THE WEEKLY SPIN, September 26, 2007 Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007 11:51:57 -0500 (CDT) THE WEEKLY SPIN, SEPTEMBER 26, 2007 == BLOG POSTINGS == 1. A First for the FCC: Fining Fake News! 2. Follow the Money, Eh? Canadian Reporters' Glowing Failure == BE A CITIZEN JOURNALIST == 1. New Participatory Project: What's That Stuff Doing in Cigarettes? == SPIN OF THE DAY POSTINGS == 1. Australian Government Lays Information Smokescreen 2. Animated Paper Clip Seeks Help in Establishing Front Groups 3. Global Warming Skeptic Can't Stand the Heat 4. The Weekly Radio Spin: CMD for Your Ears! 5. When Local Radio News Isn't 6. The Oil Industry Road Show Comes to New Jersey 7. New Firm Offers Elder Spin == UPCOMING EVENTS == 1. Introducing TobaccoWiki.org: The Public's Comprehensive Portal into Tobacco Document Research 2. Being the Media with SourceWatch -------------------------------------------------------------------- == BLOG POSTINGS == 1. A FIRST FOR THE FCC: FINING FAKE NEWS! by Diane Farsetta The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced on September 21 that it was fining Comcast Corp. $4,000 for its cable channel CN8's broadcast of fake TV news, a video news release (VNR) without disclosure. The Comcast fine is the FIRST-EVER SANCTION FOR AIRING A VNR, a sponsored PR video that mimics the structure and style of television news reports. The fine is a direct result of Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) investigations, and of a joint complaint filed with the FCC by CMD and Free Press. The FCC's action against Comcast is precedent setting. It firmly rejects the public relations industry's argument that no disclosure is needed if television stations are not paid to air VNRs. Hopefully, the FCC will soon address the nearly 140 other undisclosed VNR broadcasts that were documented in CMD's two reports, "Fake TV News" and "Still Not the News." To read the rest of this item, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/6478 2. FOLLOW THE MONEY, EH? CANADIAN REPORTERS' GLOWING FAILURE by Bob Burton "Much of the environmental movement, including Greenpeace, has lost its way when it comes to nuclear power, caught up in politically correct ideology and stooping to sensationalism to garner support," declared a recent media alert announcing the visit of one-time Greenpeace activist Patrick Moore to Toronto. The alert continued, "In Ontario, CANDU nuclear energy is the greatest single contributor to carbon reduction relative to all other energy producing technologies." The alert, which was distributed by Laurie Weir and Josh Turner from the Canadian PR company Trillium Corporate Communications, prominently featured Moore's claim that was a "founding member" of Greenpeace. It didn't mention who was sponsoring his tour or that Moore works as a consultant to the Nuclear Energy Institute in the U.S. The day following the Toronto event, Moore promoted nuclear power at an event hosted by the Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce in the province of Saskatchewan. The debate over nuclear power and uranium mining involves major questions of potentially massive economic costs to consumers and taxpayers, the safety of the population, the potential for weapons proliferation, the creation of a long-term radioactive legacy and significant impacts on indigenous communities. With such potentially large downsides, probing journalism is essential to ensure that citizens can make informed choices rather than be served a diet of nuclear industry spin dressed up as news. Of course, any journalist with internet access would be easily able to check out a little on Moore's background, his history of nuclear advocacy and ask some questions about who exactly he was working for. After all, the Canadian Association of Journalists statement of principles sets out that journalists "will report all relevant facts in coverage of controversies or disputes." But how often does this happen? To read the rest of this item, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/6470 == BE A CITIZEN JOURNALIST == 1. NEW PARTICIPATORY PROJECT: WHAT'S THAT STUFF DOING IN CIGARETTES? http://www.prwatch.org/node/6479 What is "acetoin," and what is it doing in cigarettes? Tobacco companies inform the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (but not the public) about the 599 potential additives they can put in cigarettes. We've got that list, but we don't have any explanations about what these chemicals are. Acetoin is on the list, but we don't know what it is, or why they put it in cigarettes. Help us find out, so everyone can know: Go to Tobaccowiki, scroll down to "Tobacco Topics," click on "Additives," then on "acetoin"; click the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library search button. Browse through the documents you get back, and look for information about acetoin. Add the information you find to the TobaccoWiki article on acetoin. If this is your first time editing on SourceWatch, you can go to www.SourceWatch.org for more information. HAVE FUN, AND THANKS FOR YOUR HELP! SOURCE: TobaccoWiki Additives List == SPIN OF THE DAY POSTINGS == 1. AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT LAYS INFORMATION SMOKESCREEN http://www.prwatch.org/node/6485 Faced with opposition to increasing government secrecy by Australia's Right to Know, a coalition of Australian media companies and the journalists' union, the Australian Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, has announced a review of the freedom of information (FOI) laws. The review, to be undertaken by the Australian Law Reform Commission, prompted a scathing response from the country's leading expert on FOI laws, Professor Rick Snell. "We have had 11 years of inaction and now, on the eve of an election campaign, the Government announces an inquiry," he said. Matthew Moore and Jonathan Pearlman report in the Sydney Morning Herald that "in 1995, the law reform commission made 106 recommendations to improve the law," but "the Government has ignored those recommendations." Channel 7 FOI editor Michael McKinnon noted that Ruddock's announcement "contained no mention whatsoever about improving public access under FOI." SOURCE: Sydney Morning Herald, September 25, 2007 2. ANIMATED PAPER CLIP SEEKS HELP IN ESTABLISHING FRONT GROUPS http://www.prwatch.org/node/6477 Alarmed at its rival Google's proposed purchase of the internet marketing firm DoubleClick, Microsoft is seeking to stoke opposition to the deal through its PR firm, Burson-Marsteller (B-M). B-M sent emails "to a number of top UK businesses," reports The Observer, urging board members "to raise the issue of Google's dominance of search engines with politicians, regulators and the media." The email, from B-M director Jonathan Dinkeldein, also invited companies "to join a new organisation -- Initiative for Competitive Online Marketplaces -- which in the next few weeks will make a series of announcements on Google, internet privacy and copyright." Dinkeldein later admitted that the group was formed by Microsoft, though his email did not disclose Microsoft's role. In the U.S., B-M pitched cautionary stories on the Google-DoubleClick deal. The Wall Street Journal received an email from B-M warning about "what is not known about Google's handling of personal data and their related privacy practices." The email, which also didn't disclose the Microsoft connection, went on to say "it would be a powerful consumer service to delve into these issues with journalistic vigor." SOURCE: The Observer (UK), September 23, 2007 3. GLOBAL WARMING SKEPTIC CAN'T STAND THE HEAT http://www.prwatch.org/node/6476 "Patrick J. Michaels, one of the global warming skeptics most often interviewed by news media, withdrew as an expert in a high-profile Vermont court case rather than disclose his funding sources," reports the Society of Environmental Journalists. Michaels is a University of Virginia professor and Cato Institute fellow who edits the "World Climate Report," a web publication "heavily funded by coal and electric utility industries with a large financial stake in preventing regulation of greenhouse emissions." In the Vermont case, automakers challenged the state's right to regulate greenhouse gases, and hired Michaels as an expert witness. Michaels told the court that he was dependent on income from his firm, New Hope Environmental Services, and that some of his clients require their funding to be confidential. When auto industry lawyers told Michaels that his financial information might be made public, due to the environmental group Greenpeace's request for disclosure, Michaels withdrew as a witness in the case. In court filings, Michaels blamed 2006 news reports naming the Colorado-based coal-burning utility Intermountain Rural Electric Association (IREA) as one of his clients with the loss of funding from IREA and another utility, Tri-State Generation & Transmission Association. SOURCE: Society of Environmental Journalists, September 19, 2007 4. THE WEEKLY RADIO SPIN: CMD FOR YOUR EARS! http://www.prwatch.org/node/6473 If you like sound, boy do we have a treat for you. The Center for Media and Democracy is launching the "Weekly Radio Spin," an audio report on the stories behind the news. Radio programmers and podcast fans, rejoice! The Weekly Radio Spin will build on the information you receive in the Weekly Spin emails, including such fun segments as "Six Degrees of Spin and Fakin'," which looks at the many connections between media manipulators. Each Weekly Radio Spin will include longer (around four minutes, click here) and shorter (around two minutes, click here) versions, and is freely available for both personal and broadcast use. If you air the Weekly Radio Spin on your radio station, please email us at editor@prwatch.org to let us know. Thanks, and enjoy our inaugural Weekly Radio Spin! SOURCE: The Center for Media and Democracy, September 21, 2007 5. WHEN LOCAL RADIO NEWS ISN'T http://www.prwatch.org/node/6469 An academic study of "outsourced" radio news -- when "big-city radio stations produce and package local news stories for sister stations in distant markets" -- concluded that the practice has drastically changed the news landscape. University of Colorado journalism professor Lee Hood found that more than 40% of radio stations now do news for stations outside their own market. "The 'hub and spoke' system enables large radio conglomerates to employ fewer people and cut costs, but authenticity, regional nuances and topical public affairs reporting are lost in the process," according to a UC press release. Denver's KOA Radio used to outsource news to Omaha, NE, and Cleveland, OH, used to provide news to Milwaukee stations. Cleveland stations still outsource news to Pittsburgh. "To have somebody who may not even have been in your community ostensibly deciding what's news in your community, well, I think that's alarming," stated Hood. SOURCE: University of Colorado at Boulder, September 17, 2007 6. THE OIL INDUSTRY ROAD SHOW COMES TO NEW JERSEY http://www.prwatch.org/node/6468 "Energy giants ConocoPhillips and BP have brought their 'green' environmental campaigns to central New Jersey," reports Ryan Tracy, "funding research ... and, most recently, sponsoring a 'Conversation on Energy' forum." Conoco's corporate communications director explained, "We hope to reach out to the American public. ... Opinion polls ranked [oil and gas corporations] dead last in industry credibility, even below tobacco." Princeton University's Environmental Institute has a "Carbon Mitigation Initiative" that has received $15 million from BP and $5 million from Ford Motor Co. Other companies have funded other research programs. ExxonMobil gave $100 million to Stanford University's Global Climate and Energy Program, and ConocoPhillips gave $22.5 million to Iowa State University for biomass fuel research. Environmentalists called the Conoco forum in Trenton "greenwashing," but the director of Rutgers University's Energy Institute, which co-sponsored the forum, called it a "good first step" for the oil company. SOURCE: The Times (Trenton, N.J.), September 19, 2007 7. NEW FIRM OFFERS ELDER SPIN http://www.prwatch.org/node/6467 A new public relations firm, After50 Marketing, was launched "with the expressed purpose of targeting baby boomers and senior consumers," writes PR Week. The firm will specialize in healthcare, adult living, legal and financial areas. By 2015, 45 percent of the U.S. population will be 50 or older, according to After50. The firm also estimates that the household net worth controlled by baby boomers is $19 trillion. After50 president and founder Kelly Kroll says that, due to her target demographic's "experience making decisions about their valuable resources," her firm will provide "more honest content and feedback." After50 is a sister firm to Marketing Renovations, which has offices in New York, Washington and Detroit. SOURCE: PR Week, September 14, 2007 == UPCOMING EVENTS == 1. INTRODUCING TOBACCOWIKI.ORG: THE PUBLIC'S COMPREHENSIVE PORTAL INTO TOBACCO DOCUMENT RESEARCH Wednesday, October 3, 2007, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm American Legacy Foundation, , 2030 M Street, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20036 Please RSVP by Monday, October 1, 2007, to Victoria Cooper at vcooper@americanlegacy.org Join us in the public launch of CMD's innovative and collaborative online tobacco document research project, Tobaccowiki.org. CMD's TobaccoWiki Editor Anne Landman will describe and demonstrate how Tobaccowiki provides a platform from which the general public, the tobacco control community, grassroots activists, mainstream, alternative and citizen journalists, professional researchers, smokers and high school and college students can easily gain access to tobacco document research and contribute their own findings to TobaccoWiki's growing and diverse archive of resources. TobaccoWiki compiles useful, dynamic information on past and present tobacco industry activities and makes it accessible in an easy-to-navigate, user-friendly "wiki" format. TobaccoWiki is funded in part by the American Legacy Foundation, a national public health foundation whose mission it is to build a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Program -- with working lunch provided 12:00 Noon -- 12:20 pm -- Brief introduction of TobaccoWiki 12:20 pm -- 12:30 pm -- Question and answer period 12:30 pm -- 1:00 pm -- Demonstration of TobaccoWiki To read the rest of this item, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/6488 2. BEING THE MEDIA WITH SOURCEWATCH Reception starts at 6:00 pm, presentation at 7:00 pm. Paragon Media 2865 Broadway, #2 (second floor), Oakland, CA Meet the people and organization behind SourceWatch, a wiki-based encyclopedia of the people, organizations and issues shaping the public agenda. John Stauber, Judith Siers-Poisson and Conor Kenny of the Center for Media and Democracy will present their project and answer questions at Paragon Media in Oakland on Thursday, October 18. To read the rest of this item, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/6487 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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