. Dudley, the " Regulatory Studies Director " at the anti-regulatory think tank the Mercatus Center and a self-proclaimed " free-market environmentalist, " has been nominated by the White House to " a little known but powerful post at the Office of Management and Budget. " If confirmed by the Senate, Dudley will head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which " reviews major agency regulations with an eye toward reducing compliance costs, and according to critics, easing burdens on companies. " Dudley and Mercatus have been " very active " on OIRA issues, notes the Wall Street Journal. " Ultimately, 14 of the 23 rules the White House chose for its 2001 'hit list' were Mercatus entries. " SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), August 1, 2006 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/5048 -- 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 in the " Spin of the Day " section of CMD's website: http://www.prwatch.org/spin 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. For more information, visit: 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 Avenue, Suite 227 Madison, WI 53703 To donate now online, visit: https://www.egrants.org/donate/index.cfm?ID=2344-0|1118-0 _____________ Weekly-Spin mailing list Weekly-Spin http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/weekly-spin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.