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[eccr] The Weekly Spin, Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Wed Apr 14 06:20:48 GMT 2004
>THE WEEKLY SPIN, Wednesday, April 14, 2004
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>The Weekly Spin features selected news summaries with links to
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>THIS WEEK'S NEWS
>
>1. That Liberal Media
>2. Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
>3. It's Not Easy, Being Green(washers)
>4. Releasing the Briefing
>5. One Less Cog in the Propaganda Machine
>6. U.S. Department of Apprehension
>7. Bagdad One Year Later
>8. Hearts and Minds: It's What's for Dinner
>9. Condi Testifies
>10. Check Out the Latest Rollback!
>11. Working Hard for the Money
>12. Thanks for the Opportunity
>13. Teed Off at Augusta
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>1. THAT LIBERAL MEDIA
>http://portlandphoenix.com/features/this_just_in/documents/03741836.asp
> Alex Irvine reports: "The Portland Press Herald, after several
> years of getting its nerve up, has fired reporter Ted Cohen, who in
> July 2000 unearthed the story of George W. Bush's 1976 DWI arrest
> in Kennebunkport. Cohen's editor promptly spiked the story, with
> the result that it didn't get out into the national media until
> just before the 2000 election. The discovery that the Press Herald
> sat on the story embarrassed executive editor Jeannine Guttman and
> made the paper an object of ridicule among journalists. Since then,
> Cohen says, 'the working atmosphere has just been strained beyond
> words.'"
>SOURCE: Portland Phoenix
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1081815832
>
>2. ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE
> The Bush-Cheney campaign's aptly named advertising team, Maverick
> Media, understands that this year's presidential election is much
> different than the previous one: "The environment in 2000 was peace
> and prosperity. Everything was going fine and the question was what
> to do next. This time there are challenges in the economy and we
> have challenges because of the war on terror and Iraq and
> everything associated," said Matthew Dowd, Maverick's media and
> statistics guru in 2000 and the Bush-Cheney campaign's current
> director of strategy (Karl Rove's old position). The optimistic Mr.
> Dowd also "noted that the controversy over Sept. 11 images in Mr.
> Bush's campaign ads resulted in $6 million in free air time for the
> ads and 40 million people seeing the spots who otherwise would not
> have seen them."
>SOURCE: Advertising Age, April 12, 2004
>Web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/April_2004.html#1081742401
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1081742401
>
>3. IT'S NOT EASY, BEING GREEN(WASHERS)
>http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/04/12/forest_service_pamphlet_criticized/
> The Forest Service's controversial "Forests With a Future"
> campaign, handled by PR firm OneWorld Communications, includes a
> brochure explaining why increased logging will benefit Sierra
> Nevada forests. "The pamphlet... explains that fire risks have
> risen as the Sierra's forests have grown more dense in the past
> century. Six small black-and-white photos spanning 80 years appear
> beside descriptions of how the 'forests of the past' had fewer
> trees and less underbrush, making them less susceptible to fire...
> However, the 1909 photo does not depict natural conditions - it was
> taken just after the forest had been logged. And the pictured
> forest is nowhere near the Sierra Nevada. It is in Montana,"
> reports Associated Press. The director of Cedar Ridge, California's
> John Muir Project called the brochure "very misleading."
>SOURCE: Associated Press, April 12, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/April_2004.html#1081742400
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1081742400
>
>4. RELEASING THE BRIEFING
>http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000485027
> When the White House released the sure-to-be-controversial Aug. 6,
> 2001, President's Daily Brief (PDB) on the terrorist threat against
> the U.S., its timing could not have been accidental," reports Greg
> Mitchell. "Coming shortly after 6 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, on
> Saturday, it not only emerged too late for the network news
> programs, it also gave the nation's daily newspapers just hours to
> digest and interpret it. To help reporters in this task, the White
> House also released a guide longer than the 17-sentence PDB. But if
> the White House hoped that all of this would make major newspapers
> spin the story their way, officials there must be sadly
> disappointed today. Nearly every major outlet chose to focus on the
> aspects of the brief that were not merely 'historical,' as the
> administraton had portrayed the document before its release."
>SOURCE: Editor and Publisher, April 11, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/April_2004.html#1081656001
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1081656001
>
>5. ONE LESS COG IN THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE
>http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9249982%255E421,00.html
> A senior defense advisor to the Australian government says she was
> fired after refusing to write media briefings that supported claims
> that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. "I felt like I was
> part of the propaganda machine. As a public servant I shouldn't be
> expected to write propaganda," said engineer and analyst Jane
> Errey. Rather than participate in pro-war briefings, she took a
> leave of absence and has now been terminated permanently.
>SOURCE: News.com.au, April 11, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/April_2004.html#1081656000
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1081656000
>
>6. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF APPREHENSION
>http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/10/national/nationalspecial2/10COW.html
> "It is ironic in the extreme that an administration that's so
> interested in letting industry come up with its own solutions would
> come down with a heavy government hand on a company that's being
> creative," said one public health expert, commenting on the U.S.
> Department of Agriculture's decision not to allow Kansas'
> Creekstone Farms to test every cow it processes for mad cow
> disease. Creekstone wants 100% testing in order to resume sales to
> Japan, South Korea and other countries banning U.S. beef; the
> inability to export "is costing [Creekstone] $40,000 a day and
> forced it to lay off 50 employees." Industry associations,
> including the American Meat Institute and National Cattlemen's Beef
> Association, applauded the USDA, saying 100% testing is "not based
> on sound science."
>SOURCE: New York Times, April 10, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/April_2004.html#1081569600
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1081569600
>
>7. BAGDAD ONE YEAR LATER
>http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=509893
> One year after the staged toppling of Saddam Hussein's statue in
> Firdos Square, the bloody violence in Iraq is reaching new peaks.
> "The last several days in Iraq have seen a spiraling of violence
> and horror that has taken many Americans by surprise, mostly
> because those Americans have been relying on the Bush
> administration for the straight dope," Truthout's William Rivers
> Pitts writes. We would add that U.S. media have also failed to set
> the record straight. While they are reporting on the anniversary of
> Hussein's statue being pulled down, they are still failing to
> identify the event as nothing more than a glorified photo-op, which
> we exposed in our book Weapons of Mass Deception. This past Sunday,
> Firdos Square saw a demonstration by thousands of supporters of
> Moqtada al-Sadr against the American occupation. Canadian
> journalist Naomi Klein reports, "US forces pointed tanks at the
> crowd [in Firdos Sqaure] while a loudspeaker told them that
> 'demonstrations are an important part of democracy but blocking
> traffic will not be permitted'." The New York Times reports, the
> square was completely shut off Friday by U.S. military. A U.S.
> Humvee circling the neighborhood warned residents not to leave
> their homes. "Anybody who enters the area carrying a weapon will be
> shot on sight," the Humvee's loudspeaker blared.
>SOURCE: Independent (UK) , April 9, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/April_2004.html#1081483201
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1081483201
>
>8. HEARTS AND MINDS: IT'S WHAT'S FOR DINNER
>http://www.meatingplace.com/DailyNews/pop.asp?ID=12160
> In a wide-ranging opinion piece, former American Meat Institute PR
> man Dan Murphy asks: "Could 9-11 have been prevented? You might as
> well ask, could the outbreak of BSE (mad cow disease) in North
> American [sic] have been prevented?... For those who question why
> our intelligence and law enforcement agencies didn't do everything
> possible to forestall 9-11, I would ask: Why didn't USDA implement
> the extraordinary measures taken since Dec. 23, 2003, to deal with
> BSE years ago?" His answer: "Whether the discussion is over
> terrorist attacks or the appearance of BSE, assuming that either
> could have been prevented is assuming a lot." And his take-home
> message: in order to "counter the radical activists," the meat
> industry must reach out to local communities and realize that "it's
> not only about changing laws, it's about changing hearts and
> minds."
>SOURCE: Meatingplace.com, April 9, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/April_2004.html#1081483200
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1081483200
>
>9. CONDI TESTIFIES
>http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Condoleezza_Rice
> As violence escalates in Iraq, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, the Bush
> administration's Assistant to the President for National Security
> Affairs, testifies today before the National Commission on
> Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, following a recent,
> highly public clash with Richard A. Clarke, the former White House
> advisor who has sharply criticized the administration's handling of
> counterterrorism. However, her testimony comes with conditions,
> including a promise by the commission that no other White House
> personnel will be asked to testify.
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/April_2004.html#1081423246
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1081423246
>
>10. CHECK OUT THE LATEST ROLLBACK!
>http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0408/p03s01-ussc.html
> Tuesday's 2-to-1 vote against a Wal-Mart supercenter in Inglewood
> CA "has broad implications for the expansion of Wal-Mart across the
> country." Wal-Mart spent more than $1 million on PR for the
> referendum, compared to the opposition's $150,000. "Money is
> important, but it's not everything," remarked one opposition
> member. Wal-Mart also funded a Los Angeles County Economic
> Development Corporation study that, not surprisingly, found that
> "supercenters could save Southern California households an average
> of $600 a year, which would be pumped back into the community."
> Many aren't convinced; the co-publishers of The Black Commentator
> wrote: "If evil could be branded, its emblem would be the Wal-Mart
> logo." So much for Wal-Mart's efforts to portray itself as a
> "kinder, gentler behemoth."
>SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor, April 8, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/April_2004.html#1081396800
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1081396800
>
>11. WORKING HARD FOR THE MONEY
>http://www.odwyerpr.com/members/0407salvador.htm
> The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) may not "ensure
> adequate remedy for workers' rights abuses, protect women workers
> from discrimination, or improve domestic labor law enforcement," as
> Human Rights Watch claims, but it does have an international PR
> campaign. Weber Shandwick is working with El Salvador's Investment
> Promotion Board "to drum up U.S. corporate support for [El
> Salvador] and push for Congressional support" of CAFTA. El
> Salvador's deputy human rights ombudsman warned: "CAFTA protects
> the fundamental rights of businesses but not the labor rights of
> the citizens." An observer of last month's Salvadoran elections
> notes that, although the pro-CAFTA ARENA party won the presidency,
> "many Salvadorans with whom I spoke said that the fear" of U.S.
> economic reprisals "was a driving force behind [ARENA's] wide
> margin of victory."
>SOURCE: O'Dwyer's PR Daily, April 7, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/April_2004.html#1081310401
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1081310401
>
>12. THANKS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY
>http://www.corpwatch.org/issues/PID.jsp?articleid=10548
> Leslie Green at Stapleton Communications has a bachelor's degree in
> Marketing Communications from California Polytechnic State
> University, which must be where she learned how to stonewall
> reporters while still sounding upbeat. A detailed new investigative
> report charges her client, AXT Inc., with poisoning its workers
> with gallium arsenide, a potent carcinogen used to make
> semiconductors. Asked for comments prior to publication of the
> story, Green replied: "We do appreciate the opportunity to respond
> to, I guess, some of the questions that you have for AXT. We are
> going to pass on the opportunity to participate in your article at
> this point, but again, I do appreciate the opportunity."
>SOURCE: East Bay Express, April 7, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/April_2004.html#1081310400
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1081310400
>
>13. TEED OFF AT AUGUSTA
>http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/golf/specials/masters/2004/04/07/gp_battle0406/index.html
> Crisis management PR pro Jim McCarthy says his clients have run
> afoul of "the media/ activist industrial complex." Case in point:
> Augusta National hired McCarthy when Martha Burk challenged the
> golf club's policy of not admitting women members. But McCarthy's
> prime target wasn't Burk: "Stopping The New York Times dead in its
> tracks was critical... because the Times sets the agenda for the
> broader media world." He fed information to conservative bloggers
> so that news stories would be read "with the lens that you
> created." His efforts paid off as the Times' Augusta coverage was
> increasingly questioned: "The story is no longer sex discrimination
> but journalistic integrity. That is how you turn down the heat on a
> crisis, by changing the subject."
>SOURCE: Sports Illustrated, April 6, 2004
>More web links related to this story are available at:
> http://www.prwatch.org/spin/April_2004.html#1081224000
>To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:
> http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1081224000
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
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