Over at Congresspedia, we’re starting to track the members of Congress who are using Twitter, a micro-blogging site consisting of posts of 140 characters or less (it makes more sense once you spend some time there, really). We’ve compiled a list of 30 members thus far, and if you go to their Congresspedia profile page you can read their latest posts – we’ve built them right into the contact section.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
With polls showing increased public support for more U.S. offshore oil drilling, John Wihbey cautions, "the framing" of poll questions "is paramount and the media's interpretation crucial." For example, when asked, "Do you prefer more drilling or more investment in alternative energy?," most people choose the latter.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
The British government's media regulator, Ofcom, issued a split ruling on "The Great Global Warming Swindle," a film commissioned and broadcast by Channel 4.
Bruce Edwards Ivins, a top anthrax researcher at the U.S. Government's biological weapons research laboratories, died of an apparent suicide last Tuesday, just as the Justice Department was about to charge him with responsibility for the September 2001 anthrax attacks that killed five people in the United States. Glenn Greenwald has written an important piece for Salon.com in which he demonstrates, with copious evidence, that a major government scandal lurks behind the anthrax story.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
According to a survey of 252 U.S. chief marketing officers, nearly one in five "say their organizations have bought advertising in return for a news story." The survey was conducted on behalf of the public relations firm Manning, Selvage & Lee (MSL) and the trade publication PR Week (which doesn't appear to have reported on the results).
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
If you're looking for "real reporting" these days, Glenn Greenwald thinks a lot of it is coming from whistleblowers and advocacy groups rather than from journalists.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
The U.S. Navy's Chief of Information (CHINFO) is taking on water. "Navy leaders have placed increased demands on CHINFO," which have "long outstripped CHINFO's capacity to respond," admits the Navy's solicitation for public relations help.
Submitted by Bob Burton on
Melissa Sweet, a freelance Australian health journalist, reports that she recently received an email from a staffer with the private intelligence company Hakluyt.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
When China submitted its bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics, it promised that journalists would have "complete freedom to report" from the country. However, "sites such as Amnesty International or any search for a site with Tibet in the address could not be opened at the Main Press Center [in Beijing], which will house about 5,000 print journalists when the games open Aug.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
It's an "open secret of lobbying," writes Jeffrey Birnbaum. "Public relations firms regularly solicit authors of opinion-page articles, draft the pieces for them and place the articles in publications where they will have the most impact -- all for a fee." Recently, an op-ed criticizing a bill that would reduce credit card fees appeared in Southern newspapers, attributed to Charles Steele Jr., the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).
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