Ethics

More Journalists On U.S. Government Payroll

Ten Miami journalists have been paid by the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB) for their involvement in programs for the anti-Castro propaganda stations, Radio Martí and TV Martí. The OCB is a unit of the the U.S. government-funded Broadcasting Board of Governors. Three of the ten were journalists with El Nuevo Herald.

No

Breathless Audacity

The largest study yet of lung problems among 9/11 rescue workers shows bad news. "Nearly 70 percent of the rescue and cleanup workers who toiled in the dust and fumes at ground zero have had trouble breathing, and many will probably be sick for the rest of their lives," reports Amy Westfeldt. The study, conducted by the Mount Sinai Medical Center, monitored the health of nearly 16,000 ground zero workers.

No

Kenneth Tomlinson Caught Horsing Around

The State Department Inspector General has released a report finding that Kenneth Tomlinson, the head of the agency overseeing most government broadcasts to foreign countries has used his office to run a “horse racing operation” and that he improperly put a friend on the payroll.

No

Spinning an Iraq Oil Kickbacks Confession

Faced with a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the payment of approximately $A300 million in kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's government, in breach of the United Nations' Iraq Oil-for-Food Program, the Australian wheat trader AWB Limited hired

No

Patient Lobbying

Drug company funding for the Mental Health Council of Australia to run lobbying and disease awareness campaigns, The Age reports, raises "questions about whether the agendas of a consumer group and that of a multinational drug company are the same." Some of the companies that have funded the council include Pfizer, Janssen-Cilag, Eli Li

No

Doctors Addicted To Freebies

A study published in the Internal Medicine Journal reveals that many Australian medical specialists seek gifts from drug companies. The study of 823 specialists, Melissa Fyfe writes in the Sydney Morning Herald, "found that personal gifts offered to doctors were valued up to $40,000 and included wine, flowers, a 'spa' dinner, harbour cruises, tickets to the movies, the circus, concerts, opera and sporting events." Six specialists sought funding for the salaries of nurses, one for A$80,000 (US$60,000).

No

Former PR Executive's Wrongful Dismissal Suit Rejected

U.S. District Judge Margaret Morrow has thrown out a wrongful dismissal suit brought by Douglas R. Dowie against his former employer, the public relations company Fleishman-Hillard. In court documents, Morrow wrote that "no reasonable jury could conclude that Fleishman-Hillard lacked good cause to terminate" Dowie, who was general manager of the company's Los Angeles office.

No

Pages

Subscribe to Ethics