Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"Consultants paid by the oil and gas industry have been volunteering to work for the Bureau of Land Management's Vernal [Utah] office for the past five months, expediting environmental studies to keep pace with a glut of drilling requests in the region," reports the Salt Lake Tribune.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"Business advocates are raising millions of dollars, plotting major lobbying campaigns, and quietly working to influence the president as he ponders a replacement for [retiring Supreme Court] Justice Sandra Day O'Connor," reports the Washington Post. Big business groups want favorable future rulings on pensions, taxation and product liability, among other issues.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"Ed Gillespie, who will help promote President Bush's future nominee to a vacancy on the Supreme Court, is a top-tier lobbyist who represents a host of clients with direct and indirect interests in the outcome of Supreme Court decisions." Gillespie's task is "to use the tools and techniques of a presidential campaign to put together a conservative political machine equipped to take on the alliance of groups on the political left." But his firm,
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
This spring, a poll that found half of adult Americans have frequent sleeping problems was reported on "by virtually all of the country's major newspapers and television networks," as well as international media. "Lost in the somber warnings and survey results, however, was that the poll, the proclamations and the press kits that spread the information were paid for by sleeping pill manufacturers," reports the Sacramento Bee.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"For the bargain-basement price of $29,000, our publication could have been touted by the Hall of Fame quarterback in slots on CNBC and MSNBC," writes PR Week's Julia Hood, about Terry Bradshaw's "Winners Circle" and "Pick of the Week" TV segments.
Submitted by Bob Burton on
Liu Xu, a staffer with Burson-Marsteller in China, told a reporter that in mid-April he only managed a few hours sleep a night while he helped Colgate reassure Chinese government agencies on the safety of using the suspected human carcinogen triclosan in toothpaste.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"BP's reputation as one of the world's most environmentally progressive energy companies is on the line," writes the Independent. That's because BP refused to support mandatory carbon dioxide emissions limits in the energy bill, as proposed by U.S. Senator Bingaman. The energy bill will be debated by the Senate this week.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"I didn't realize how powerful the drug companies thought they were," said health policy professor Lisa Bero, regarding Merck's campaign to silence a prominent physician critical of their painkiller Vioxx. According to documents obtained by NPR, Merck first approached Stanford University's Dr. Gurkirpal Singh in 1998.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
GlaxoSmithKline is undertaking yet another effort to improve its reputation - "an extensive state-by-state media blitz." Michael Pucci, GSK's vice-president of "external advocacy," told PR Week that local reporters were easier for the drug company to deal with. "These folks are hungry for news," he said. "They'll print everything we say ...
In a series of announcements in the aftermath of the tsunami that swept that swept through East Asia and parts of Africa on December 26, 2004, Pfizer committed itself to contribute a total of $20 million in cash and $60 million worth of medicines. Pfizer's staff chipped in a further $2 million.
On its U.S. website, Pfizer listed its tsunami response as an example of its commitment to corporate social responsibility.
However, at a recent drug industry marketing conference in Sydney, Pfizer Australia's Manager of Government Affairs, David Miles, said that the company would have been better off being less generous. "We would be better off giving five million and shutting up," Miles said, only a little jokingly. "As soon as you get into big numbers people think you can double or triple it."
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