THE WEEKLY SPIN, May 16, 2007 Date: Wed, 16 May 2007 12:24:19 -0500 (CDT) THE WEEKLY SPIN, MAY 16, 2007 == BLOG POSTINGS == 1. Herr Stauber In Der Spiegel 2. War vs. Democracy: Untold Stories from the Lynch / Tillman Hearing == BE A CITIZEN JOURNALIST == 1. New Participatory Project: Tracking the 2008 Congressional Primary Elections (U.S.) == SPIN OF THE DAY POSTINGS == 1. Greenwashing, or "Positioning Environmentalism" 2. Congress to Pentagon: Can I Get a Witness? 3. Limits Placed on U.S. Soldiers Online, Journalists in Iraq 4. GM Moves from Fake News to Fake Opinions 5. Shell Drills for Support in Virginia 6. Mother's Day: A Great Hook for Fake News 7. Invasion of the Franchise Snatchers 8. Lipstick on a Dictator 9. Sorry About That == UPCOMING EVENTS == 1. John Stauber European Speaking Tour -------------------------------------------------------------------- == BLOG POSTINGS == 1. HERR STAUBER IN DER SPIEGEL by Judith Siers-Poisson CMD Founder and Executive Director John Stauber has been in Germany, Austria and Belgium for the past two weeks speaking in major cities and discussing the publication of "Toxic Sludge Is Good For You" in German. On May 16 Vienna's daily paper Der Standard ran an interview with Herr Stauber that can be read in German by searching his name on their website. He was previously interviewed by Nils Klawitter for the German magazine Der Spiegel, and a translated portion of the interview is below. (Thanks to Orange-Press, publishers of the German edition of Toxic Sludge Is Good for You, for the translation.) If you would like to read the German interview in its entirety, please go to http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/0,1518,481658,00.html SPIEGEL: For you the media as the Fourth Estate and as a fortress against propaganda is a myth: you write that in many cases the American media is nothing more than the stenographer of the powerful. Instead of discovering propaganda, the media serves as a channel for it. JOHN STAUBER: America surely is the country mostly influenced by PR, which is a multi-billion dollar industry. Tens of billions is a conservative estimate. Unlike in Germany, in the United States journalists are clearly outnumbered by spin doctors. You immediately grasp the scale of this influence if you compare the USA with other western democracies and see how topics such as climate change, environmental toxins, and workers' rights are discussed. This is exemplified most clearly by the war in Iraq. The big media companies actually repeated the lies of the Bush regime. The result of a poll was, that even last July, half of all Americans still believed that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. That's the idea of the embedded reporter. To read the rest of this item, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/6047 2. WAR VS. DEMOCRACY: UNTOLD STORIES FROM THE LYNCH / TILLMAN HEARING by Diane Farsetta What does it mean to be a nation at war? Is it possible to exercise democratic control over a wartime government that dismisses honest criticism as unpatriotic? What should citizens do when members of their military not only commit crimes -- as happens during every war -- but also rely on propaganda to hide mistakes and to embellish or even create victories, as happened in the cases of Army Ranger Pat Tillman and Private Jessica Lynch? Those are big questions, but a few things are clear. One is that the secrecy, deception and constraints sought by wartime administrations are anathema to the transparency, accountability and freedom necessary to democracy. As James Madison warned, "Of all the enemies of public liberty, war is perhaps the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other." Another truism is that citizens retain the right to receive information and provide guidance to their government during wartime. The last is that, while security concerns may legitimately restrict what information can be shared when, maintaining civilian oversight of war operations helps ensure that human rights standards are upheld. Perhaps the most important effort to provide oversight of ongoing U.S. wars was the April 24 Congressional hearing on battlefield misinformation. To read the rest of this item, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/6034 == BE A CITIZEN JOURNALIST == 1. NEW PARTICIPATORY PROJECT: TRACKING THE 2008 CONGRESSIONAL PRIMARY ELECTIONS (U.S.) http://www.prwatch.org/node/6051 In the last several weeks, PR Watch and SourceWatch/Congresspedia readers have knocked out several collaborative citizen journalism projects, including identifying the party affiliations of members of Congress, tracking the activities of PR firms and getting the contact information for freshman members of Congress. Great work, everyone! Tens of thousands of people are tuning into the site every day and are benefiting from all your research. This week's collaborative reporting project is on the 2008 congressional elections. The Congresspedia staff editors will be kicking off a project soon to provide voters with comprehensive information on the congressional elections next year, including profiles on each candidate on the ballot in both the primary and general elections. More than 2/3 of the members of Congress hail from "safe" districts or states that overwhelmingly vote for one party, meaning that for most voters the primary election or caucus is the only way to hold them accountable. Before we get started on the profiles, however, we need to figure out when each state will be holding their primaries and when their ballots will be officially released. No one knows this better than you, the people who actually live there. Please join us in helping your fellow citizens become educated voters by letting us know when those dates are. We've got an article set up on Congresspedia with spaces for every state. For many states we already found out which month they finalize their ballots, but we need to know the specific day and other information. You may need to dig around a bit on the websites of your state election authority or parties or even give them a call. If you do find any useful websites, please enter them under your state's entry so other citizen journalists can utilize them later. Have fun, and thanks for your help! SOURCE: Congresspedia: 2008 congressional election dates == SPIN OF THE DAY POSTINGS == 1. GREENWASHING, OR "POSITIONING ENVIRONMENTALISM" http://www.prwatch.org/node/6049 In public relations, "the most striking single thing is the rapid growth in which companies are positioning or repositioning their environmentalism," said Burson-Marsteller's managing director of corporate responsibility. Manning Selvage & Lee's managing director said that helping "establish a company's credibility" on environmental issues is "a pretty powerful message." That's why Waste Management has its "Think Green" campaign, General Electric has "Ecomagination," Wal-Mart and Home Depot are installing efficient light bulbs in stores, and Delta Air Lines "pledges to soon plant trees on behalf of any passenger willing to pay extra." SustainableBusiness.com's founder called Delta's campaign "greenwashing," adding, "Conservation is a lot more than replanting trees." Environmentalists criticize Georgia Power's campaign to allow customers "to pay a premium ... to purchase energy made from renewable sources." The director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy pointed out that Georgia Power and its parent company, Southern Co., "are extremely aggressive in opposing any sort of regulatory action in protecting the environment." SOURCE: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia), May 13, 2007 2. CONGRESS TO PENTAGON: CAN I GET A WITNESS? http://www.prwatch.org/node/6048 In a move criticized as a "blatant attempt to bog down investigations of the [Iraq] war," a Defense Department official has issued guidelines that "prohibit most officers below the tank of colonel from appearing in [Congressional] hearings, restricting testimony to high-ranking officers and civilians appointed by President Bush." The guidelines were written by Robert L. Wilkie, "a former Bush administration national security official who left the White House to become assistant secretary of defense for legislative affairs." Shortly after Wilkie's guidelines were given to the House Armed Services Committee, "Defense Department lawyers sought to apply" them to three Army officers "set to testify about their first-hand experience training Iraqi security forces." Republican and Democratic Representatives rebuffed the attempt, and the officers "theatrically stormed out." While Congress seeks to clarify the guidelines' impact, others called them unprecedented and questionable. Law professor David Golove said, "Congress has the power to subpoena anyone in the United States who has information relevant to their proceedings." SOURCE: Boston Globe, May 10, 2007 3. LIMITS PLACED ON U.S. SOLDIERS ONLINE, JOURNALISTS IN IRAQ http://www.prwatch.org/node/6046 As of May 14, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) began "blocking access 'worldwide' to YouTube, MySpace and 11 other popular Web sites on its computers and networks." General B.B. Bell said the ban would limit "recreational traffic" that had impacted "our official DoD network and bandwidth ability, while posing a significant operational security challenge." While members of the military "can still access the sites on their own computers and networks," many soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan only have access to DoD computers. The ban covers sites used by soldiers to keep in touch with family and friends, and comes shortly after an order requiring soldiers to pre-clear blog posts and public emails. Editor & Publisher reports that the Iraqi government "will soon routinely ban journalists from the sites of bombings and other violent incidents." Iraq's Interior Ministry Operations Director said the ban was not "a curtailment of press freedom," and is needed "to protect journalists," to safeguard evidence, to deny terrorists "information that they achieved their goals," and to respect human rights, "by not photographing dead bodies." SOURCE: Associated Press, May 14, 2007 4. GM MOVES FROM FAKE NEWS TO FAKE OPINIONS http://www.prwatch.org/node/6045 General Motors is no stranger to fake news, having funded eight of the video news releases tracked in the Center for Media and Democracy's two reports on fake TV news. Now, the automaker is setting its sights on print media. "One area where we're beginning to do more, and will want to work with newspapers to explore new options in, is advertorials," said GM CEO Rick Wagoner, at the Newspaper Association of America conference. Advertorials are ads written as though they are independent op/ed columns. GM is also interested in overseas promotion. "Some of you own foreign-language newspapers that may have links to papers in other countries," explained Wagoner. "Hispanic papers with links to South America or the Caribbean, for example. Others, I'm sure, have business or editorial connections with foreign newspapers that we at GM probably have no idea about." Wagoner said that GM was putting less money towards traditional print ads in part because the company no longer offers a "deal of the month." SOURCE: Advertising Age, May 9, 2007 5. SHELL DRILLS FOR SUPPORT IN VIRGINIA http://www.prwatch.org/node/6043 As part of its crisis management strategy, in response to public anger over high gas prices and record-breaking profits for the oil industry, Shell Oil president John Hofmeister recently spoke to a small invite-only group in Richmond, Virginia. The audience, ranging "from supportive state politicians to deeply skeptical environmentalists," was "selected by Shell's public relations agency, Burson-Marsteller," reports USA Today. After debating "spending millions on a new ad campaign or offering consumers special discounts," Shell opted for a more targeted and personal PR approach, "a strategy that the United Kingdom unit of multinational Royal Dutch Shell had used with some success." During the Virginia event, Hofmeister "deftly field[ed] even the most pointed questions," commending but then passing on one environmentalist's challenge to support higher automobile fuel economy standards. Hofmeister frequently alluded to "the need to tap into offshore oil reservoirs." Shell wants to drill off Virginia's southern coast, but the idea "remains controversial and requires congressional approval." SOURCE: USA Today, May 11, 2007 6. MOTHER'S DAY: A GREAT HOOK FOR FAKE NEWS http://www.prwatch.org/node/6041 On behalf of Procter & Gamble, DeVries Public Relations is promoting a video news release (VNR) from MultiVu that uses Mother's Day to sell Vicks. How, you ask? The VNR features "celebrity stylist" Aly Scott, who says, "Vicks Baby Rub provides a soothing way to give your baby a massage, relax and calm both of you, and making an easier way for you to bond with your child." The accompanying press release is titled, "Make Every Day Mother's Day." The PR firm Medialink Worldwide has other Mother's Day-themed fake news. One VNR from defense contractor Honeywell proclaims, "Mother's Day 2007: The Stay-in-the-Car Mom Generation is Here." It uses "Mom expert" Stacy DeBroff to sell Honeywell's "Blink" cleaning products. Another VNR offers "Mother's Day Flowers Do's and Don'ts for Dads," on behalf of FlowrMD, starring "flower doctor" Bridget Behe (who you might remember from CMD's "Fake TV News" report). Lastly, there's an audio news release from the non-profit Ploughshares Fund, informing listeners that Julia Ward Howe founded Mother's Day as "a plea for peace." Will peace sell as well as flowers, wipes or Vicks? SOURCE: MultiVu and Medialink Worldwide, May 3, 2007 7. INVASION OF THE FRANCHISE SNATCHERS http://www.prwatch.org/node/6040 While "attending an open meeting of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities," Bruce Kushnick saw "something odd. Three guys are standing in the back by the exit door and they keep shaking the hands of the speakers, most of whom testified that Verizon should get a new, statewide franchise." The three guys were Verizon employees, and many of the speakers were from groups that receive Verizon funding. Such telecom astroturf is spreading, warns Kushnick. "Groups like Consumers for Cable Choice, TV4US, LULAC and others are popping up all over the country." In Wisconsin, TV4US -- an AT&T astroturf group that retains the PR firm Fleishman-Hillard -- is "backing a bill to deregulate the state's cable TV franchise system," reports Madison's Capital Times newspaper. TV4US recently gave "all 132 state lawmakers ... a thick binder full of the names of constituents" who it says "are demanding an end to the cable monopoly and want choices in the video market." The state bill that TV4US is supporting "would eliminate most local regulation of cable TV franchises in favor of minimal supervision by state agencies." AT&T also hired 16 lobbyists in Wisconsin, including the state Democratic Party chair. SOURCE: Nieman Watchdog, May 7, 2007 8. LIPSTICK ON A DICTATOR http://www.prwatch.org/node/6038 "On an unusually warm morning in Washington, D.C., last spring," writes Joshua Kurlantzick, "Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stood before a pack of reporters for a briefing, one of Africa's most notorious dictators at her side." The man she praised as "a good friend" was Teodoro Obiang, who has ruled Equatorial Guinea through two decades of torture and terror while claiming that he has "permanent contact with the Almighty" and therefore can "kill anyone without being called to account." The moment was a victory of sorts for the PR firm of Cassidy and Associates, which has been paid $120,000 per month since 2004 to overhaul the country's image. According to PR industry observer Kevin McCauley, countries with image problems have beefed up their PR efforts, inspired in part by the example of Saudi Arabia, which paid Qorvis Communications $14 million a year to perfume its reputation following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. SOURCE: Mother Jones, May 7, 2007 9. SORRY ABOUT THAT http://www.prwatch.org/node/6033 In March, U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan opened fire indiscriminately on civilian bystanders following a militant ambush in Jalalabad. Soldiers then destroyed photos and video taken at the scene by freelance journalists. Destroying the evidence was necessary, a military official claimed at the time, to protect "investigative integrity" and prevent "public conclusions" from being "falsely made." Yesterday, however, the U.S. officially admitted that soldiers had indeed killed innocent civilians. "I stand before you today, deeply, deeply ashamed and terribly sorry that Americans have killed and wounded innocent Afghan people," said Col. John Nicholson. In addition to the apology, the U.S. paid $2,000 to surviving family members for each of the 19 civilians killed. As the Economist of London notes, however, the apology is "unlikely to prevent many more such incidents. The killing of large numbers of civilians by American forces, through indisciplined firing or as a result of their heavy reliance on air-strikes, has been a bitter feature of the campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq -- just as it was in Vietnam." SOURCE: New York Times, May 8, 2007 == UPCOMING EVENTS == 1. JOHN STAUBER EUROPEAN SPEAKING TOUR CMD Executive Director John Stauber is touring Europe to promote the publication of "Toxic Sludge Is Good for You" in German. From May 3-17, 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: 05/17/2007 - 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. --*/