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[eccr] The Weekly Spin, March 30, 2005
Mon Apr 04 06:53:46 GMT 2005
>THE WEEKLY SPIN, March 30, 2005
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>The Weekly Spin features selected news summaries with links to
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>THIS WEEK'S NEWS
>
>
>== BLOG POSTINGS ==
>1. Fake News? We Told You So, Ten Years Ago
>
>== SPIN OF THE DAY ==
>1. Sparks Fly Over Wal-Mart PR
>2. Television News: Now, Even Faker!
>3. Hospitals Seek Healthy Revenues
>4. California's Drug Wars
>5. A Reporter in Hand Is Worth Two in the Bush
>6. All the News That's Just Fed
>7. Opposition to Fake News Grows
>8. The U.S. Army Pitches Patriotism
>9. Their Middle Name Is Accountability
>10. You Don't Know Where that Meat Has Been
>11. BBC Pledges to Ditch Fake Military News
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>== BLOG POSTINGS ==
>
>1. FAKE NEWS? WE TOLD YOU SO, TEN YEARS AGO
>by Sheldon Rampton
> Recent reports about the Bush administration's use of fake video
> news releases (VNRs) have helped highlight a problem that John
> Stauber and I have been talking about for more than a decade. It's
> nice to see the New York Times start to catch on and to see some
> public activism starting to coalesce around the problem. I'd like to
> point out, though, that the problem isn't limited to the Bush
> administration or to government VNRs alone. In fact, corporate
> public relations is the biggest single source of video news
> releases, just as corporate PR is the biggest single source of other
> types of PR that pollute the media ecosystem. (The McDonald's VNR at
> right is a fairly typical example of the genre.)
> Here's what John and I wrote in our 1995 book, Toxic Sludge Is
> Good For You: Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry:
>For the rest of this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3518
>
>== SPIN OF THE DAY ==
>
>1. SPARKS FLY OVER WAL-MART PR
>http://www.thebusinessledger.com/Articles.asp?artId=779&isuID=39
> After Hill & Knowlton contacted community newspaper editors on
> behalf of Wal-Mart Stores informing them "Wal-Mart representatives
> were available for interviews," Mike Buffington, the president of
> the National Newspaper Association (NMA), let fly. "So why is it
> that community newspapers in America are good enough to help you
> fend off critics with free PR, but weâ¬"re not good enough for your
> paid advertising? You canâ¬"t have it both ways," Buffington wrote
> to Wal-Mart. In a column in the NMA newsletter Publishers Auxiliary,
> Buffington, who is also a publisher of community papers in Georgia,
> complained that a side-effect of Wal-Mart undercutting local small
> business was that "advertising dollars disappear from community
> newspapers." The Business Ledger notes that Buffingtonâ¬"s comments
> have attracted some criticism for implying "a â¬Üyou pay or we
> donâ¬"t cover youâ¬" attitude."
>SOURCE: The Business Ledger, April 4, 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3526
>
>2. TELEVISION NEWS: NOW, EVEN FAKER!
>http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA513090.html?display=Feature&referral=SUPP
> "If viewers were confused before, they'll certainly have a hard time
> discerning news updates from mini-informercials now," writes Joe
> Mandese, on how Medialink Worldwide is "morphing" news and public
> relations. Medialink "says 'branded journalism' is the best way to
> advertise in a splintered market. Instead of sending out video news
> releases in hopes that stations and cable networks will air them, PR
> firms are actually creating the newscast, then buying spots on
> networks the way a Madison Avenue (advertising) firm would."
> Moreover, "secured VNR buys are much more cost-effective than
> conventional ad buys," and have "built-in controls that unpaid PR
> tactics lack, including the ability to target specific demographics
> and to conduct a post-buy analysis of audience delivery."
>SOURCE: Broadcasting & Cable, March 28, 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3525
>
>3. HOSPITALS SEEK HEALTHY REVENUES
>http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111203205556591010,00.html?mod=world_news_whats_news
> A study of newspaper ads for 17 top university medical centers found
> they "employ some of the same advertising techniques doctors often
> criticize drug companies for -- concealing risks and playing on
> fear, vanity and other emotions to attract patients." Of the 122 ads
> examined, 62% used emotional appeals and one-third "used slogans
> focusing on technology, fostering a misperception that high-tech
> medicine is always better." Twenty-one ads promoted specific
> services, including one proclaiming, "We do Botox!" Spokespeople for
> some of the medical centers involved stressed advertising's
> educational value and said review processes ensured their ads were
> responsible. Hospitals began advertising 20 years ago, as managed
> care increased competition among hospitals.
>SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (reg. req'd.), March 28, 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3524
>
>4. CALIFORNIA'S DRUG WARS
>http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-drugs28mar28,0,2573159.story?coll=la-home-headlines
> The industry group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of
> America has launched "its most aggressive counterattack," on a
> proposed California ballot initiative to provide cheaper
> prescription drugs to low-income residents. The industry has raised
> "an unprecedented $8.6 million," even though the initiative does not
> yet have "enough signatures to qualify it for the next election."
> PhRMA's Jan Faiks called the initiative "a very bad precedent" that
> poses "a serious threat to the health and welfare of the
> pharmaceutical industry." PhRMA is also "threatening retaliatory
> initiatives aimed at trial lawyers and unions," groups the industry
> fears will support the initiative. One measure "would slash trial
> lawyers' contingency fees," while another "would require public
> employee unions to obtain members' permission before spending their
> dues on political activities."
>SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, March 28, 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3523
>
>5. A REPORTER IN HAND IS WORTH TWO IN THE BUSH
>http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050326/NEWS/503260408/1060
> Florida freelance television reporter Mike Vasilinda's public
> relations firm "has earned more than $100,000 over the past four
> years through contracts with Gov. Jeb Bush's office, the Secretary
> of State, the Department of Education and other government entities
> that are routinely part of Vasilinda's stories," while those stories
> aired on CNN and Florida NBC affiliates. Mike Vasilinda Productions
> has also worked on political campaigns. Vasilinda rejected
> comparisons to Armstrong Williams, "because he has not personally
> promoted any government programs or appeared in any of the videos
> his business produced." Journalism professor Bob Steele said the
> arrangement "certainly raises some red flags."
>SOURCE: Sarasota Herald-Tribune, March 26, 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3522
>
>6. ALL THE NEWS THAT'S JUST FED
>http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/26/opinion/26just.html
> Why do local TV news stations use fake video news releases?
> Political science professor Marion Just and Tom Rosenstiel of the
> Project for Excellence in Journalism surveyed stations and found
> that the audience for TV news is shrinking, while "the companies
> that own these stations have generally continued to expect high
> earnings, usually profit margins in excess of 40 percent. To meet
> those demands, most stations have added programming, usually without
> adding resources. ... From 1998 to 2002, a study of 33,911
> television reports found, the percentage of 'feed' material from
> third-party sources rose to 23 percent of all reports from 14
> percent. Meanwhile, the percentage of stories that included a local
> correspondent fell to 43 percent from 62 percent. ... So we don't
> have to search far to discover why the Bush administration has
> succeeded so well in getting its news releases on the air. The
> public companies that own TV stations are so intent on increasing
> their stock price and pleasing their shareholders that they are
> squeezing the news out of the news business."
>SOURCE: New York Times, March 26, 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3517
>
>7. OPPOSITION TO FAKE NEWS GROWS
>http://journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/weblogs/pressthink/2005/03/24/bu_res.html
> Jay Rosen posts "a unanimous resolution passed by the Boston
> University Journalism Faculty and circulated to other J-Schools by
> Bob Zelnick, the former ABC News correspondent" and self-described
> conservative. The resolution condemns "the use of 'phony' reporters
> hired by the government to perform in (video news releases) where
> their affiliation with government is unstated," urges "the
> Administration to identify and cease other practices with respect to
> VNRs that run a substantial risk of misleading the public," and
> condemns "the deliberate use by television news outlets of material
> ... without clear identification of its origin." Zelnick says such
> practices strike "at the core of journalistic integrity." Even PR
> Week reported on the "Stop Fake News" petition drive launched by the
> Center for Media and Democracy and Free Press, although one VNR
> producer said "it would not have any long-term effect."
>SOURCE: PressThink, March 24, 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3516
>
>8. THE U.S. ARMY PITCHES PATRIOTISM
>http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/03/24/army_recruiters_fall_short_of_goals_for_march/
> "The Army expects to miss its recruiting goals this month and next,
> and is working on a revised sales pitch appealing to the patriotism
> of parents," according to Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey. The
> "patriotism to parents" pitch might be made "through a new
> advertising campaign." Harvey "is also encouraging more members of
> Congress, as well as senior Army leaders and Army boosters, to spend
> time in local communities touting the benefits of military service."
> In addition, the Army has boosted its number of recruiters by
> one-third and is offering larger sign-up bonuses, while the National
> Guard and Reserve raised the maximum recruit age from 34 to 39.
>SOURCE: Associated Press, March 24, 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3515
>
>9. THEIR MIDDLE NAME IS ACCOUNTABILITY
>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64271-2005Mar24.html
> The Government Accountability Office "said yesterday that they will
> investigate whether the Department of Health and Human Services
> violated that law by awarding a $21,500 contract to commentator and
> marriage advocate Maggie Gallagher." The GAO is currently looking
> into the legality of similar payments from the Department of
> Education to pundit Armstrong Williams. Democratic Senator Frank
> Lautenberg, who requested the GAO inquiry along with Senator
> Kennedy, said "the Bush propaganda mill has violated the trust of
> the American people."
>SOURCE: Washington Post, March 25, 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3514
>
>10. YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT MEAT HAS BEEN
>http://www.odwyerpr.com/members/0323coalition_labeling.htm
> "The Meat Promotion Coalition has been formed in the office of
> Washington's top agriculture (public affairs) / lobby firm, Lesher &
> Russell," reports O'Dwyer's. Coalition members include Tyson Foods,
> Hormel Foods, Cargill, the National Catttlemen's Beef Association,
> National Pork Producers, American Meat Institute, National Meat
> Association, and American Farm Bureau Federation. The coalition is
> pushing for voluntary country-of-origin meat labeling, as opposed to
> the mandatory labeling called for by federal agriculture law, now
> slated to be implemented by 2006. Country-of-origin labeling, which
> industry groups claim would be costly, has received increased
> attention due to mad cow disease.
>SOURCE: O'Dwyer's PR Daily (reg. req'd.), March 23, 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3513
>
>11. BBC PLEDGES TO DITCH FAKE MILITARY NEWS
>http://spinwatch.server101.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=624
> The Controller of Editorial Policy for the British Broadcasting
> Corporation (BBC), Stephen Whittle, has written to David Miller from
> the European PR watchdog group Spinwatch stating that the use of
> audio news supplied by the British Forces Broadcasting Service
> (BFBS), an agency funded by the UK Ministry of Defence, was "not
> ideal." Miller revealed the use of fake news by the BBC a little
> over a week ago. In response to Miller pointing out that the use of
> BFBS audio was a breach of BBC guidelines Whittle has pledged that
> the use of such material "will not happen again."
>SOURCE: SpinWatch, March 24, 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3512
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>The Weekly Spin is compiled by staff and volunteers at the
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