Ethics

The Killing in Shilling

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on December 22, 2003 - 9:59pm

"Every holiday season, the Toy Guy, aka Christopher Byrne, appears on scores of local and national television and radio shows with his selections of the best and hottest toys," reports William Sherman. ""But what the parents and children don't know, and are not told by anchors and reporters, is that Byrne is paid hundreds of thousands of dollars annually by those toy manufacturers to hawk their products." Byrne is an employee of Litsky Public Relations, which charges $10,000 per product mention.

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Black's Hacks

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on December 21, 2003 - 11:00pm

Conservative columnist George Will doesn't think it's anybody's business that he's been paid $25,000 a year by scandal-plagued media magnate Conrad Black. Will is one of several mostly conservative pundits and politicians who got paid to sit on the advisory board of Black's company, Hollinger International.

Main Source:

New York Times, December 22, 2003

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Pundits

Ethics

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The Governator's Judgment Day

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on December 20, 2003 - 12:47pm

A Los Angeles woman who came forward during the California gubernatorial campaign to accuse Arnold Schwarzenegger of previous instances of sexual harassment has sued the former star of "True Lies" and "Conan the Barbarian," claiming that he and his campaign smeared her as a convicted felon when she made her charges.

Main Source:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/millercomp1.html

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Ethics

Politics

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MADD's Dash of Brandy

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on December 17, 2003 - 11:00pm

Brandy Anderson, a former director of public policy for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), has gone to work for the Century Council, a nonprofit organization founded and funded by major liquor distillers including Allied Domecq Spirits, Bacardi and Pernod Ricard. Anderson has also worked as a senior manager at the Washington, D.C., PR firm Blakey & Agnew.

Main Source:

Washington Post, December 18, 2003

Topics:

Ethics

Public Relations

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"Fearless Pursuit of Truth"? Hah!

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on December 17, 2003 - 11:00pm

A new annual journalism award has been created in honor of Michael Kelly, who edited publications including The New Republic, National Journal, Atlantic Monthly before he was killed while covering the war in Iraq.

Main Source:

Washington Post, December 18, 2003

Topics:

Right Wing

Ethics

Media

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Not-So-Public Relations

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on December 14, 2003 - 11:00pm

The standard treatment for sepsis, an infection of the blood, costs $50 per day, but Eli Lilly has a new drug out called Xigris, which may not be any better than older treatments but costs $6,800 per treatment.

Main Source:

Slate, December 15, 2003

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Ethics

Health

Public Relations

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Drug Companies Fund Patient Advocacy Groups

Submitted by John Stauber on December 12, 2003 - 11:00pm

"Pharmaceutical companies are pouring millions of dollars into patient
advocacy groups and medical organisations to help expand markets for their
products.
They are also using sponsorships and educational grants to fund
disease-awareness campaigns that urge people to see their doctors.
Many groups have become largely or totally reliant on pharmaceutical
industry money, prompting concerns they are open to pressure from companies
pushing their products.
An investigation by The Age newspaper has found:

Main Source:

Sydney Morning Herald, December 13, 2003

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Drug Industry Spins Medical Journals Through Ghostwriters

Submitted by Laura Miller on December 6, 2003 - 11:00pm

"Hundreds of articles in medical journals claiming to be written by academics or doctors have been penned by ghostwriters in the pay of drug companies," the Observer reports. "The journals, bibles of the profession, have huge influence on which drugs doctors prescribe and the treatment hospitals provide. But The Observer has uncovered evidence that many articles written by so-called independent academics may have been penned by writers working for agencies which receive huge sums from drug companies to plug their products.

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Observer (UK), December 7, 2003

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Radio Fraudcasting

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on December 4, 2003 - 11:00pm

Radio listeners tuning into disk jockey Jeff Kovarsky on Dallas, Texas radio station KKMR in late 2000 could hear him extolling a magical weight-loss remedy. iIt helped me lose 36 pounds," Kovarsky said. iI ate so much over Thanksgiving, I still have turkey burps. But thanks to Body Solutions, I keep the weight off and now I'm ready for Christmas. So, bring it on, Grandma. The honey-baked ham, the apple pie, the Christmas cookies.

Main Source:

Texas Observer, December 5, 2003

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Media Propagandists Convicted of Genocide in Rwanda

Submitted by John Stauber on December 3, 2003 - 11:00pm

"In the first case of its kind since the Nuremberg trials, an international court [convened in Tanzania] convicted three Rwandans of genocide for media
reports that fostered the killing of about 800,000
Rwandans, mostly of the Tutsi minority, over several months
in 1994. A three-judge panel said the three men had used a radio
station and a newspaper published twice a month to mobilize
Rwanda's Hutu majority against the Tutsi, who were
massacred at churches, schools, hospitals and roadblocks.

Main Source:

New York Times, December 4, 2003

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