Marketing

The U.S. Congress is investigating "the pharmaceutical industry's use of celebrity endorsements in direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements." First up are ads for Pfizer's cholesterol drug Lipitor, which feature the inventor of the artificial heart, Dr. Robert Jarvik.

"We are profoundly concerned that the government's approach was designed to provide particular and limiting answers," announced a spokesperson for the British nuclear consultation group. The independent group of energy economists and nuclear advisers condemned the British government's second attempt at developing a national energy policy, saying that "the government's plans to force through a new generation of nuclear power stations" is "undemocratic and possibly illegal," reported John Vidal.

The migration of sponsored video news releases (VNRs) and B-roll footage from television stations to websites is increasing.

Under the current rules of journalism, writes Edward Wasserman, coverage is rewarded if it "racks up the page-views, attracting audiences through search engines and enabling publishers to charge advertisers more." The problem (which Britney Spears seems determined to demonstrate) is that a story's popularity often has little to do with its importance. "Journalists don't peddle goods, they offer a professional service, a relationship," Wasserman writes.