Pesticides and Forest Service Fires
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
U.S. Forest Service logo
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U.S. Government
Only You Can Prevent Propaganda
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
The Government Accountability Office ruled last week that several aspects of the public relations firm Ketchum's contract with the Department of Education were illegal, constituting "
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Prosecuting Campus Thoughtcrimes
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"Some Republicans are pushing a measure through the House of Representatives meant to ensure that students hear 'dissenting viewpoints' in class and are protected from retaliation because of their politics or religion. Colleges say the measure isn't needed, but with Congress providing billions of dollars to higher education, they are worried," writes the Wall Street Journal.
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'Information Operations' Defined
Submitted by Laura Miller on
"As Under Secretary of State Karen Hughes begins her monumental campaign to improve the world's opinion of the United States, not to worry, military information warriors are poised to jump in as soon as the FEMA of public diplomacy falters," William Arkin writes for his "Early Warnings
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Fake News Gets Called on the Carpet
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"The Bush administration violated the law by buying favorable news coverage of President Bush's education policies, by making payments to the conservative commentator Armstrong Williams and by hiring a public relations company to analyze media perceptions of the Republican Party," ruled the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office. The GAO report, "the first definitive ruling on the legality of the activities," found that the Department of Education contract with the Ketchum PR firm violated the ban on "covert propaganda." Objectionable activities include a video news release where PR flack Karen Ryan says the Bush tutoring program "gets an A-plus"; news monitoring to determine whether stories agree that "the Bush administration / the G.O.P. is committed to education"; and Armstrong Williams' newspaper columns and television spots praising the No Child Left Behind Act, without disclosing that he was paid by the Education Department. The GAO doesn't have enforcement powers, but reports to the White House and Congress.
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Hughes Gets a Little Help from a Friend
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"At the State Department's invitation," former Voice of America director and current dean of the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication Geoffrey Cowan wrote an opinion piece for USA Today praising Karen Hughes, the new
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A Tough First Week at Work for Karen Hughes
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
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Crisis Management Rule #1: Change the Subject
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"A Texas grand jury's decision to indict former Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) may have caught many people in Washington off-guard, but those in DeLay's inner circle had spent the past few days bracing themselves," reports The Hill. "Minutes after the announcement came, DeLay's closest and strongest supporters began mounting a defense.
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Rendon Rocks Iraq
Submitted by Laura Miller on
The Rendon Group, a PR firm that has assisted U.S. military interventions in at least seven countries, continues to be a Pentagon favorite. The secretive firm recently won a year-long $6.4 million contract with the Army for "Strategic Communications Operations Support" in Baghdad. In April 2005, O'Dwyer's PR Daily reported that Rendon "is winding down its current $8.2M contract" with the Pentagon's Strategic Command.
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Ill Winds, Blowing No Good
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"Riding a wave of concern over high energy prices triggered by Katrina" - and following a plan drawn up by the House Republican Study Committee at the Heritage Foundation - "congressional Republicans are rushing to ease environmental rules on refineries and looking for ways to open new coastal waters to oil and gas development," as well as Al
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