Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
Qorvis Communications, a PR firm under investigation by the FBI, "is promoting the first Counter-Terrorism International Conference on behalf of client Saudi Arabia." More than 50 countries will be represented at the invite-only event
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
The British government "is using taxpayers' money to hire a PR agency to extol the virtues of (European Union) membership and explain why the European constitution is a 'success for Britain.'" The London-based firm Geronimo PR received a £40,000 ($US74,900) contract to mount an "extensive communications campaign," prior to a public referendum on the constitution
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"In a newspaper opinion piece signed by President Bush and offered to newspapers around the globe" by the State Department, "a White House eager to lessen anti-American sentiment in the Muslim world is trumpeting U.S. efforts to help tsunami victims," reports Associated Press.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"The United States government's primary strategy with the Arab media has been to create its own outlets - the satellite-news station Al Hurra and Radio Sawa - at a cost of $100 million, rather than engage aggressively with existing Arab media," notes the New York Times, in an in-depth article on Al Arabiya, a privately-owned TV news station established as "a more moderate alternative to
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball report that the Justice Department's investigation into Qorvis Communications involves the Alliance for Peace and Justice, "a hastily arranged and now dormant group ...
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"Public diplomacy, the art of explaining America and its policies to the masses abroad, plays second fiddle to traditional, government-to-government diplomacy," and that's a problem, writes former U.S. Information Agency director John Hughes.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
In an effort to get wanted criminals to turn themselves in, the government of Saudi Arabia is running TV spots that say prison life is better than living at home. "I swear to God, they (jailers) are nicer than our parents," says one of the prisoners featured. James Sturcke reports that "Saudi authorities have aired militant confessions and interviews with fathers of wanted men as part of a public relations campaign to rally the public against radicals who have carried out attacks inside the kingdom, killing Saudis, other Arabs and westerners."
Submitted by John Stauber on
Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber, co-authors of the Center's 2003 book Weapons of Mass Deception, appear in filmmaker Danny Schechter's latest movie of the same title, but the movie is completely the creation of Schechter. A review on the Portland Independent Media website asks "what do you get when you cross relaxed media ownership laws, the military industrial complex, and public opinion?
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"U.S. Special Operations Command, whose antiterrorist missions are usually conducted in utmost secrecy, is in the market for an ad agency," reports the St. Petersburg Times.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
The FBI searched three offices of the PR firm Qorvis Communications and delivered subpoenas to a fourth office.
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