Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
"Susan Finston of the Institute for Policy Innovation, a conservative research group based in Texas, is just the sort of opinion maker coveted by the drug industry," writes Philip Shenon. "In an opinion article in The Financial Times on Oct. 25, she called for patent protection in poor countries for drugs and biotechnology products.
Submitted by John Stauber on
The New York Times notes that corporations including Ford, Exxon Mobil, BP, General Electric and Alcan "appear to be spending ever-bigger chunks of their advertising budgets to promote" what critics call
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"The monitoring of pesticide use in Florida has become make-believe. It is Disney-esque," said Alex Simons, a former environmental specialist for Florida's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
Britain's Independent reports on a "detailed and disturbing strategy document" authored by a U.S.-based Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) official that seeks "to destroy Europe's support for the Kyoto treaty on climate change." CEI's Chris Horner, also a senior figure in the "
Submitted by Laura Miller on
Due to a proposed rewriting of the nation's environmental right-to-know law, thousands of communities stand to lose access to information on toxic chemicals that are released into their neighborhoods.
Submitted by Bob Burton on
Swiss citizens backed a five-year moratorium on commercial release of genetically modified plants and animals, despite opposition from their government and industry groups. Fifty-five percent of the voters backed the moratorium. The ballot initiative followed the collection of 100,000 signatures opposing a 2004 law approving commercial release of genetically engineered crops. "All the farmers' organisations were behind this proposal, which they see as a chance for Swiss agriculture," Daniel Ammann, a spokesman for the pro-moratorium coalition, told Reuters.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
The Hill & Knowlton PR firm reportedly used scaremongering tactics to kill legislation before the European Parliament that would have banned fluorinated gases ("f-gases"), which contribute to global warming. "It's been six months of intense lobbying," said Avril Doyle, a parliamentarian who supported the regulation.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
The PR firm Edelman "is working with the American Petroleum Institute (API), the oil industry's primary lobbying group, on a public issues campaign aimed at convincing Americans that the industry is facing severe challenges, even as its members pull in record quarterly profits," reports PR Week.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
The American Chemistry Council (ACC), which recently launched a major chemical industry PR campaign called "essential2," is one of the main groups claiming that the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), a public right-to-know program, is not so essential. Under TRI, the U.S.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"Industrial salmon farming corporations have learned an important lesson ... about what to do with their tarnished images of ecological and social injustice," writes Rebecca Clausen. "Simply pour money into a public relations campaign and overwhelm dissent." She points to half-page ads that the industry group Salmon of the Americas (SOTA) ran last month in major U.S. newspapers.
Center for Media and Democracy (CMD)
520 University Ave, Ste 305 • Madison, WI 53703 • (608) 260-9713
CMD is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit.
© 1993-2024