Submitted by Bob Burton on
Iowa Republican Senator Charles Grassley has written to the inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services seeking an investigation into whether the Food and Drug Administration and Merck collaborated to try and dis
Submitted by Bob Burton on
The anti-astroturfing campaign has drawn a response from the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA).
Submitted by Jonathan Rosenblum on
A bipartisan Senate inquiry into Food and Drug Administration generic drug reviews suggests that Big Pharma's abuse of so-called "citizen petitions" is costing consumers tens of millions of dollars each month.
Submitted by John Stauber on
Geoff Gray writes, "what looks to be a 2006 version of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth has formed.
Submitted by Bob Burton on
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
Dell recently hired the GCI Group to help the computer company with a PR campaign titled "Rebuilding Corporate Reputation Through Grassroots Efforts" — a fancy way of saying they are trying to repair the company's reputation for poor customer service.
Submitted by Bob Burton on
Reflecting on his 50 years of reporting Washington politics, Washington Post journalist, Walter Pincus, notes that media coverage has "become dominated by increasingly sophisticated public relations practitioners, primarily in the White House and other agencies of government." Writing in an edition of the Nieman Reports on the theme of "journalistic courage", Pincus argues that "journalistic courage should include the refusal to publish in a newspaper or carry on a TV or radio news show any state
Breast cancer. Genital abnormalities. Distortion and damage of genetic material.
Common ingredients in cosmetic products have been linked to these hazards. As further research is conducted into the long-term and cumulative effects on cosmetics users, their children and the water supply that products are washed off into, more questions arise. Not that you'd know it by listening to the cosmetics industry.
An important underlying issue is that the industry is largely self-regulated. While interstate trade in "adulterated or misbranded cosmetics" is prohibited, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not review new cosmetics before they are marketed and cannot order recalls of hazardous cosmetics. "Cosmetic firms are responsible for substantiating the safety of their products and ingredients," reads the FDA's own explanation.
The industry's trade group, the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association (CTFA), likes this hands-off approach. CTFA has 600 member companies, including Aveda, Clairol, L'Oréal and Unilever, and standing committees on government relations, public affairs and international issues. Its website says CTFA promotes "industry self-regulation and reasonable governmental requirements." But reasonable to who?
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
The St. Petersburg G8 summit is at the center of a public relations maelstrom, reports The Times.
In the 1980s, a new form of marketing was born: Cause-Related Marketing (CRM), a hybrid of product advertising and corporate public relations. CRM aims to link corporate identities with nonprofit organizations and good causes. As a tax-deductible expense for business, this form of brand leveraging seeks to connect with the consuming public beyond the traditional point of purchase and to form long-lasting and emotional ties with consumers. However, what might seem like a fair exchange between corporations in search of goodwill and non-profits in search of funds also raises a range of troubling social, political and ethical questions.
CRM is, first and foremost, a market-driven system. Therefore, a non-profit organization's chance of obtaining CRM funding hinges on its ability to complement sales messages. However, it is often the case that vital social issues are only -- or are best -- addressed by "edgy" groups or by using controversial tactics.
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