Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"We believe a court would find the 'style, tenor and timing' of the (video news release) to be 'promotional' in nature, thus triggering the requirement it be expressly authorized by statute," ruled the California state legislature's counsel, on a Schwarzenegger administration VNR.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
Ongoing litigation to keep the U.S. border closed to Canadian beef and cattle, following three cases of mad cow disease there, has prompted renewed PR efforts. The Alberta Beef Producers hired Fleishman-Hillard, to help "reopen the U.S.
This afternoon I listened in on a conference call among some of the top PR execs in the business of producing video news releases (VNRs), more honestly called fake news. I can report they are proud and confident that the recent "flap" on the front page of Sunday's New York Times about the Bush administration's use of fake news will amount to nothing at all.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
Iraqex, the U.S.-owned "investment group set up to pursue business in Iraq," has changed its name to Lincoln Group, after its holding company, Lincoln Alliance Corporation.
Submitted by Bob Burton on
After last Sunday's New York Times article on video news releases, Richard Edelman, the president and CEO of the PR company Edelman, wrote that the PR industry can expect more criticisms. "Why am I so sure of this?
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"The University of Colorado's governing Board of Regents has retained a $350-per-hour public relations consultant," to deal "with the fallout from a football recruiting scandal and the ongoing saga surrounding controversial professor Ward Churchill." The consultant is Christopher Simpson, a former Washington Times reporter and press secretary to Senator Strom Thurmond.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
In response to Sunday's New York Times expose, White House press secretary Scott McClellan called government-produced video news releases "an informational tool." Their source, he said, is "very clear to the TV stations." The head of Medialink, on
The Center for Media and Democracy is working with Free Press to gather a quarter million signatures on our petition mobilizing the American public to fight fake news and government propaganda. On Sunday, the New York Times reported that at least 20 federal agencies have made and distributed pre-packaged, ready-to-serve television news segments to promote President Bush's policies and initiatives. Congress' Government Accountability Office determined that these "video news releases" were illegal "covert propaganda" and told federal agencies to stop. But last Friday, the White House ordered all agencies to disregard Congress' directive. The Bush administration is using hundreds of millions of your tax dollars to manipulate public opinion. Here's how to stop them.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
New York Times reporters David Barstow and Robin Stein have written a lengthy report on the use of video news releases as covert propaganda. "Under the Bush administration," they write, "the federal government has aggressively used a well-established tool of public relations: the prepackaged, ready-to-serve news report that major corporations have long distributed to TV stations to pitch everything from headache remedies to auto insurance. In all, at least 20 federal agencies ...
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
The Lebanese American Council for Democracy, the "group that played a key role in the passage of the Syrian Accountability Act," retained 5W Public Relations for "strategic counsel and media relations." The group's goal is "to gain support from U.S.
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