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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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