The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights put together this report on "the destruction of initiative democracy by big corporations trying to disguise themselves. ... When consumer advocates sponsor HMO reform, or utility rate reduction proposals, for example, insurance lobbyists or utility executives stay behind the scenes. Instead, they give money to individuals or organizations who then appear in their television ads, press conferences and other events, pretending to be impartial experts, consumer advocates, environmentalists, etc.

Fleishman-Hillard is helping Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America deal with its PR crisis triggered by today's news that Consumer Reports magazine rated its 2001 Montero Limited SUV as "not acceptable" because it tipped during sharp turns at 37 miles per hour.

In Toxic Sludge Is Good For You we described a PR campaign to rename sewage sludge as "biosolids" so that it could be used as fertilizer. We also detailed the implementation of this plan by New York City, which began shipping its sludge in 1992 to help "fertilize" Sierra Blanca, a tiny, impoverished town in Texas. Now New York has cancelled its sludge disposal contract, but will leave behind the world's largest sludge field.