(From 2002 until 2005, this mailing list was called the ECCR mailing list)
[Previous message][Next message][Back to index]
[eccr] The Weekly Spin, April 27, 2005
Wed Apr 27 16:07:11 GMT 2005
>THE WEEKLY SPIN, April 27, 2005
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>sponsored by the nonprofit Center for Media and Democracy
>http://www.prwatch.org
>To support our work now online visit:
>https://www.egrants.org/donate/index.cfm?ID=2344-0|1118-0
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>The Weekly Spin features selected news summaries with links to
>further information about media, political spin and propaganda.
>It is emailed free each Wednesday to subscribers.
>
>SHARE US WITH A FRIEND (OR FIFTY FRIENDS)
>Who do you know who might want to receive Spin of the Week?
>Help us grow our subscriber list! Just forward this message to
>people you know, encouraging them to sign up at this link:
>
>http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/subscribe_sotd.html
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>THIS WEEK'S NEWS
>
>
>== BLOG POSTINGS ==
>1. How Green is Camouflage?
>2. Bush Wins Earth Day Greenwashing Award (If There Were One)
>3. A Bumper Crop of Government-Produced "News": The USDA's Broadcast Media
>and Technology Center
>
>== SPIN OF THE DAY ==
>1. Rules Enforced; Marketers Unhappy
>2. Firm Opens New Blogistan Embassy
>3. Living Off the Fat of the Land
>4. Knowing Who Butters Their Bread
>5. Defensive Reporting or Offensively Fake News?
>6. Britain's Nuclear Option
>7. Terrorism's Up, But Who's Counting?
>8. Pentagon Seeks New Information Warriors
>9. Before Sunset
>10. How to Fake Your Own Town Hall
>11. Pouring Gas Money on Fire
>12. They Want You for the New Recruit
>13. Fleishman-Hillard's Glass Half Empty
>14. Scoundrels Denying Refuge
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>== BLOG POSTINGS ==
>
>1. HOW GREEN IS CAMOUFLAGE?
>by Laura Miller
> The U.S. Army celebrated Earth Day this year with a special campaign
> called "Sustaining the Environment for a Secure Future." The
> effort's website features links to an Army Earth Day message, an
> Army Earth Day video promo, computer screen wallpaper, and a
> commemorative poster.
> "We are a nation at war. The need to protect our homeland has
> never been clearer," the Army's message states. "The Armyâ¬"s
> Strategy for the Environment establishes a long-range vision that
> focuses efforts that sustain our mission. For success in the global
> war on terrorism we must carry out our responsibilities for the
> long-term. The land, air, and water resources we work and train on
> are vital to both our present and future missions. We must use those
> resources wisely in a manner that reflects our devotion to duty and
> respect for the needs of tomorrowâ¬"s Soldiers."
> The Army's message may be in response to last October's budget
> cuts from environmental projects on military bases, a consequence of
> Iraq war funding priorities.
>For the rest of this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3620
>
>2. BUSH WINS EARTH DAY GREENWASHING AWARD (IF THERE WERE ONE)
>by John Stauber
> The greens are getting pounded politically, losing almost every
> national battle they fight, including the new energy bill. Today, on
> the 35th anniversary of Earth Day, they can't even beat George Bush
> at the PR game.
> Thirty-five years ago 20 million Americans demonstrated,
> rallied, teach-in'd, lobbied, danced and partied for a healthy,
> ecologically sound planet on the very first Earth Day. This
> unprecedented and massive grassroots mobilization was followed by a
> flurry of green political reforms (supported by many Republicans),
> from the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency to the
> first Environmental Impact Statements and the first national clean
> air and clean water laws. Now, even though surveys show
> enviromentalism is more widespread and popular than ever, with
> citizens donating hundreds of millions of dollars each year to
> Washington DC's big green groups, the movement is a political basket
> case.
>For the rest of this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3616
>
>3. A BUMPER CROP OF GOVERNMENT-PRODUCED "NEWS": THE USDA'S BROADCAST MEDIA
>AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER
>by Diane Farsetta
> "Beef trade with Japan and Canada was on the minds of producers at
> the annual National Cattlemen's Beef Association convention in San
> Antonio, Texas," a man's voice intones, as the television news
> segment opens with a shot of a slowly rotating sign reading "U.S.
> Premium Beef." The voice continues, "Agriculture Secretary Mike
> Johanns addressed the gathering and afterward took questions from
> the media."
> The two-minute news piece examines trade issues surrounding
> bovine spongiform encephalopathy, better known as BSE or mad cow
> disease. Since the December 2003 discovery of a BSE-infected cow in
> Washington state, Japan has banned U.S. beef. In the February 10,
> 2005 TV segment, recently-appointed Secretary Johanns says he is
> "anxious to continue the effort [to lobby Japan] and reopen the
> border."
> Beef trade between the United States and Canada has also been
> restricted - by the United States, this time - since the first
> BSE-infected Canadian cow was discovered in May 2003. The TV segment
> shows Johanns warning, with regard to U.S.-Canadian negotiations,
> "If we just tangle trade up in any way that isn't based upon risk
> analysis and science and all of the things I've talked about, then
> where's our protection with another country? Devastating trade is
> devastating to agriculture."
>For the rest of this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3610
>
>== SPIN OF THE DAY ==
>
>1. RULES ENFORCED; MARKETERS UNHAPPY
>
> Perhaps due to the Vioxx and teen antidepressant scandals, "the Food
> and Drug Administration is pelting drugmakers with letters warning
> that they have run afoul of promotional regulations." Advertising
> Age writes that the FDA's actions are "threatening to tip the $4
> billion direct-to-consumer industry into a full-blown crisis." The
> FDA has warned nine companies so far in 2005, compared to 12 in 2004
> and five in 2003. "DTC ads account for nearly a third of the
> advertising on the major broadcast network's nightly news programs,"
> notes AdAge. "This is not a crackdown, it's enforcement," said
> Thomas Abrams, the head of FDA's Division of Drug Marketing,
> Advertising and Communication. "We're prepared to take whatever
> action necessary to stop misleading promotion."
>SOURCE: Advertising Age, April 25, 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3628
>
>2. FIRM OPENS NEW BLOGISTAN EMBASSY
>http://www.idi.net/proactive/newsroom/release.vtml?id=20872&PROACTIVE_ID=cecfcfc6cecccdcfc9c5cecfcfcfc5cecec8c8c9cdc9c8c8c9c5cf
> Following similar interest from media moguls and PR firms, the
> consulting firm Issue Dynamics, Inc. "has launched a formal Blogger
> Relations Practice and a companion website,
> http://www.bloggerrelations.com."; According to its press release,
> IDI has already provided "blogger relations" services to "Fortune 50
> corporations, national trade associations, advocacy groups and
> political party committees." Journalist and blogger Dan Gillmor
> noted that, "as eWeek reported in February, a subsidiary of the firm
> issued a report denouncing municipal wireless installations without
> making clear that big telecom firms, which vehemently oppose
> municipal wireless systems, are among the firm's chief funders. ...
> Readers need to know who's behind the opinions, so they can make
> better judgments about what - and whom - they can trust."
>SOURCE: Issue Dynamics, Inc. press release, April 26, 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3627
>
>3. LIVING OFF THE FAT OF THE LAND
>http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7633701/
> The Center for Consumer Freedom, an industry-funded front group,
> launched a $600,000 ad campaign decrying the "hype" around obesity.
> CCF's Mike Burita, who admitted that restaurant chains "are
> predominant sources of funding for us," said the group hopes the ads
> will put "pressure on the leadership of the CDC." A recent Centers
> for Disease Control study estimated 25,814 annual obesity-related
> deaths in the United States, down from earlier estimates of 365,000.
> "The science around computing mortality associated with obesity is
> still evolving," said a CDC spokesperson, adding that the two
> estimates "really can't" be compared. The Philadelphia Inquirer
> reported that food industry lobbyists are "putting a full-court
> press on state legislatures and Congress to stop lawsuits that claim
> plaintiffs' weight problems are linked to the food they ate at a
> particular restaurant." These so-called "cheeseburger bills" have
> been enacted in 16 states, with 26 more considering similar
> measures.
>SOURCE: Reuters, April 26, 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3626
>
>4. KNOWING WHO BUTTERS THEIR BREAD
>http://www.prweek.com/news/news_worldwire.cfm?ID=237507&site=3
> The Federal Communications Commission's warning that broadcasters
> should disclose the origin of some video news releases (VNRs) has
> the fake news business in a lather. Kevin Foley, the president of
> KEF Media, told PR Week that "the government has no business
> sticking its nose into news or communications as we practice it here
> ... The FCC has no jurisdiction over news and news content." Richard
> Edelman, the president and CEO of the PR company Edelman, conceded
> that disclosing government VNRs "in some way" was reasonable.
> However, Edelman draws the line at labeling corporate VNRs, the bulk
> of those produced. "I do not believe in the need for government to
> put a black box on any VNR that's produced for a company," he said.
>SOURCE: PR Week (sub. req'd.) April 25, 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3625
>
>5. DEFENSIVE REPORTING OR OFFENSIVELY FAKE NEWS?
>http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0425/p11s01-usmi.html
> "When the government creates a cable channel that reminds viewers of
> a news network, down to the live Pentagon briefings and interviews
> with Washington big shots, is it a form of propaganda or just a
> savvy way to communicate with the troops?" the Christian Science
> Monitor asks, about the Pentagon Channel. Launched last May with $6
> million in taxpayer funds, the Pentagon Channel is broadcast on
> military bases, public cable and the Internet. While
> "military-sponsored news reports are hardly anything new," the
> Pentagon Channel is widely available, "ostensibly so reservists and
> military families can watch it." Senior producer Scott Howe says,
> "We are an advocate of the Department of Defense and its voice. We
> obviously don't air speculation out in the civilian media that
> questions what the department is doing or its motives." To
> communications professor Ralph Begleiter, "They're not journalists.
> They're salesmen."
>SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor, April 25, 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3624
>
>6. BRITAIN'S NUCLEAR OPTION
>http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=632254
> The British government "is drawing up secret plans to create a new
> generation of nuclear power stations." However, "Tony Blair wants to
> avoid discussing the issue until after the election," scheduled for
> May 5. A "senior insider" said of a committee studying the potential
> role of nuclear energy in addressing global warming, "They are
> carefully framing the questions to get the answer they want." The
> Observer reports, "Two of Britain's most senior scientific experts
> yesterday denounced government ministers for favouring PR spin over
> serious scientific advice when dealing with nuclear waste disposal."
> Professor David Ball and Keith Baverstock say the government's
> Committee on Radioactive Waste Management "wasted 17 months
> pretending to consult the public" on such improbable scenarios as
> burying nuclear waste under ice or launching it into space. "It is
> barking mad to consider nuclear power as part of a sustainable
> energy policy," said a Green Party spokesperson.
>SOURCE: The Independent, April 23, 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3623
>
>7. TERRORISM'S UP, BUT WHO'S COUNTING?
>http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/11407689.htm
> For the first time in 20 years, the U.S. government will not be
> publishing Patterns of Global Terrorism, a Congressionally-mandated
> report from the U.S. Department of State intended to provide a full
> and complete record of countries and groups involved in
> international terrorism. Last year, the Bush administration was
> embarrassed when the report tallied 175 significant terrorist
> attacks - the highest number in two decades, contradicting the
> administration's claim that it is winning the war on terrorism.
> According to U.S. intelligence officials, this year's numbers are
> far worse - 625 attacks, or nearly four times the amount of last
> year's embarrassment. In a State Department briefing, spokesman
> Richard Boucher said the department plans to issue a different
> report, with the statistics omitted. The numbers would be released
> someday, Boucher said, but "I don't know when."
>SOURCE: Knight Ridder, April 15, 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3621
>
>8. PENTAGON SEEKS NEW INFORMATION WARRIORS
>http://www.odwyerpr.com/members/0422stratcom.htm
> U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) is "fostering competition" for a
> "lucrative contract to analyze foreign media coverage and handle
> strategic communications for its operations and the so-called global
> war on terrorism," reports O'Dwyer's. The work involves tracking
> "media in broadcast, print and online in Arabic, Urdu Pashtu" and
> other languages, as well as "building databases of key communicators
> and media outlets, analyzing the perception of U.S. actions and
> communication, and identifying vulnerabilities." The contract
> requires the PR firm to provide staff "on a 24/7 schedule during
> critical periods." The secretive Rendon Group, "the Pentagon's go-to
> firm for military PR," currently holds the $8.2 million contract,
> which 56 of its employees work on. STRATCOM hopes to award the new
> contract this summer.
>SOURCE: O'Dwyer's PR Daily (sub. req'd.), April 22, 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3618
>
>9. BEFORE SUNSET
>http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/_/id/7265052?
> A little-noticed proposal in the 2,000 page federal budget "would
> give the president the power to appoint an eight-member panel called
> the 'Sunset Commission.'" The commission would "review federal
> programs every ten years and decide whether they should be
> eliminated. Any programs that are not 'producing results,' in the
> eyes of the commission, would 'automatically terminate unless the
> Congress took action.'" Even the Environmental Protection Agency or
> Food and Drug Administration could be axed, on a "simple vote of
> five commissioners" - not a high bar, since many commissioners would
> likely be "lobbyists and executives from major corporations." The
> Sunset Commission is the brainchild of Clay Johnson, who's already
> "helped place industry champions ... throughout the government." It
> was first mentioned publicly by the ExxonMobil-funded think tank,
> the Mercatus Center.
>SOURCE: Rolling Stone, May 5, 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3617
>
>10. HOW TO FAKE YOUR OWN TOWN HALL
>http://www.comedycentral.com/mp/play.jhtml?reposid=/multimedia/tds/bee/bee_10052.html
> Once again, a parody news segment on Comedy Central's "The Daily
> Show" is offering better journalism than much of what you'll find
> coming from "real" newsrooms. CC's Samantha Bee interviews
> Republican media strategist Frank Luntz for advice on how to create
> her own fake town hall meetings, like the ones that President Bush
> has been using to promote his Social security privatization scheme.
> "A real town hall can be very dangerous if it gets out of control,"
> Luntz explains. "A town hall where the speaker cannot command the
> respect and the control of the audience can look very bad on
> television. ... To me the most important component of a successful
> town hall is the visual, is the backdrop." And the audience itself
> is part of the backdrop, Luntz explains as he reviews footage from
> an actual Bush town hall video: "There he's got an African-American,
> he's got an Asian, there's your female he's got. It's one of
> everybody. It's almost like the rainbow wedding line."
>SOURCE: Comedy Central, April 19, 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3614
>
>11. POURING GAS MONEY ON FIRE
>http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2005/05/some_like_it_hot.html
> "No company appears to be working harder to support those who debunk
> global warming" than ExxonMobil, writes Chris Mooney. "Some 40
> ExxonMobil-funded organizations ... have sought to undermine
> mainstream scientific findings on global climate change or have
> maintained affiliations with a small group of 'skeptic' scientists
> who continue to do so." From 2000 to 2003, ExxonMobil gave $8.7
> million to such SourceWatch favorites as the American Council on
> Science and Health, Atlas Economic Research Foundation, Capital
> Research Center, Heartland Institute, International Policy Network,
> Mercatus Center, National Center for Public Policy Research, Tech
> Central Station, and groups associated with Steve Milloy (the full
> list is here). As an American Petroleum Institute memo stated,
> "Victory will be achieved when ... recognition of uncertainty [about
> global warming] becomes part of the 'conventional wisdom.'"
>SOURCE: Mother Jones, May / June 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3609
>
>12. THEY WANT YOU FOR THE NEW RECRUIT
>http://prweek.com/news/news_story.cfm?ID=237469&site=3
> In an "uncharacteristically aggressive recruitment effort," the U.S.
> Army National Guard is launching a new campaign, called "The
> American Soldier." The campaign includes "sending eight mobile
> information and recruitment centers (with another 12 in production)
> to sporting events and shopping malls across the country, increasing
> direct mailings to three times annually, and signing a sponsorship
> deal with NASCAR driver Greg Biffle," reports PR Week. "The days
> when someone would see an ad and then go to a recruitment office may
> be gone," said Lt. Col. Mike Jones. The Guard is also widening its
> target audience beyond high school students, to "college, junior
> college and vocational-technical school students." The Guard's 2005
> marketing budget is $38 million, though "an additional $26 million
> will be asked for through supplemental requests," according to
> Jones.
>SOURCE: PR Week (sub. req'd.), April 20, 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3608
>
>13. FLEISHMAN-HILLARD'S GLASS HALF EMPTY
>http://news.findlaw.com/ap/f/66/04-20-2005/06b500092ae20d07.html
> Fleishman-Hillard "agreed to pay $5.7 million to settle a lawsuit"
> brought against it by the city of Los Angeles, which claimed the
> firm "defrauded city departments by inflating monthly bills." The
> firm will pay $5.5 million to the Department of Water and Power, the
> main contract in question, with the remainder going to city agencies
> "that oversee the airports, harbor and visitors bureau."
> Fleishman-Hillard wanted to avoid "damage to its reputation and
> business in the event of a trial." An internal memo obtained by PR
> Week stated, "This is a significant payment, substantially more than
> the amount of questioned billing, but our firm's reputation for
> honesty and integrity is a vital business asset."
>SOURCE: Associated Press, April 20, 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3607
>
>14. SCOUNDRELS DENYING REFUGE
>http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=631196
> "Despite conducting a high-profile campaign calling for tough
> controls on immigration," the British Conservative Party is "using a
> company employing low-paid foreigners to distribute campaign
> literature," reports The Independent. Across the pond, Governor
> Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested at the Newspaper Association of
> America's annual meeting, "Close the borders in California and all
> across Mexico and in the United States." A spokesperson later said
> the governor supports "greater security," not border closure. On
> April 23, right-wing talk radio hosts, including Blanquita Cullum,
> Roger Hedgecock and Melanie Morgan, also of Move America Forward,
> will travel to Washington, DC. The event, called "Hold Their Feet to
> the Fire," will support "legislation that would strengthen our
> borders and keep illegal immigrants from getting driver's licenses."
>SOURCE: The Independent, April 20, 2005
>For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/node/3606
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>The Weekly Spin is compiled by staff and volunteers at the
>Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), a nonprofit public
>interest organization. To subscribe or unsubcribe, visit:
>http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/subscribe_sotd.html
>
>Daily updates and news from past weeks can be found at the
>"Spin of the Day" section of the Center website:
>http://www.prwatch.org/spin/index.html
>
>Archives of our quarterly publication, PR Watch, are at:
>http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues
>
>CMD also sponsors SourceWatch, a collaborative research
>project that invites anyone (including you) to contribute
>and edit articles:
>http://www.sourcewatch.org
>
>PR Watch, Spin of the Day, the Weekly Spin and SourceWatch
>are projects of the Center for Media & Democracy, a nonprofit
>organization that offers investigative reporting on the public
>relations industry. We help the public recognize manipulative
>and misleading PR practices by exposing the activities of
>secretive, little-known propaganda-for-hire firms that
>work to control political debates and public opinion.
>Please send any questions or suggestions about our
>publications to:
>(editor /at/ prwatch.org)
>
>Contributions to the Center for Media and Democracy
>are tax-deductible. Send checks to:
> CMD
> 520 University Ave. #227
> Madison, WI 53703
>
>To donate now online, visit:
>https://www.egrants.org/donate/index.cfm?ID=2344-0|1118-0
>
>_______________________________________________
>Weekly-Spin mailing list
>(Weekly-Spin /at/ prwatch.org)
>http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/weekly-spin
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Carpentier Nico (Phd)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Katholieke Universiteit Brussel - Catholic University of Brussels
Vrijheidslaan 17 - B-1081 Brussel - Belgium
T: ++ 32 (0)2-412.42.78
F: ++ 32 (0)2/412.42.00
Office: 4/0/18
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Vrije Universiteit Brussel - Free University of Brussels
Centre for Media Sociology (CeMeSO)
Pleinlaan 2 - B-1050 Brussels - Belgium
T: ++ 32 (0)2-629.18.30
F: ++ 32 (0)2-629.28.61
Office: 5B.401a
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
European Consortium for Communication Research
Web: http://www.eccr.info
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E-mail: (Nico.Carpentier /at/ kubrussel.ac.be)
Web: http://homepages.vub.ac.be/~ncarpent/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------
ECCR-Mailing list
---
To unsubscribe, send an email message to (majordomo /at/ listserv.vub.ac.be)
with in the body of the message (NOT in the subject): unsubscribe eccr
---
ECCR - European Consortium for Communications Research
Secretariat: P.O. Box 106, B-1210 Brussels 21, Belgium
Tel.: +32-2-412 42 78
Fax.: +32-2-412 42 00
Email: (info /at/ eccr.info)
URL: http://www.eccr.info
----------------
[Previous message][Next message][Back to index]
