THE WEEKLY SPIN, June 27, 2007 Date: Wed, 27 Jun 2007 11:06:49 -0500 (CDT) THE WEEKLY SPIN, JUNE 27, 2007 == BLOG POSTINGS == 1. Setting the Stage: Part One in a Series on the Politics and PR of Cervical Cancer 2. Strange Culture == BE A CITIZEN JOURNALIST == 1. New Participatory Project: Information on the Top 100 Foundations by Giving in the U.S. == SPIN OF THE DAY POSTINGS == 1. Murdoch's Empire 2. What We Still Don't Know 3. Health Groups Dismiss Drug Ads Report As 'Biased' 4. The "Family Jewels" Show: The More Things Change... 5. Proud Sponsors of the Genocide Olympics 6. Legal Lifeline For Fleishman-Hillard's Overbilling Duo 7. "Sicko" Makes Them Sick 8. Canadians, Beware: The Bugs Are Coming! (Or So Says Lysol) 9. Help! Union Bosses Are at the Door! 10. Fake News for the Whole Family 11. Exposed Lobby Firms Harp on Harper's -------------------------------------------------------------------- == BLOG POSTINGS == 1. SETTING THE STAGE: PART ONE IN A SERIES ON THE POLITICS AND PR OF CERVICAL CANCER by Judith Siers-Poisson Many women, myself included, have been affected by cervical cancer or Human Papillomavirus (HPV) at some point in their lives. In this series of four articles, I will examine HPV and Gardasil -- the facts, the hype, and what Merck stands to gain; the marketing campaigns promoting Gardasil in the U.S. and the media's lack of attention to concerns about the rush to mandate vaccination; the role of the non-profit group Women In Government in promoting mandatory vaccination against HPV; and what is going on outside of the U.S. on this issue. HPV is rampant throughout the world, and the U.S. is no exception. It is estimated that up to 20 million people in the U.S. are currently infected with HPV -- men as well as women. It is not surprising, therefore, that Gardasil has burst onto the national stage as the latest 'wonder' vaccine. Manufactured by Merck, Gardasil is the first vaccine available that can prevent 4 strains of HPV, which is a leading cause of cervical cancer and pre-cancerous cervical conditions. In nearly every state in the U.S. there is a legislative push to make the HPV vaccine mandatory for middle school aged girls, with catch-up clauses to cover girls that have passed that age but are not yet sexually active. Given the anxiety of most people about cancer and the number of people infected with HPV, it is not surprising that what is touted as the first vaccine against cancer has been largely greeted with acclaim. But despite having been affected personally, I became concerned by the headlong rush to not only approve the vaccine, but to mandate it for middle-school aged girls. It is also worrisome that a vaccine may give a false sense of security, which could lead to a decline in the very reliable and proven diagnostic tools available, including Pap tests. Decisions affecting millions of young women should not be made lightly, and certainly not without examining the marketing, PR, and profit motives of a corporation like Merck. To read the rest of this item, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/6186 2. STRANGE CULTURE by Sheldon Rampton Eduardo Kac's "GFP Bunny" Slate magazine has an online slide show this week about "bio art" -- in which people use genetic manipulation to insert coded messages into DNA, or produce a transgenic rabbit using a gene derived from a jellyfish that makes it glow fluorescent green. I was a little disappointed, though, that Slate failed to mention the work of Steve Kurtz, a bio artist whose work goes further than most in provoking debate about the ethical issues involved with genetic engineering -- so far, in fact, that he is currently awaiting trial on charges that could land him in prison for 20 years. To read the rest of this item, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/6181 == BE A CITIZEN JOURNALIST == 1. NEW PARTICIPATORY PROJECT: INFORMATION ON THE TOP 100 FOUNDATIONS BY GIVING IN THE U.S. http://www.prwatch.org/node/6196 SourceWatch is CMD's on-line, collaborative encyclopedia of people, organizations and issues shaping the public agenda. Granting foundations -- regardless of their areas of interest or position on political spectrum -- certainly fit the bill. The Foundation Center has a list of the top 100 foundations by giving as of March 2007. Can you help us include this information in SourceWatch? Go to the Foundation Center page and look up one of the foundations on SourceWatch. If there is an article already, you can add the giving information. You can also click on the foundation's name on the Foundation Center page to visit their website, where you can find more information to include in the SourceWatch article. If a SourceWatch article doesn't yet exist, you can start one with the information you find. If this is your first time editing on SourceWatch, you can go to SourceWatch.org for more information. Have fun, and thanks for joining the CMD truth squad! SOURCE: Foundations on SourceWatch == SPIN OF THE DAY POSTINGS == 1. MURDOCH'S EMPIRE http://www.prwatch.org/node/6197 As media mogul Rupert Murdoch closes in on a deal to buy the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times has unleashed a multi-part series about Murdoch's business dealings. Monday's installment reported that Murdoch's "vast media holdings give him a gamut of tools -- not just campaign contributions, but also jobs for former government officials and media exposure that promotes allies while attacking adversaries, sometimes viciously -- all of which he has used to further his financial interests and establish his legitimacy in the United States." Tuesday's installment highlights Murdoch's willingness to subordinate his conservative ideology to business goals, noting that in China he "has flattered Communist Party leaders and done business with their children ... joined hands with the Communist Youth League" and "cooperates closely with China's censors and state broadcasters" to cultivate "political ties that he hopes will insulate his business ventures from regulatory interference." SOURCE: 2. WHAT WE STILL DON'T KNOW http://www.prwatch.org/node/6187 According to a new poll by Newsweek, "Even today, more than four years into the war in Iraq, as many as four in 10 Americans (41 percent) still believe Saddam Hussein's regime was directly involved in financing, planning or carrying out the terrorist attacks on 9/11, even though no evidence has surfaced to support a connection. A majority of Americans were similarly unable to pick Saudi Arabia in a multiple-choice question about the country where most of the 9/11 hijackers were born. Just 43 percent got it right -- and a full 20 percent thought most came from Iraq." SOURCE: Newsweek, June 23, 2007 3. HEALTH GROUPS DISMISS DRUG ADS REPORT AS 'BIASED' http://www.prwatch.org/node/6178 A report by the European Commission (EC), which favours weaker regulatory standards on the advertising of prescription drugs, has been dismissed as biased by a coalition of consumer groups and health professionals. The EC report states that the "pharmaceutical industry possesses the key information on their medicines but this information can currently not be made available to patients and healthcare professionals." However, supporters of the current ban on direct-to-consumer advertising argue that drug companies often under-emphasize the potentially serious side-effects associated with prescription drugs. "Increasingly frequent health scandals are on-going reminders of the medical and legal dangers of excessive promotion of new medicines," Health Action International, the Medicines in Europe Forum, and the International Society of Drug Bulletins wrote in an open letter to the EC. Members of the public have until June 30 to respond to the EC's document on 'patient information'. SOURCE: British Medical Journal, June 23, 2007 (Sub req'd) 4. THE "FAMILY JEWELS" SHOW: THE MORE THINGS CHANGE... http://www.prwatch.org/node/6177 On June 25, the Central Intelligence Agency will declassify its "full 693-page file amassed on CIA's illegal activities by order of then-CIA director James Schlesinger in 1973 -- the so-called 'family jewels.'" The non-governmental research institute National Security Archive "separately obtained ... a six-page summary of the illegal CIA activities, prepared by Justice Department lawyers after a CIA briefing in December 1974, and the memorandum of conversation when the CIA first briefed President Gerald Ford on the scandal on January 3, 1975." On the list of CIA activities that "presented legal questions" are: wiretapping two syndicated columnists; conducting physical surveillance of several journalists, including the Washington Post's Michael Getler and current Fox News anchor Brit Hume; compiling files on "9,900-plus Americans related to the antiwar movement"; conducting behavior modification experiments on "unwitting" U.S. citizens; and planning to assassinate Cuba's Fidel Castro and other foreign leaders. SOURCE: National Security Archive, June 21, 2007 5. PROUD SPONSORS OF THE GENOCIDE OLYMPICS http://www.prwatch.org/node/6176 Child refugees from DarfurPoor Adidas, Coca-Cola, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, McDonald's, and other companies that have "coughed up tens of millions of dollars to sponsor the Olympics" in 2008. If they "ignore activists such as Darfur groups -- who have already branded next summer's Games the Genocide Olympics, in reference to what they say is China's complicity with mass killings in Sudan -- they risk angering consumers back home. But if they criticize Beijing, they could run afoul of the Chinese government and jeopardize their future in the world's most promising market." The Free Tibet Campaign's Matt Whitticase said, "You cannot ... trumpet your corporate responsibility credentials, while at the same time indulging China and refusing to criticize it." But that's exactly what the Olympics sponsors are trying to do. McDonald's says the Olympics "aren't the right forum for discussing Darfur," GE says pressuring China won't help Darfur, and Coke says it won't interfere "in the internal policy decisions of sovereign nations such as China and Sudan." SOURCE: BusinessWeek, June 21, 2007 6. LEGAL LIFELINE FOR FLEISHMAN-HILLARD'S OVERBILLING DUO http://www.prwatch.org/node/6173 A U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has thrown a legal lifeline to two former Fleishman-Hillard executives, Doug Dowie and John Stodder, who were sentenced to time in prison for their role in overbilling the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power for PR work. The court granted the two bail while their appeal is before the courts, on the grounds that they presented little risk of fleeing. In its decision, the court wrote that their "appeal raises a 'substantial question' of law or fact" that could result in the earlier court decision being overturned, a re-trial ordered or a non-custodial sentence imposed. SOURCE: LA Observed, June 20, 2007 7. "SICKO" MAKES THEM SICK http://www.prwatch.org/node/6171 From the SiCKO website"A multifaceted counteroffensive against Michael Moore's film about the health care industry" is beginning, reports Elizabeth Solomont. To counter the movie Sicko, "free market think tanks and the drug companies are already mobilizing. ... Several organizations staging responses to 'Sicko' receive funding from pharmaceutical companies, including the Manhattan Institute, the Heritage Foundation, and the Pacific Research Institute," notes Solomont, citing SourceWatch. "It definitely has to be rebutted," said the Pacific Research Institute's Sally Pipes. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America's Ken Johnson called the film a "biased, one-sided attack." Health Care America, "whose Web site says it is funded in part by pharmaceutical manufacturers," held a conference call with reporters, "to discuss what Michael Moore left out of his movie." A press release from FreedomWorks says the conservative lobbying group will also weigh in, with its "nationwide grassroots army ... handing out information at movie theaters that exposes Moore's hypocrisy, points out the problems associated with government-run health care, and promotes the FreedomWorks solution of removing existing government barriers that prevent Americans from being able to use the free market to choose the care that suits their individual needs." SOURCE: New York Sun, June 20, 2007 8. CANADIANS, BEWARE: THE BUGS ARE COMING! (OR SO SAYS LYSOL) http://www.prwatch.org/node/6170 A B-roll video -- an unassembled video news release -- has been distributed to Canadian newsrooms warning consumers that "disease causing germs can be found lurking" just about everywhere in the home. The video, which was distributed by the PR firm Hill & Knowlton on behalf of The Hygiene Council, includes a "suggested" script for journalists. The suggested narration reads, in part: "Lysol is the No.1 pediatrician recommended brand and can help you maintain a clean, healthy environment for the whole family." The video includes interview clips of two doctors who are members of The Hygiene Council, Professor John Oxford from St. Bartholomew's and Royal London Hospital, and Dr Donald Low, the Microbiologist-in-Chief at the Toronto Medical Laboratories, Mount Sinai Hospital. Who makes Lysol? Reckitt Benckiser, a company that produces chemical products for domestic consumers. And who funds The Hygiene Council? On its website -- but not in the B-roll information sent to newsrooms -- the council states that it is funded by "an educational grant from Reckitt Benckiser." SOURCE: The Hygiene Council, June 20, 2007 9. HELP! UNION BOSSES ARE AT THE DOOR! http://www.prwatch.org/node/6169 "Don't let union bosses eliminate your right to privacy!" warns an ad from the Center for Union Facts, one of many front groups associated with lobbyist Rick Berman. With the U.S. Senate deliberating over a bill that "would give employees at a workplace the right to unionize as soon as a majority signed cards saying they wanted to do so," Berman & Co. are busy. The Center for Union Facts has spent "$500,000 on newspaper and broadcast advertisements this week alone," reports the New York Times. The House has already passed the bill, but not by enough votes to override a presidential veto. In the Senate, "Republicans and their business allies are predicting that they can prevent even an up-or-down vote on the measure." Like the Center for Union Facts, many Republicans are saying that "majority sign-up is less fair than secret-ballot elections," and warning that labor organizers will intimidate "workers into signing pro-union cards." SOURCE: New York Times, June 20, 2007 10. FAKE NEWS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY http://www.prwatch.org/node/6168 "Today's video PR campaigns must include both traditional and online components," counsels PR Week. "Leave nothing on the cutting-room floor ... put it on YouTube or another video-sharing site. ... The use of viral video and other new-media initiatives is essential in connecting with teens," but "equally important is engaging parents, educators, and other adult influencers via traditional broadcast vehicles," such as video news releases (VNRs), B-roll video and satellite media tours. For example, Boston Market hired Fleishman-Hillard and On the Scene Productions to promote its "Time for Your School" program. The PR campaign included a partnership with Students Against Destructive Decisions, a page on the MySpace social networking site, and "traditional broadcast components" such as TV satellite and radio media tours. To promote its PlayStation 3, Sony had the PR firm Medialink Worldwide issue VNRs, B-roll, "multimedia offerings distributed via its digital newsroom," and viral videos posted to social networking sites. SOURCE: PR Week, June 18, 2007 11. EXPOSED LOBBY FIRMS HARP ON HARPER'S http://www.prwatch.org/node/6167 The two lobbying firms unflatteringly profiled in a Harper's Magazine article on Washington DC lobbyists for foreign dictators -- APCO Worldwide and Cassidy & Associates -- are not amused. In researching the piece, Harper's reporter Ken Silverstein presented himself to the firms as someone interested in rehabilitating the poor image of Turkmenistan, "one of central Asia's most repressive countries." APCO's B.J. Cooper called the Harper's piece the "most unethical reportorial project" he's ever seen, saying Silverstein "lied to" his firm and published information "out of context." Using the "no news here" crisis management tactic, Cassidy issued a statement expressing surprise that "a reporter would go to such extraordinary lengths to gather information in such a deceptive way that really isn't all that new or interesting." Both firms say that Harper's should have at least given them an opportunity to comment. Silverstein admits to "trickery," but defends the article as a "public service." SOURCE: O'Dwyer's PR Daily (sub req'd), June 19, 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. --*/