Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
"No less than three 'corporate credibility' seminars involving PR/IR pros have popped up as panelists scratch their heads, trying to find ways to win back public trust in corporations in the wake of Enron, Worldcom, etc.," reports O'Dwyer's PR Daily.
Submitted by John Stauber on
"Drug companies and doctors are
fighting a Bush administration plan to restrict gifts and
other rewards that pharmaceutical manufacturers give
doctors and insurers to encourage the prescribing of
particular drugs. ... In contending that the proposed federal code of conduct
would require radical changes, those opposing the change
discuss their tactics with unusual candor and describe
marketing practices that have long been shrouded in
secrecy. Drug makers acknowledged, for example, that they routinely
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
Faced with a "mounting public relations disaster" over its attempt to sue the famine-stricken country of Ethiopia for $6 million, the Nestle corporation has promised to donate the money to hunger relief. But Justin Forsyth of the hunger organization Oxfam calls the offer a "half measure" and calls on the company "unambiguously to drop the claim and allow the Ethiopian government to spend the money on famine relief. ... Nestle has had lots of opportunities to back down over the last year.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
A whistle-blower's lawsuit has unearthed documents showing that the Warner-Lambert pharmaceutical company circumvented the Food and Drug Administration's drug approval process through a PR and advertising campaign. The company's internal memoranda show that it avoided the large clinical trials needed to gain government approval of off-label uses for Neurontin, an epilepsy medicine. Instead, the company paid for small studies and had the results published in medical journals. "The company also hired advertising agencies to help write the medical journal articles," reports Melody Petersen.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
PR Watch has reported in the past on the questionable tactics of Bonner & Associates, which specializes in "astroturf" (artificial grassroots) organizing for corporate clients. Earlier this year, Jack Bonner was charged with ethics violations in Maryland, but the Maryland State Ethics Commission has cleared him of charges that he used deceptive tactics on behalf of the pharmaceutical industry.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
Prompted in part by reports that a leaders of the Hezbollah has urged Palestinians to step up their suicide bombings, the Canadian government has banned the Lebanese group. Only problem is, the alleged statement from Hezbollah was probably invented by Washington Times reporter Paul Martin, who has a history of fabricating news about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
The news director of Philadelphia's top public radio station, WHYY-91FM, resigned amid ethical questions surrounding news underwriting. "WHYY's president and CEO, would not say whether [former news director Bill] Fantini's resignation was connected to a story in Tuesday's Daily News that raised questions about a series of stories that were aired earlier this year. The series of environmental news reports was sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, which in turn is indirectly paid for by taxpayers," the Philadelphia Business Journal reports.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection funneled money through a non-profit organization in order to underwrite environmental reporting on Philadelphia's leading public-radio station, WHYY, reports the Philadelphia Daily News.
Submitted by John Stauber on
"Some companies have repeatedly
disseminated misleading advertisements for prescription
drugs, even after being cited for violations, and millions
of people see the deceptive commercials before the
government tries to halt them, Congressional investigators
said today. The investigators, from the General Accounting Office, said
Pfizer, for example, had continued to make misleading
claims in advertisements for its cholesterol-lowering drug
Lipitor, despite several letters from the Food and Drug
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
"Colombian journalist Ignacio Gomez told a roomful of America's most influential journalists Tuesday how Washington-supported Colombian president Alvaro Uribe is connected to drug traffickers and how U.S. military trainers helped organize a massacre in his country," reports Lucy Komisar.
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