Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"We have our very own fake journalists operating in the UK," writes David Miller of Europe's SpinWatch. Miller cites the British Forces Broadcasting Service, whose reports have been aired by the BBC. BFBS is run by the Services Sound and Vision Corporation, an entity "fully funded by the Ministry of Defence," which brags about its "considerable contribution" to the armed forces' morale.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
New York Times reporters David Barstow and Robin Stein have written a lengthy report on the use of video news releases as covert propaganda. "Under the Bush administration," they write, "the federal government has aggressively used a well-established tool of public relations: the prepackaged, ready-to-serve news report that major corporations have long distributed to TV stations to pitch everything from headache remedies to auto insurance. In all, at least 20 federal agencies ...
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
In California, more video news releases produced by the Schwarzenegger administration have been identified. The VNRs tout administration proposals to reduce nursing staff levels in hospitals, to make teachers' pay merit-based, to make tenure more stringent, to lower prescription drug prices, and to end mandatory employee rest breaks.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
In Iraq, "the various factions seem to want everyone - including the press - to choose sides," writes Columbia Journalism Review.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"The State Department is looking for 'appropriate opportunities' to spend money inside and outside Iran," to "foster opposition" as part of "a more confrontational democratization effort." The Los Angeles Times writes, "The United States is already spending $14.7 million a year to broadcast Persian-language radio and television programs into Iran." The broadcasts include
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
Doug Ireland notes that, due to a legal decision, the Federal Election Commission is beginning to extend the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 to the Internet.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"The Department of Homeland Security has tapped Ogilvy PR to provide real journalists for its biennial mock terrorist exercise," reports PR Week. (An earlier Spin noted the TOPOFF 3 exercise.) Ogilvy "will pick six journalists to cover the simulated attack," for what DHS is calling the Virtual News Network.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
California's Labor and Workforce Development Agency produced and distributed a video news release, narrated by a former reporter, that promotes Governor Schwarzenegger's "plan to modify rules detailing when and how employers are to provide meal and rest breaks." The Los Angeles Times noted, "Un
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
The Bush administration will escalate "its information war against Islamic extremism" by beaming "Arab-language satellite-television broadcasts to Europe." Later this year, the Virginia-based, "U.S.-backed TV channel Alhurra expects to transmit 24-hour programming to European Muslim communities." The $3.5 million in start-up funding will come from the $81 billion supplemental military budget request.
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
Communications professor Nancy Snow deconstructs GOP pollster Frank Luntz's memo titled "The 14 Words Never to Use." Luntz writes, "Effectively communicating the New American Lexicon requires you to STOP saying words and phrases that undermine your ability to educate the American people." Included on the blacklist are "privatization" ("it evokes images
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