Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
In the wake of the government's multi-billion-dollar bailout of the airline industry, Public Citizen has compiled a report showing how airlines used aggressive lobbying and campaign contributions to turn the Federal Aviation Administration into its accomplice as it fought for years to stall, scale back and ignore specific security recommendations made by a 1996 presidential commission.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
"US lawmakers are finally moving the return of the three-martini lunch ... to the front of the national agenda," PR Week reports with considerable satisfaction. "Unsure whether the best way to help their country is to offer pro bono work or to send hefty checks to relief agencies, flacks may put themselves to good use by revisiting their glory days, and by being the first to the trough," it states.
Submitted by John Stauber on
Professor Jerold M. Starr looks at corporate control of the U.S. media and calls for a new independent public broadcasting system: "Today a mere six corporations control more than half of all communications enterprises: books, magazines, newspapers, music, motion pictures, radio and television. Some 77 percent of the nation's daily newspapers are part of chains. Two firms control more than half the market for 11,000 magazines. Four firms control our broadcast TV networks and almost all the cable networks.
Submitted by John Stauber on
The Associated Press in Miami reports that "a dozen Burger King marketing department employees suffered first and second degree burns on their feet when they walked barefoot over a strip of glowing, white-hot coals as part of a corporate bonding experience." At least one was hospitalized. But pain didn't stop a burned Burger King marketer from putting the best spin on the cultish training she helped organize. "'It was a great experience for everyone,' said Dana Frydman, vice president of product marketing... Although Frydman was one of those injured, she said she has no regret.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
Investigative reporting used to be the sexiest part of the news business, and the most respected. Danny Schechter laments its decline, and tells the story of how ABC News spiked an investigative report on GE's dumping of PCBs in the Hudson River.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
In the last 20 years, corporate funding in the fields of information technology and biotechnology has grown faster than support from any other source, and there is growing concern over possible corporate interference and industrial pressures that could inappropriately influence the direction, interpretation, and outcome of research. This past summer, several organizations took measures to examine and address this situation.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
Corporate interests and their proxies are looking to exploit the September 11 tragedy to advance a self-serving agenda that has nothing to do with national security and everything to do with corporate profits and dangerous ideologies. Fast track and the Free Trade Area of the Americas. A corporate tax cut. Oil drilling in Alaska. Star Wars. These are some of the preposterous "solutions" and responses to the terror attack offered by corporate mouthpieces.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lawrence Small has embraced commercialism and shifted the Smithsonian's mission from "the increase and diffusion of knowledge" to acting as an auxilliary megaphone for corporate marketing and public relations efforts. "Mr. Small, a mortgage banker by profession, is much better suited to the promotion of SUVs or hamburgers than to the management of our nation's most important cultural institution. Mr.
Submitted by John Stauber on
Supporters of the Center for Media & Democracy have just been mailed the third quarter 2001 issue of PR Watch. It examines the strategies employed by corporations such as Philip Morris and BP/Amoco, and their PR firms such as Burson-Marsteller, to defeat environmental activism through partnerships and co-optation. Articles include "Keep America Beautiful: Grassroots Non-Profit or Tobacco Front Group?" by Walter Lamb; "Corporations 'Get Engaged' to the Environmental Movement" by Andy Rowell; and, "Endangered Wildlife Friends Are Here" by John Stauber.
Submitted by Laura Miller on
Procter & Gamble admitted that a company working on its behalf went through the garbage of rival company Unilever in an attempt to find out more about its hair-care business. According to the Financial Times, the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals in Alexandria, Virginia, however, wrinkles its nose at the mention of rifling through a competitor's rubbish in search of corporate secrets. "It's not professional," says Bill Weber, executive director of the society, which represents 6,000 corporate intelligence gatherers in 45 countries.
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