Think Tanks

When Drug Industry Flacks Attack

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

Following Dr. Steven Nissen's publication of a study warning that "GlaxoSmithKline's diabetes drug Avandia increased the risk of heart attacks by 43% and death from cardiovascular events by possibly 64%," he was publicly pilloried. "More than one story from ostensibly different sources" derisively referred to him as "St Steven," the "Patron Saint of Drug Safety," and "Saint Steven the Pure," reports Evelyn Pringle. Among the attackers was FDA spokesman Douglas Arbesfeld.

No
Main Source: 
CounterPunch, August 15, 2007
Topics: 
Health
Media
Pharmaceuticals
Public Relations
Science
Think Tanks
U.S. Government

American Legion and VFW Launch Pro-War Lobby & PR Campaigns

Submitted by John Stauber on

The Boston Globe reports "the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the nation's oldest and most influential veterans' organizations, have broken their relative silence on the merits of the Iraq war, joining some of the staunchest war supporters to lobby Congress and the public...

No
Main Source: 
Boston Globe, August 16, 2007
Topics: 
Right Wing
Iraq
Lobbying
Politics
Public Relations
Think Tanks
War / Peace

Bob Burton Takes Readers "Inside Spin"

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

Cover of Inside Spin: The dark underbelly of the PR industryThe PR industry in Australia "employs more than 10,000 people and turns over more than $1 billion a year," writes the Center for Media and Democracy's Bob Burton, drawing on research published in his new book, "Inside Spin." While some PR campaigns are ben

No
Main Source: 
Sydney Morning Herald, August 7, 2007
Topics: 
Corporations
Democracy
Citizen Journalism
Public Relations
Think Tanks

A Black Day for Yellow Journalism

Former media mogul Conrad Black has been convicted by a Chicago jury of three counts of mail fraud and one count of obstruction of justice and could face up to 35 years in prison for looting his former company, Hollinger International, of tens of millions of dollars.

Before his downfall, Black was a smaller-scale version of Fox-TV owner Rupert Murdoch, building a media empire that he used to inject his right-wing views into U.S., Canadian, British and Australian politics. He pumped money into the pockets of the neoconservative pundits who helped sell the war in Iraq and gave them prominent voice in his own newspapers.

How to Cool Down Global Warming

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

Drawing on documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, Rolling Stone details the Bush administration's "ongoing strategy to block federal action on global warming." In 2002, the administration's Climate Action Report was reported on as a "stark shift" in U.S. policy.

No
Main Source: 
Rolling Stone, June 20, 2007
Topics: 
Crisis Management
Climate Change
Science
Secrecy
Think Tanks
U.S. Government

Neo-cons Spinning Hearts and Minds

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on

"As the George W. Bush administration struggles through its last two years in office, it appears that the agenda of neoconservative ideologues has finally lost its appeal among strategic parts of the U.S. foreign policy apparatus," writes Khody Akhavi.

No
Main Source: 
Inter Press Service (IPS), June 24, 2007
Topics: 
Right Wing
Journalism
Public Diplomacy
International
Think Tanks
U.S. Government

New Participatory Project: Updating Profiles on Think Tanks

Submitted by Judith Siers-Poisson on

Some of the highest traffic pages in SourceWatch are those on the proliferating number of think tanks scattered around the world. Keeping track of what their latest projects are, their finances and key personnel is a challenge. That's where you come in.

Yes
Main Source: 
SourceWatch
Topics: 
Activism
Citizen Journalism
Think Tanks

Pages

Subscribe to Think Tanks