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[eccr] The Weekly Spin, Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Wed Aug 18 07:48:29 GMT 2004
>THE WEEKLY SPIN, Wednesday, August 18, 2004
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>sponsored by the Center for Media and Democracy (www.prwatch.org)
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>The Weekly Spin features selected news summaries with links to
>further information about current public relations campaigns.
>It is emailed free each Wednesday to subscribers.
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>THIS WEEK'S NEWS
>
>1. Ad and PR Campaigns of Arabia
>2. White House Regulatory Actions Overlooked
>3. Big Box Buys Buddies
>4. A Herculean Effort to Get Your Gold
>5. Pre-Emptive "Traitor" Baiters
>6. Spinning Spies for Fun and Electoral Profit
>7. Red News or Blue News?
>8. PBS Adds Insult to Injury
>9. Hacking Young Minds
>10. Another Media Mea Culpa
>11. Poison Ivy On Display
>12. The Presidential Race Card
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>1. AD AND PR CAMPAIGNS OF ARABIA
>http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109273181539093381,00.html?mod=world_news_whats_news
> "For too long, rumors have been accepted as truth," says one of two
> new U.S. radio ads launched by Saudi Arabia, to highlight 9/11
> Commission findings favorable to the country. "The ads don't
> address commission criticism of Saudi Arabia, which the report
> called 'a problematic ally in combating Islamic extremism,'" writes
> Associated Press. Fahrenheit 9/11 and the Kerry campaign have
> increased scrutiny of Saudi-Bush ties. Through PR firm Qorvis
> Communications, Saudi Arabia is disputing charges by Daniel Pipes
> that the Kingdom pays Middle East academic experts to speak on its
> behalf. But Qorvis is doing "ongoing education to communities
> around the country regarding the importance and value of strong
> U.S.-Saudi relations," including offering pro-Saudi speakers to
> universities.
>SOURCE: Associated Press, August 17, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/August_2004.html#1092715200
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1092715200
>
>2. WHITE HOUSE REGULATORY ACTIONS OVERLOOKED
>http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A3733-2004Aug15?language=printer
> "The Data Quality Act -- written by an industry lobbyist and
> slipped into a giant appropriations bill in 2000 without
> congressional discussion or debate -- is just two sentences
> directing the [White House Office of Management and Budget] to
> ensure that all information disseminated by the federal government
> is reliable. But the Bush administration's interpretation of those
> two sentences could tip the balance in regulatory disputes that
> weigh the interests of consumers and businesses," the Washington
> Post reports in a 3-part series on the direction of regulatory
> action under George W. Bush. "Environmental and consumer groups say
> the Data Quality Act fits into a larger Bush administration agenda.
> In the past six months, more than 4,000 scientists, including
> dozens of Nobel laureates and 11 winners of the National Medal of
> Science, have signed statements accusing the administration of
> politicizing science," the Post writes. The New York Times also
> recently looked at the regulatory issue, writing, "Allies and
> critics of the Bush administration agree that the Sept. 11 attacks,
> the war in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq have preoccupied the
> public, overshadowing an important element of the president's
> agenda: new regulatory initiatives."
>SOURCE: Washington Post, August 16, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/August_2004.html#1092628804
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1092628804
>
>3. BIG BOX BUYS BUDDIES
>http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/16/business/16walmart.html
> "Stung by criticism of its labor practices, expansion plans and
> other business tactics," Wal-Mart "has become a sponsor on National
> Public Radio," underwritten the "Tavis Smiley" talk show, and
> "plans to award $500,000 in scholarships to minority students at
> journalism programs around the country." A Wal-Mart spokeswoman
> said there's "no hidden agenda," but "we've really been in the
> spotlight and I think that's made us especially sensitive to the
> need for balanced coverage." NPR's ombudsman wrote, "Wal-Mart
> symbolizes values that some listeners believe to be antithetical to
> the values of public radio." Mounting opposition has rejected or
> stalled new Wal-Mart stores in California, Illinois and Louisiana.
>SOURCE: New York Times, August 16, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/August_2004.html#1092628803
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1092628803
>
>4. A HERCULEAN EFFORT TO GET YOUR GOLD
>http://prweek.com/news/news_story.cfm?ID=219514&site=3
> "An event once notable for celebrating the spirit of amateurism has
> achieved an almost unimaginable level of crass commercialism,"
> writes PR commentator Paul Holmes. The Olympics' organizers "are
> clamping down on anything that might allow TV audiences a glimpse
> of a non-sponsor's logo. People carrying bottles of Pepsi (or any
> bottled water not made by Coca-Cola) will have them confiscated ...
> people with a Nike logo on their T-shirts will be asked to turn the
> shirts inside out. Stewards ... have been warned about wearing
> footwear that isn't made by official sponsor Adidas." Holmes
> concludes, "I'd rather see the Olympic organizers worry about
> concerns that official merchandise is being made in sweatshops."
>SOURCE: PR Week (reg. req'd), August 16, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/August_2004.html#1092628802
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1092628802
>
>5. PRE-EMPTIVE "TRAITOR" BAITERS
>http://www.boston.com/news/politics/conventions/articles/2004/08/16/fbi_tracks_potential_gop_protesters/
> "Federal agents and city police are keeping tabs on people they say
> might try to cause trouble at the Republican National Convention,
> questioning activists, making unannounced visits and monitoring Web
> sites and meetings. ... The intelligence unit of the New York
> Police Department ... also has sought to infiltrate protest
> groups." An ACLU lawyer for three Missouri men subpoenaed by the
> FBI told the New York Times, "What's so disturbing about this is
> the pre-emptive nature - stopping them from participating in a
> protest before anything even happened." Her clients "got the
> message loud and clear that if you make plans to go to a protest,
> you could be subject to arrest or a visit from the FBI."
>SOURCE: Associated Press, August 16, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/August_2004.html#1092628801
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1092628801
>
>6. SPINNING SPIES FOR FUN AND ELECTORAL PROFIT
>http://prweek.com/news/news_story.cfm?ID=219497&site=3
> PR Week's Douglas Quenqua applauds "how effortlessly George Bush
> changed the conversation last week. Political debate ... had
> centered on the 9/11 Commission's recommendations." This was
> problematic, since "John Kerry unhesitatingly endorsed
> implementation of every recommendation - and quickly passed Bush's
> poll numbers on matters of national security." But Bush's
> nomination of Rep. Porter Goss for CIA director shifted attention
> to "Goss and what the Democrats were going to do to stop the
> nomination - something Bush had counted on." Newsweek reports that
> Goss' recently introduced "intelligence reform" bill "would enable
> the president to issue secret findings allowing the CIA to conduct
> covert operations inside the United States - without even any
> notification to Congress."
>SOURCE: PR Week (reg. req'd), August 16, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/August_2004.html#1092628800
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1092628800
>
>7. RED NEWS OR BLUE NEWS?
>http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/ny-fftv3927049aug15,0,4455357.story
> "The ascendancy of 'news' with an attitude - a spin, a bias - is
> undeniable," reports Newsweek, which cites Fox News Channel, Air
> America Radio, Fahrenheit 9/11 and the Drudge Report as examples.
> The director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the
> Press is worried: "If news choices are increasingly driven by
> partisanship, either because they're biased or because they're
> perceived to be biased, then I think the risk is that people will
> turn inward. They're going to be exposed to fewer things that may
> challenge their points of view. And it would make sense that this
> is not an especially good thing for a democracy."
>SOURCE: Newsday, August 15, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/August_2004.html#1092542400
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1092542400
>
>8. PBS ADDS INSULT TO INJURY
>http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0813-10.htm
> "The far right's decades-long campaign to falsely brand PBS a
> leftist conspiracy - one that apparently included giving shows to
> such commies as William F. Buckley, Louis Rukeyser, Ben Wattenberg
> and Fortune magazine - has really hit pay dirt this year, first in
> creating a show around CNN's conservative talking head Tucker
> Carlson, and now, far more egregiously, in creating a program for
> the extremist editorial board of the Wall Street Journal," the
> Nation's Eric Alterman writes. "In a lengthy examination in the
> Columbia Journalism Review, Trudy Lieberman found six dozen
> examples of disputed Journal editorials and op-eds. She discovered
> that 'on subjects ranging from lawyers, judges, and product
> liability suits to campus and social issues, a strong America, and
> of course, economics, we found a consistent pattern of incorrect
> facts, ignored or incomplete facts, missing facts, uncorroborated
> facts.' In many of these cases, the editors refused to print a
> correction, preferring to allow the aggrieved party to write a
> letter to the editor, which would be printed much later, and then
> let the reader decide whose version appeared more credible. Almost
> never does the paper correct the record or admit its errors."
>SOURCE: Common Dreams, August 13, 2004
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1092369601
>
>9. HACKING YOUNG MINDS
>http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,64543,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2
> The Business Software Alliance's "copyright-crusading cartoon
> ferret" appears in "marketing campaigns to teach kids to be good
> cybercitizens," and its "antipiracy comic book and teacher's guide"
> is mailed to grade-school classrooms. The Motion Picture
> Association of America sponsored "an essay contest in which
> students competed to write the most creative plan to convince their
> peers not to download content illegally." Concerned by
> industry-funded "claims ... that far exceed what copyright is all
> about," the American Library Association is developing its own
> copyright issues classroom materials. The National Education
> Association applauded the ALA, saying students should not "parrot
> for some corporate agenda."
>SOURCE: Wired News, August 13, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/August_2004.html#1092369600
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1092369600
>
>10. ANOTHER MEDIA MEA CULPA
>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58127-2004Aug11.html
> An internal Washington Post review found that, before the invasion
> of Iraq, "Administration assertions were on the front page. Things
> that challenged the administration were on A18 on Sunday or A24 on
> Monday. There was an attitude among editors: Look, we're going to
> war, why do we even worry about all this contrary stuff?" - in the
> words of the paper's Pentagon correspondent. Managing editor Bob
> Woodward said "groupthink" compromised coverage of weapons of mass
> destruction charges, but "we had no alternative sources of
> information." One reporter stated, "We are inevitably the
> mouthpiece for whatever administration is in power." A national
> news editor said, "Do I feel we owe our readers an apology? I don't
> think so." Editor and Publisher criticized the piece as having
> "more excuses than admission of mistakes" and lacking any "promise
> of corrective action."
>SOURCE: Washington Post, August 12, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/August_2004.html#1092283200
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1092283200
>
>11. POISON IVY ON DISPLAY
>http://www.odwyerpr.com/members/0811lee.htm
> The seminal PR work of Ivy Lee, sometimes called "the real father
> of modern PR," is currently on display in the Transit Museum in
> Grand Central Station in New York City. In 1908, Lee became the
> first publicity director for Pennsylvania Railroad, developing
> campaigns to influence public opinion in support of the railroad's
> lobbying efforts. Lee gain notoriety when he was hired by John D.
> Rockefeller, Jr. to turn public sentiment about the 1914 Ludlow
> Massacre. His work supporting turn-of-the-century robber barons
> earned him the nickname "Poison Ivy." NYC's Interborourgh Rapid
> Transit hired Lee in 1916. He created the Subway Sun newspaper as
> part of an effort to publicize New York's subway system. In the
> early 1930s, Lee was a consultant to a German company linked to
> Hitler, which, in part, led to the passage of the Foreign Agents
> Registration Act of 1938.
>SOURCE: O'Dwyer's PR Daily (sub req'd), August 11, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/August_2004.html#1092196801
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1092196801
>
>12. THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE CARD
>http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/breaking_news/9369049.htm
> "A Washington nonprofit group with ties to the Republican Party is
> airing radio ads ... asking if U.S. Senator John Kerry takes 'the
> black community for granted?'" The group, People of Color United,
> was founded last week by DC Parents For School Choice, which
> supports school vouchers. Major GOP donor J. Patrick Rooney gave
> $30,000 towards the ad campaign. Rooney, who is white, said, "For
> 21 years I have gone to an all-black church. ... I'm one of them. I
> don't know what it has to do with health savings accounts."
> Rooney's former and current firms specialize in health savings
> accounts, which "were created by President Bush's 2003 Medicare
> prescription drug legislation."
>SOURCE: Philadelphia Daily News, August 11, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/August_2004.html#1092196800
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1092196800
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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