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[eccr] The Weekly Spin, Wednesday, February 18, 2004
Wed Feb 18 07:49:35 GMT 2004
>THE WEEKLY SPIN, Wednesday, February 18, 2004
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>The Weekly Spin features selected news summaries with links to
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>THIS WEEK'S NEWS
>
>1. Mad Cow USA Now in Paperback
>2. US-Funded Channel Woos Arabs With Slick Image
>3. Lobbyists Fight Back Against Negative Stereotypes
>4. PR On Drugs
>5. FDA Seeks a Few Good Flacks to Pat Itself on the Back
>6. Majority Believe Bush Lied, Exaggerated, on WMDs
>7. Medicare For Lobbyists
>8. Memo Sheds Light on Pre-War Media Duping
>9. "Osama, Osama" Jeer Greets US Soccer in Mexico
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>1. MAD COW USA NOW IN PAPERBACK
>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1567511104/qid=1076988320/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/002-6588411-6048832?v=glance&s=books
> Our 1997 book Mad Cow USA, which foresaw the emergence of the
> deadly dementia disease in America, is now available in a new
> paperback version. The Bush administration is failing to put into
> place the measures necessary to stop the spread of mad cow in
> humans and animals: a complete ban on feeding slaughterhouse waste
> to livestock, and testing of millions of cattle. Eight years ago
> British scientists announced that mad cow disease was killing young
> people in Britain in the form of a new variant strain of
> Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD). Now, new research is raising
> concern that mad cow disease might also cause sporadic CJD seen in
> older people. Dr. Michael Hansen of Consumers Union criticized the
> failure of the US to adequately test both animals and people for
> mad cow-type diseases. Meanwhile, the Government Accountability
> Project has provided information to Congress contradicting claims
> by the US Department of Agriculture that the US mad cow was a
> 'downer' unable to walk. GAP points out that it was a fluke that
> the cow was tested for mad cow disease, underscoring the need to
> test millions of cattle in the US, not the 40,000 the US says it
> will test in 2004.
>SOURCE: New York Times, UPI, February 17, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/February_2004.html#1076994000
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1076994000
>
>2. US-FUNDED CHANNEL WOOS ARABS WITH SLICK IMAGE
>http://www.tvweek.com/topstorys/021604alhurra.html
> "Like this image of Arabian stallions at full gallop, the new
> Alhurra Arabic-language television network is off and running this
> week with news coverage beamed at the Middle East, despite
> significant competition and mounting controversy," Television Week
> writes. Top branding and advertising specialists hope their work
> for the US-funded Alhurra ("The Free One" in Arabic) will grab the
> attention of Arabic viewers, already skeptical of the network's
> content. Middle East Online reports that the United Arab Emirates
> newspaper Al-Khaleej said, "If US policy in the region were healthy
> and convincing, they would not resort to cosmetic means to improve
> their image." The Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees
> the new satellite channel as well as Voice of America and Radio
> Sawa, says its latest project -- costing $62 million in its first
> year -- will provide independent news and information. Reuters
> reports Alhurra's slogan running between programs says, "You think,
> you aspire, you choose, you express, you are free. Alhurra, just as
> you are."
>SOURCE: TV Week, February 16, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/February_2004.html#1076907602
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1076907602
>
>3. LOBBYISTS FIGHT BACK AGAINST NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES
>http://www.prweek.com/news/news_story.cfm?ID=202350&site=3
> "Washington lobbyists, having endured nearly as much verbal abuse
> this year from the Democratic candidates as President Bush, are
> fighting back against what they call unfair characterizations," PR
> Week's Douglas Quenqua reports. The American League of Lobbyists
> (ALL) asked Democratic Presidential hopefuls to stop demonizing
> "government relations professionals." In a letter ALL writes,
> "[Lobbying's] one of the major ways that politicians are held
> accountable to the people. Lobbyists represent all points of view
> on the major issues that confront the country and the Congress --
> environment, labor, the elderly, teachers, veterans, as well as
> businesses, to name just a few." Criticizing recent campaign-trail,
> anti-lobbyists remarks, ALL president Deanna Gelak told PR Week,
> "This is over the edge. ... These comments are really exploiting
> outdated stereotypes and playing on some people's lack of
> understanding for political purposes -- and we want young people to
> go into government relations."
>SOURCE: PR Week, February 16, 2004
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1076907601
>
>4. PR ON DRUGS
> "Pharmaceutical makers have already found a major loophole in the
> Food and Drug Administration's new draft guidelines for
> direct-to-consumer advertising," reports Advertising Age. The
> guidelines were meant to clarify risk information and increase
> "disease awareness" spots, those not touting any particular drug.
> But drug company and ad executives discovered that using the same
> spokesperson in product and "disease awareness" ads is technically
> OK. "Even the village idiot is going to make the connection between
> the disease and the specific product," rejoiced one marketing
> executive. In related news, PR Week has some advice for drug video
> news releases: "Always include a physician... use graphics to
> demonstrate the magnitude of a disorder... [and produce] in the
> style of television news."
>SOURCE: Advertising Age, February 16, 2004
>Web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/February_2004.html#1076907600
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1076907600
>
>5. FDA SEEKS A FEW GOOD FLACKS TO PAT ITSELF ON THE BACK
>http://www.odwyerpr.com/members/0213fda.htm
> "The Food and Drug Administration is looking to hire a PR firm to
> help it celebrate its 100th anniversary on June 30, 2006,"
> O'Dwyer's PR writes. "It is looking for a campaign based on the
> 'Protecting and Advancing America's Health' theme. The PR firm is
> to use the campaign to celebrate the FDA's accomplishments and
> further its 'mission to promote and protect the public health for
> future generations.'" Before FDA knocks itself over patting itself
> on the back with its tax-subsidized PR campaign, let's look a
> little harder at its record versus its mythology. We have exposed
> many serious instances of FDA failing as protector of public
> health, including dragging its feet to ban silicone breast
> implants, caving to Monsanto by approving bovine growth hormone,
> ignoring public support for and right to the labeling of
> genetically engineered foods and failing even at this late date to
> ban the feeding of slaughterhouse waste to livestock, allowing the
> spread of mad cow disease. Come to think of it, no wonder they need
> to hire a PR firm!
>SOURCE: O'Dwyer PR Daily, February 13, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/February_2004.html#1076648401
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1076648401
>
>6. MAJORITY BELIEVE BUSH LIED, EXAGGERATED, ON WMDS
>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37340-2004Feb12.html
> "Most Americans believe President Bush either lied or deliberately
> exaggerated evidence that Iraq possessed weapons of mass
> destruction in order to justify war, according to a new Washington
> Post-ABC News poll. The survey results, which also show declining
> support for the war in Iraq and for Bush's leadership in general,
> indicate the public is increasingly questioning the president's
> truthfulness -- a concern for Bush's political advisers as his
> reelection bid gets underway. ... Questions about Bush's use of
> pre-war intelligence, in addition to feeding doubts about his
> honesty, have sent his job rating plummeting. ... But the
> president's declining ratings related to Iraq were most striking.
> Approval of his handling of the situation there has fallen to 47
> percent, down eight points in the past three weeks. About half of
> Americans -- 51 percent -- said they would prefer a report
> evaluating the accuracy and use of pre-war intelligence before the
> election, while 35 percent favor what Bush has ordered: a broader
> study of the overall accuracy of U.S. intelligence gathering
> operations that reports its findings after the election."
>SOURCE: Washington Post, February 13, 2004
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1076648400
>
>7. MEDICARE FOR LOBBYISTS
>http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/auto/epaper/editions/thursday/opinion_04a2db8a763221da00b4.html
> "Rep. Billy Tauzin delivered a $540 billion prescription-drug
> benefit for Medicare. Now, the Louisiana Republican is leaving
> Congress for a $2 million-a-year job in the drug industry. When it
> comes to exposing your principles, Rep. Tauzin makes Janet Jackson
> look coy," the Palm Beach Post writes. Tauzin, who chaired the
> House Science and Commerce Committee, pushed through the early
> morning passage of the Medicare bill in December. Resigning his
> position this month, Tauzin is now expected to become the top
> lobbyists for the trade group Pharmaceutical Research and
> Manufacturers of America, a $2 million-a-year job. PhRMA played a
> key role in shaping the Medicare bill, spending millions in hidden
> PR and lobbying activities.
>SOURCE: Palm Beach Post, February 12, 2004
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1076562001
>
>8. MEMO SHEDS LIGHT ON PRE-WAR MEDIA DUPING
>http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/12/politics/12EXIL.html
> The New York Times has obtained a June, 2002, memo written by the
> Iraqi National Congress, the CIA front group that has been tutored
> and advised by John Rendon's PR firm and instrumental in the
> propaganda campaign advocating war with Iraq. ( The INC's leader
> Ahmed Chalabi was most recently seen sitting in the balcony during
> the State of the Union address.) The Times reports that "many
> officials in the American intelligence community have said that
> much of the information provided to Washington by the Iraqi
> National Congress before the war was suspect, and some have
> questioned whether the group provided disinformation to the United
> States. ... The fact that the Iraqi National Congress was
> disseminating information about Iraq to the United States
> government and the Western news media before the war has been
> previously reported. Less widely known is that the effort was
> carefully coordinated through a special analytical unit the group
> established in Washington that was paid for by the United States."
> The article fails to mention that the New York Times itself and its
> reporter Judith Miller were guilty of using INC propaganda and
> other misinformation in their own inaccurate and misleading
> reporting about Iraq's supposed WMDs.
>SOURCE: New York Times, February 12, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/February_2004.html#1076562000
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1076562000
>
>9. "OSAMA, OSAMA" JEER GREETS US SOCCER IN MEXICO
>http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/soccer/02/11/bc.oly.us.mexicosoccer.ap
> Survey after survey documents how the Bush administration has
> squandered the international outpouring of sympathy after 9/11,
> turning it into an outpouring of fear and hatred toward the US and
> its foreign policies. But actions of Mexican soccer fans spoke
> louder than poll numbers in Guadalajara today. "The boos nearly
> drowned out The Star-Spangled Banner , and a few dozen fans chanted
> "Osama! Osama!" as the United States was eliminated by Mexico in
> Olympic men's soccer qualifying. A loud anti-American crowd
> hollered as Mexico beat the United States 4-0 Tuesday night in the
> under-23 tournament, claiming a berth in the Athens Olympics. As
> U.S. players left the stadium for their bus, several fans -- some
> clutching beers -- chanted "Osama! Osama!" in reference to al-Qaeda
> leader Osama bin Laden. 'It's better than having things thrown at
> you,' U.S. Soccer Federation president Bob Contiguglia said
> Wednesday after returning to Colorado Springs, Colo."
>SOURCE: Associated Press, February 11, 2004
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1076475600
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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Carpentier Nico (Phd)
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