Public Relations

Teflon Lies Stick to DuPont

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

"On Jan. 11, 2005, DuPont publicists invited reporters to the company's Washington Works plant south of Parkersburg (W. Va.) for a major announcement," reports the Charleston Gazette. DuPont claimed that a new study proved "there are no known human health effects associated with exposure to PFOA," also known as C8, a chemical used in Teflon and other nonstick products. DuPont promoted the study "as having the seal of approval from ...

No
Main Source: 
The Charleston Gazette (West Virginia), October 14, 2007
Topics: 
Corporations
Health
Lobbying
Public Relations
Science

Time To Pay for Payola Pundit Armstrong Williams

Perhaps, in the case of Armstrong Williams, the third time will be the charm.

Armstrong WilliamsThe first two official investigations failed to hold anyone accountable for what can only be described as a textbook case of government propaganda. The results of the third investigation, by the Federal Communications Commission, were announced recently (PDF file). The FCC found Williams and two media companies to be at fault, issuing a citation against Williams and proposing fines of $40,000 against Sonshine Family Television and $36,000 against Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Gas Guzzlers Group Burns Cash

Submitted by Bob Burton on

The Sport Utility Vehicle Owners of America (SUVOA) industry front group paid the PR firm Stratacomm $440,000 in the first half of 2007 to lobby the U.S. government. Stratacomm boasts a range of auto industry clients. Later this year, the U.S.

No
Main Source: 
Associated Press, October 18, 2007
Topics: 
Astroturf
Front Groups
Climate Change
U.S. Congress
Environment
Lobbying
Public Relations

Fake Interviews for Everything?

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

"There's sensitivity to sponsored news right now," admits KEF Media Associates' Yvonne Goforth, adding that her firm is doing more to target satellite media tours (SMTs) -- sponsored and often scripted television "interviews" -- to local TV stations.

No
Main Source: 
PR Week, October 8, 2007
Topics: 
Video News Releases
Corporations
Fake TV News
Media
Pharmaceuticals
Public Relations

An Ethical Look at Fake News

Jerry Dunklee (photo courtesy of John O'Dwyer)"I love Red Cross, but I don't trust them completely when they're the ones shooting the video," explained journalism professor and Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) ethics committee member Jerry Dunklee.

Dunklee was speaking at SPJ's recent convention, on a panel titled "Paid and Played: The Ethics of Using Video News Releases." His remarks focused on the ethical issues raised by VNRs. Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) executive director John Stauber and Jim Bayse of the firm Wiley Rein, which represents the Radio-Television News Directors Association, were also on the panel.

Much of the VNR debate is currently focused on legal and policy issues: speculation over what the Federal Communications Commission really meant by fining Comcast for five undisclosed VNRs, and what the agency is likely to do next. But it's also important to address the ethical implications of VNRs. Dunklee did so by relating sometimes abstract guidelines to real-world situations he faced as a reporter and news director in cable and broadcast television.

More U.S. Lobbyists Talking Turkey

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

ArmeniaAs the U.S. House of Representatives considers a controversial resolution "recognizing as 'genocide' the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians in the former Ottoman Empire nearly a century ago," the Turkish government is increasing its Washington DC lobbying.

No
Main Source: 
Asia Times, October 16, 2007
Topics: 
Iraq
U.S. Congress
Human Rights
International
Lobbying
Public Relations

Oil Execs Continue to Motor Around U.S.

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

Ford smokesMedia activists in Grand Rapids, Michigan attended Shell Oil president John Hofmeister's recent talk there, on "How the US Can Ensure Energy Supply for the Future." Hofmeister "stated up front that he was on a 50 city tour and that Grand Rapids was number 45," according to Media Mouse.

No
Main Source: 
Media Mouse, October 5, 2007
Topics: 
Issue Management
Corporations
Environment
Lobbying
Public Relations

Working to Make A Difference (In Their Favor): The Arts Dollars of Philip Morris

Is it Art, or Is It Philip Morris?Cigarette maker Altria/Philip Morris (PM) recently announced that it is moving its New York headquarters to Richmond, Virginia, and that it will end its corporate sponsorship of the arts in New York. Predictably, New York arts organizations are crying over the loss of cigarette dollars. These organizations sadly believe that their acceptance of PM dollars has been benign. In truth, these organizations have helped PM advance its credibility and legitimacy with policymakers, and have done tremendous harm to the country.

McDeaths

An extract from Bob Burton's Inside Spin: The Dark Underbelly of the PR Industry.

Cover of Inside Spin: The dark underbelly of the PR industryBrian Page, a 42-year-old railway worker, had been busy before Easter 1992 buying furniture for a house he had just moved into at Mt Pritchard, a south-western Sydney suburb. On their way home, his daughter Melissa wanted to stop at McDonald's in Fairfield for lunch. Shortly after returning home, Brian Page began vomiting and had diarrhoea. As Page's symptoms were initially indistinguishable from a bout of the flu, his doctor gave him a medical certificate and sent him home. Page took to bed for the next three days but on the fourth day went back to work, even though he wasn't feeling well. His boss noticed that Page was unable to write properly and seemed disoriented and confused by his work. He was so concerned about Page that he called a taxi and sent him home, but by then Page recognised something was seriously wrong and went straight to Liverpool Hospital. What was unknown to Page and his doctor was that he had been exposed to Legionella bacteria. If detected early, Legionnaires disease can be treated with antibiotics. Untreated, it can be a killer. Two days after being admitted to the intensive care unit of Liverpool Hospital, Page died. On what would have been his 43rd birthday, more than 100 family and friends attended his funeral.14

Pages

Subscribe to Public Relations