Submitted by Anne Landman on
Australia's 1992 Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act prohibited most forms of tobacco advertising, making it more difficult for tobacco companies to promote their products. Despite the law, an Australian market-research firm called Feedback Plus was found to be distributing free cigarettes in a program it said was a "taste-testing survey" being carried out as part of a "marketing research" program.
Submitted by Judith Siers-Poisson on
The pharmaceutical industry often uses the need for research and development funds as an excuse for exorbitant drug prices. But a new study by Marc-Andre Gagnon and Dr.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, recalls former Dateline NBC correspondent John Hockenberry, the network diverted him from reporting on al Qaeda and instead wanted him to come up with a version of "the show Cops, only with firefighters." During the invasion of Iraq, a network exec axed a segment featuring "a reporter in Baghdad who was experiencing the bombing firsthand" on grounds that it conveyed "a point of view." Hockenberry sees these stories as lessons about how t
Submitted by John Stauber on
The New York Times reports, "When a Saudi court sentenced a young woman to 200 lashes in November after she pressed charges against seven men who had raped her, the case provoked outrage and headlines around the world, including in the Middle East. But not at Al Jazeera, the Arab world's leading satellite television channel, seen by 40 million people. ...
Submitted by Judith Siers-Poisson on
Steve Benen writes that "As it turns out, the reasoning behind the CIA's decision to record interrogations on video, stop recording interrogations on video, and destroy the interrogation videos was all exactly the same: officials were hoping to avoid a public-relations nightmare." They were unsuccessful, of course, since the media reported widely on the destruction of the tapes and
Submitted by Judith Siers-Poisson on
When former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on December 27, 2007, the only American TV networks to have full-time employees in Pakistan to call on were ABC and CNN. Other networks were forced to rely on stringers, freelance reporters on retainer with news agencies, until they could get their own reporters to Pakistan.
Submitted by Judith Siers-Poisson on
Submitted by Bob Burton on
In late November the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers announced the results of a survey of 353 East African corporate executives for its "Most Respected Company" award for 2007. The winner was the Kenyan mobile phone company, Safaricom. One of Safaricom's claims to fame is that it boasts the highest profits of any company in the region.
Submitted by Judith Siers-Poisson on
YouTube has become de rigeur for posting official war propaganda. As CMD reported in October 2007, NATO has dedicated at least 1 million Euros (about $1.46 million U.S.) to produce and post footage to the popular video sharing site. In Britain, the Ministry of Defence (MoD), Royal Navy and Royal Air Force all have channels on YouTube, with dozens of short videos shot by or with their forces.
Submitted by Judith Siers-Poisson on
The Committee to Protect Journalists has released a report stating that 64 journalists died as a direct result of their profession in 2007. That marks the highest mortality rate since 1993. Nearly half of those deaths occurred in Iraq, with Somalia following in second place.
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