THE WEEKLY SPIN, May 2, 2007 Date: Wed, 2 May 2007 12:14:17 -0500 (CDT) THE WEEKLY SPIN, MAY 2, 2007 == BLOG POSTINGS == 1. "Mission Accomplished," Four Years Later == BE A CITIZEN JOURNALIST == 1. New Participatory Project: Is That Member of Congress a Democrat or a Republican? == SPIN OF THE DAY POSTINGS == 1. Wal-Mart: Union Busting with a Smile 2. Drug Companies Provide Slightly More Information 3. Thailand Pays for a PR Coup 4. UK Counter-Terrorism Leak Trail Leads to the Top 5. Alaska Government Drills for ANWR Lobbyists 6. Not-So-Revolutionary PR 7. Democrats Mum on Astroturf Lobbying Disclosure 8. Government Contractors: Not Your Average Corporate Evildoers 9. Another Filthy Front Group 10. Foreign Broadcasting 36000? == UPCOMING EVENTS == 1. John Stauber European Speaking Tour -------------------------------------------------------------------- == BLOG POSTINGS == 1. "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED," FOUR YEARS LATER by Robin Andersen Today marks the fourth anniversary of the Bush administration's now-infamous photo op when Bush landed in a fighter jet on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln and declared "mission accomplished" in Iraq. His speech was one of many publicity stunts and media manipulations used to sell a fantasy war whose real and very tragic consequences are still being felt. Some of those consequences underwent public scrutiny last week when Henry Waxman, the chair of the House Government Oversight Committee, held hearings titled "Misleading Information on the Battlefield." The hearings featured testimony from Jessica Lynch and the family of Patrick Tillman, two soldiers who themselves were previously used as icons in the fantasy war. To read the rest of this item, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/6005 == BE A CITIZEN JOURNALIST == 1. NEW PARTICIPATORY PROJECT: IS THAT MEMBER OF CONGRESS A DEMOCRAT OR A REPUBLICAN? http://www.prwatch.org/node/6009 Congresspedia has articles on each member of Congress, many of which are quite extensive. In the year since we launched the project, however, none of the staff or citizen editors noticed one glaring commission: there is no easy way to show all the members by their party affiliation. As you can imagine, it would be very useful to be able to sort the Democrats from the Republicans, so we're going to fix this and would like your help. It's very easy: * Go to the "Members of Congress by state" page, select your state and then select a member of Congress. * Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the profile to where the "Categories" box. * If the party affiliation is not displayed, click the last "[edit]" link on the right. * Add "" or "" to the bottom of the window (where the other categories links are). That's it! Make sure to use the "(USA)" to help our non-US editors out and, from all the readers of Congresspedia and SourceWatch, thank you! SOURCE: == SPIN OF THE DAY POSTINGS == 1. WAL-MART: UNION BUSTING WITH A SMILE http://www.prwatch.org/node/6007 "Back when I was in a union, I was just a number," laughs a man in a Wal-Mart Stores training video. "If a union got in here," he adds, "every benefit we got could go on the negotiating table. ... And with all our benefits, we'd risk losing a lot." The video is part of a new Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, "Discounting Rights: Wal-Mart's Violation of US Workers' Right to Freedom of Association." The report details ways in which Wal-Mart, the largest private U.S. employer, discourages employees from unionizing. Legal tactics include showing new employees presentations like the videos, with "heavy 'spin' on purported drawbacks" to unions. Illegal tactics include having managers eavesdrop on employees, repositioning "surveillance cameras to monitor union supporters," disciplining "union supporters for policy violations that it has let slide for union opponents," and firing workers for union activity. From 2000 to 2005, the National Labor Relations Board found Wal-Mart guilty of 15 cases of illegal conduct; seven of the giant retailer's competitors collectively had four rulings against them over the same period. Yet, HRW warns, "penalties under US labor law are so minimal that they have little deterrent effect." SOURCE: Human Rights Watch, May 1, 2007 2. DRUG COMPANIES PROVIDE SLIGHTLY MORE INFORMATION http://www.prwatch.org/node/6006 Prompted by a U.S. Senate Finance Committee investigation into drug company grants to patient groups, other nonprofit groups and educational institutions, Eli Lilly recently posted online its donations for the first quarter of 2007. The company's first-ever public list of donations totals $11.8 million, with the largest grantees being Massachusetts General Hospital's psychiatry department ($825,000) and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill ($544,500). "The majority of grants are awarded in categories in which the company markets medicines," reports Avery Johnson, but Eli Lilly maintains "there is no connection." Lilly's Alan Breier said, "These grants are first and foremost designed to improve patient care." Eli Lilly intends to update the list each quarter. Other somewhat-transparent drug companies are GlaxoSmithKline, which now posts its grants to European patient groups (which totaled $12.2 million last year); AstraZeneca, which lists its partnerships with UK patient groups (but not its donations); and Pfizer, which recently launched "an online status report on follow-up studies the Food and Drug Administration has required for company drugs already on the market." SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), May 1, 2007 3. THAILAND PAYS FOR A PR COUP http://www.prwatch.org/node/6003 Thailand's unelected interim government, which was installed after a military coup in September 2006, is "increasingly unpopular at home" and "under attack abroad for overriding drug patents," reports Reuters. So, according to former army chief turned Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, Thailand will "spend $600,000 on a three-month public relations campaign" to improve the government's poor image. "The money isn't much, but we have to do what we have to do," said Chulanont. A foreign ministry spokesperson contradicted him, saying that "only $165,000" would be spent on a "three-month 'Thailand Branding' campaign." The spokesperson wouldn't say which PR firm is involved. Thailand's PR push is partially in response to "USA for Innovation," a pro-intellectual property group headed by Ken Adelman, a senior counselor for the PR firm Edelman. USA for Innovation accuses Thailand of "stealing American assets for military benefit," for overriding patents on HIV/AIDS drugs held by Merck and Abbott Laboratories, and Sanofi-Aventis' patent on a heart disease drug. SOURCE: Reuters, April 30, 2007 4. UK COUNTER-TERRORISM LEAK TRAIL LEADS TO THE TOP http://www.prwatch.org/node/6000 British Prime Minister Tony Blair has rejected calls for an independent inquiry into three advance journalist briefings, prior to police raids in February that resulted in six men being arrested and charged with terrorism offences. Guardian reporters Ian Cobain, Vikram Dodd and Will Woodward have revealed that home secretary adviser and leadership aspirant John Reid "was responsible for one of those leaks" and that high-ranking police suspect "that one of their own officers also briefed the media." Earlier in the week, the head of Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism command, Peter Clarke, warned that the leaks were probably illegal, could "compromise investigations" and "put lives at risk." Clarke said that he struggled to understand "what motivates" the leakers. "Perhaps they look to curry favour with certain journalists, or to squeeze out some short term presentational advantage," he said. SOURCE: The Guardian (UK), April 26, 2007 5. ALASKA GOVERNMENT DRILLS FOR ANWR LOBBYISTS http://www.prwatch.org/node/5999 The Governor of Alaska is seeking bids from lobbying firms for a one-year $120,000 contract to lobby the U.S. Congress to allow "responsible oil and gas development" in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). PR Week reports that the selected firm would also lobby on natural gas transportation issues, with the winning bidder eligible for "up to five one-year contract renewals at the same price." One of the requirements is that bidders have experience lobbying on oil, gas or other natural resource development issues. In May 2006, the Alaskan government signed a $3 million PR contract with the Oregon-based PR firm Pac/West Communications, for a campaign promoting oil exploration in ANWR. The government allocated an additional $750,000 for a separate lobbying contract. SOURCE: PR Week, April 24, 2007 6. NOT-SO-REVOLUTIONARY PR http://www.prwatch.org/node/5997 In an interview with LobbyWatch, British journalist George Monbiot reviews the network of the key players from Living Marxism. One of its offshoots is Spiked Online, which has hosted numerous debates sponsored by the PR firm Hill & Knowlton and more recently Clarke Mulder Purdie. Key individuals are also involved in other groups such as the Science Media Centre (SMC), the Institute of Ideas and Sense About Science. What they have in common, Monbiot argues, is masking their pro-corporate libertarianism with rhetorical support for science. In a submission to the Board of the SMC, Andy Rowell from SpinWatch notes that, despite climate change sceptics attacking the science behind global warming analyses, SMC has been comparatively silent. "Of the 120 odd press releases the SMC has issued ... only about four have been on climate," he wrote. SOURCE: LobbyWatch, April 11, 2007 7. DEMOCRATS MUM ON ASTROTURF LOBBYING DISCLOSURE http://www.prwatch.org/node/5996 Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) "seized on the recent FBI raids of the businesses of the wives of Reps. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) and Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.), both of whom are under investigation for linking legislative favors to personal profits through side businesses, as a continuing reason to push for" ethics reforms, reports Paul Kane. "But, four months into their reign, Democrats have yet to change any laws governing how lobbyists ply their trade or place any new limits or the revolving door for members and staff." A House bill is expected soon, but Representatives are reluctant to require "disclosure by public relations firms of grassroots efforts at lobbying that doesn't involve direct contact with Congress and therefore isn't currently disclosed." Other difficult reforms for Democrats include revealing bundled donations from lobbyists and extending the "cooling-off period" that members and senior staff must wait before lobbying former colleagues. SOURCE: Washington Post blog, April 24, 2007 8. GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS: NOT YOUR AVERAGE CORPORATE EVILDOERS http://www.prwatch.org/node/5995 "Fearing increased oversight from the newly elected Democratic-controlled Congress, the Coalition for Government Procurement (CGP), a trade group representing government product and service suppliers, is planning a PR and marketing campaign to promote its members as responsible companies and not stereotypical 'corporate evildoers,'" reports Ted McKenna. The CGP is also forming a new group, the Council on Responsible Contracting (CORC). In a letter recruiting members for CORC, CGP's Larry Allen warned, "The new Congress will look upon contractors with the sort of contempt usually reserved for those who steal candy from babies." The campaign will focus on members of Congress, the Government Accountability Office, Defense Department and "other government customers," as well as "executive branch officials." The campaign "could have a budget of at least $250,000," according to Allen. "No PR firm is yet attached to the effort, though Qorvis Communications late last year arranged a conference call for coalition members to discuss the benefits of a PR campaign." SOURCE: PR Week, April 20, 2007 9. ANOTHER FILTHY FRONT GROUP http://www.prwatch.org/node/5994 A faux environmental ad campaign is ending. The ads "featured a series of somber models with smudged faces peering over a headline that said 'Face It, Coal is Filthy.' The ads ran in The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and several newspapers serving Capitol Hill, as well as on local buses and in the subway system," reports John Fialka. The ads were placed by the "Clean Sky Coalition," which "was set up by the chairman of Chesapeake Energy Corp., an Oklahoma City natural-gas-production company." Some ads claimed that Environmental Defense and the Sierra Club had "joined" the coalition -- a claim that both environmental groups deny. Chesapeake Chair Aubrey McClendon said the coalition had other members, but wouldn't name them. He defended the ad campaign as part of "the American way for a company to try to increase their market share." The ads were produced by Strategic Perception, a Hollywood advertising firm that lists California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and President Bush among their past clients. SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), April 27, 2007 10. FOREIGN BROADCASTING 36000? http://www.prwatch.org/node/5992 A White House "personnel announcement" states: "The President intends to nominate James K. Glassman, of Connecticut, to be a Member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, for the remainder of a three-year term expiring 8/13/07 and an additional three-year term expiring 8/13/10." President Bush will also nominate Glassman to be BBG Chair. Glassman is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute conservative think tank, the author of the wildly inaccurate book "Dow 36000," and the founder of Tech Central Station (TCS), a corporate-sponsored news and opinion site published by the Republican-associated lobbying firm DCI Group until last year. TCS has been accused of "journo-lobbying" or online fake news, for its tendency to not fully disclose its corporate sponsors (which often have a direct financial stake in the issues covered on the site). TCS also runs "TCS Daily," which received significant funding from ExxonMobil and paid for a video news release denying the evidence that global warming is causing more severe hurricane seasons. If confirmed by the Senate, Glassman would replace controversial BBG Chair Kenneth Tomlinson. SOURCE: White House press release, April 25, 2007 == UPCOMING EVENTS == 1. JOHN STAUBER EUROPEAN SPEAKING TOUR CMD Executive Director John Stauber will be touring Europe to promote the publication of "Toxic Sludge Is Good for You" in German. From May 3-14, 2007, he will be visiting Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Freiburg, Nuremberg, Heidelberg, Cologne, Vienna, and Brussels. If you would like specifics on his tour, contact CMD at editor@prwatch.org or at 608-260-9713 LOCATION: Europe START: 05/02/2007 - 08:00 END: 05/14/2007 - 17:00 TIMEZONE: Europe/Berlin For event details, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/6008 -------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------- The Weekly Spin features selected news summaries with links to further information about media, political spin and propaganda. It is emailed free each Wednesday to subscribers. PR Watch, Spin of the Day, the Weekly Spin and SourceWatch are projects of the Center for Media & Democracy, a nonprofit organization that offers investigative reporting on the public relations industry. We help the public recognize manipulative and misleading PR practices by exposing the activities of secretive, little-known propaganda-for-hire firms that work to control political debates and public opinion. Please send any questions or suggestions about our publications to editor@prwatch.org. To subscribe to the Weekly Spin, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/sub CMD also sponsors SourceWatch, a collaborative research project that invites anyone (including you) to contribute and edit articles. For more information, visit: http://www.sourcewatch.org Contributions to the Center for Media and Democracy are tax-deductible. To donate now online, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/donate Don't want to receive this email? Unsubscribe at http://www.prwatch.org/unsub /*Your email ID. --*/