THE WEEKLY SPIN, November 21, 2007 Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2007 10:01:57 -0600 (CST) THE WEEKLY SPIN, NOVEMBER 21, 2007 == BLOG POSTINGS == 1. A Preview of "Stop-Loss": A Film by Kimberly Peirce 2. Amgen Website Invites Testimonials, Posts Off-Label Claims By Patients == BE A CITIZEN JOURNALIST == 1. Featured Participatory Project: GlaxoSmithKline, the Diabetes Drug Avandia and Dr. John Buse == SPIN OF THE DAY POSTINGS == 1. Don't Forget the Falsies! 2. Roving Reporter 3. Bringing the Heat on Warming 4. Fine-Tuning the Sell Job for the Next War 5. Smithsonian: A Museum Acting Strangely 6. Be "Proactive" on Fake News, Broadcasters Told 7. Olympic Sponsors Go for the Green (Forget Darfur and Tibet) 8. Wal-Mart's Fish Tales 9. The Weekly Radio Spin: Procter & Gamble's New "Movement" 10. Betting Bigger Bucks on Buzz 11. Unlocking One Think Tank's Oily Secrets 12. Toxic Sludge Might Not Be Good for You 13. America Might Support You, But Your Bureau Chiefs Don't 14. Hillary Clinton Follows in FEMA's Fake Footsteps -------------------------------------------------------------------- == BLOG POSTINGS == 1. A PREVIEW OF "STOP-LOSS": A FILM BY KIMBERLY PEIRCE by Judith Siers-Poisson On Wednesday, November 14, 2007, Hollywood came to Madison, Wisconsin. Paramount Pictures sponsored a free pre-release screening of "Stop-Loss," which is due to hit theaters nationwide on March 28, 2008. (It will be released in the U.K. on April 18, 2008.) Writer and director Kimberly Peirce, best known for directing "Boys Don't Cry," was in attendance and took part in an extended questions and answer session after the screening. TELLING THE WAR THROUGH SOLDIERS' EYES The film centers on the experience of a soldier who has completed his tour of duty in Iraq, only to find he has been "stop-lossed." A postcard for the film distributed at the screening defines the stop-loss policy as "The retention of soldiers in the service beyond their expected term. Using a loophole in soldiers' military contracts to prohibit servicemen and women from retiring once their required term of service is complete. Also widely known as a 'Back Door Draft.'" The character, Brandon King, does not resist returning because of political convictions about the legality or validity of the war. Instead, he tried to express to his lifelong friend, with whom he served, that there is just no more room in his mind for experiences of seeing his friends who are serving under his command mutilated and killed. To read the rest of this item, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/6733 2. AMGEN WEBSITE INVITES TESTIMONIALS, POSTS OFF-LABEL CLAIMS BY PATIENTS by Paul Goldberg To mobilize elderly Americans in an effort to overturn the new Medicare coverage policy for erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs, which boost red blood cell production), Amgen Inc. appears to have borrowed a strategy from the purveyors of alternative medicine. The company launched a "Protect Cancer Patients" website, where visitors were invited to submit testimonials about the healing powers of ESAs. Also, they could contact members of Congress, or review the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services coverage decision and the House and Senate resolutions to vacate it. Though the Internet designation ".org" suggests that the site is operated by an advocacy group, the "privacy policy" section notes that "this site is owned and operated by Amgen Inc." and can be used for communications with the company. On the home page, the site is described as "online headquarters of a national campaign to protect cancer patients on Medicare from a decision denying them ... coverage for needed medicines." "Amgen's mission is to serve patients, which is why we openly support the Protect Cancer Patients website," Kelley Davenport, an Amgen spokesman, said in an email. "The site educates cancer patients on Medicare and their caregivers about a Medicare policy that impacts cancer patients, so that their voices and concerns are heard by government policymakers. To read the rest of this item, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/6710 == BE A CITIZEN JOURNALIST == 1. FEATURED PARTICIPATORY PROJECT: GLAXOSMITHKLINE, THE DIABETES DRUG AVANDIA AND DR. JOHN BUSE http://www.prwatch.org/node/6738 The United States Senate Committee on Finance has released a damning staff report titled The Intimidation of Dr. John Buse and the Diabetes Drug Avandia. The report reviews how in 1999 SmithKline Beecham, known after the merger with Glaxo Wellcome as GlaxoSmithKline, reacted when Buse, a professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina, raised concerns about the potential for increased heart attacks associated with Avandia. Internal company documents, the report states, "reveal what appears to be an orchestrated plan to stifle the opinion" of Buse, in part to reassure stockmarket analysts. The report provides a powerful case study of an attempt by a corporation to stifle scientific dissent. If you would like to help build a SourceWatch article on this, or 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: United States Senate Committee on Finance, November 2007 == SPIN OF THE DAY POSTINGS == 1. DON'T FORGET THE FALSIES! http://www.prwatch.org/node/6739 DO YOUR CIVIC DUTY -- VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE FALSIES! At the end of each year, CMD issues the "Falsies Awards," to recognize the people and players that take spin and propaganda to new lows. WE NEED YOU TO HELP IDENTIFY THE WORST OF THE WORST HARD AT WORK IN 2007. We have put together a juicy selection of nominees -- but we need you to vote and tell us who deserves the Falsies this year. Follow this link to fill out your ballot. CELEBRATING THANKSGIVING? GET YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY TO VOTE TOO! THE DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES IS 5:00 P.M. CST ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2007, SO VOTE TODAY! SOURCE: The Falsies survey 2. ROVING REPORTER http://www.prwatch.org/node/6737 Former Bush administration political advisor Karl Rove has signed on as a columnist for Newsweek magazine, with his first column titled "How to Beat Hillary (Next) November." Charles Kaiser notes the irony in Rove's decision to join the mainstream media: "In public, Rove is one of dozens of conservatives who assiduously bash the press. Last summer, channeling Agnew, Rove told Rush Limbaugh that 'the people I see criticizing [Bush] are sort of elite effete snobs.' But at the same time, Rove was constantly massaging big-time Washington journalists over long lunches at the Hay Adams Hotel." SOURCE: Radar Online, November 19, 2007 3. BRINGING THE HEAT ON WARMING http://www.prwatch.org/node/6736 Chicago Sun-Times Business Editor Dan Miller, who previously used his editorial position to promote the writings of corporate pollution-apologist Steven Milloy, is now lending his name to a bit of global warming skepticism disseminated by the Heartland Institute, a corporate-funded think tank where he used to work. Miller's cover letter accompanies a mailing to journalists in which Heartland public affairs director Tom Swiss trashes Al Gore's documentary about the issue, "An Inconvenient Truth," as an "alarmist or kind of an extreme example" of reporting on the issue, while "The Great Global Warming Swindle," which takes the opposite view, is praised as "a European documentary by Martin Durkin that won a lot of awards." (Evidently Swiss didn't think to mention Gore's awards, which include an Academy Award and the Nobel Prize.) Bob Steele, an ethics scholar at the Poynter Institute for media studies, sees some problems with Miller's eagerness to flack for anti-environmentalist causes. "He is actively urging a particular examination, and I would suggest a point of view, on a substantive public policy issue," Steele said. "He's also pitching it in a problematic way to other journalists, using his journalistic connections in doing so." SOURCE: Chicago Tribune, November 18, 2007 4. FINE-TUNING THE SELL JOB FOR THE NEXT WAR http://www.prwatch.org/node/6730 "The basis of the whole thing was, 'we're going to go into Iran and what do we have to do to get you guys to go along with it,'" said Laura Sonnenmark, a participant in a recent focus group apparently funded by the Republican-associated lobbying group Freedom's Watch. Sonnenmark, a "focus group regular," said the moderator "used lots of catch phrases, like 'victory' and 'failure is not an option.'" She added, "I've never seen a moderator who was so persistent in manipulating and leading the participants." The final questions of the session were: "How would you feel if Hillary [Clinton] bombed Iran? How would you feel if George Bush bombed Iran? And how would you feel if Israel bombed Iran?" Neither the firm involved, Martin Focus Groups, nor Freedom's Watch would confirm that the organization funded the focus group. But focus group participants were handed a flier with a Freedom's Watch logo, and the group has advocated for confronting Iran, organizing forums on the "threat" posed by the country, and running ads calling the Iranian president a "terrorist." SOURCE: Mother Jones, November 19, 2007 5. SMITHSONIAN: A MUSEUM ACTING STRANGELY http://www.prwatch.org/node/6729 After two Smithsonian Institution board members questioned the appropriateness of accepting oil industry funding for its "Ocean Initiative," the American Petroleum Institute (API) withdrew its $5 million funding offer. "Circumstances within the Smithsonian have changed, to say the least," said an API spokesperson. It's not the museum's only contentious exhibit. A 2006 exhibit on the Arctic was changed to add "the idea of scientific uncertainly about climate research," reports the Washington Post. "You know that I am not an alarmist," one NASA scientist who objected to the changes wrote, "but I will say that a museum can't do an honest exhibit about what is happening in the Arctic without causing people some serious concern." Exhibit plans were reviewed by Bush administration political appointees. The exhibit's title was changed from "Arctic Meltdown" to "The Arctic: A Friend Acting Strangely." Its sequence was changed, so that "the more dramatic temperature changes in the past 50 years" were "moved farther back." And its script was changed, deleting sentences like: "If you want to see what the rest of the planet is going to see in the next generation, watch out for the Arctic in the next five to 10 years." SOURCE: Washington Post, November 17, 2007 6. BE "PROACTIVE" ON FAKE NEWS, BROADCASTERS TOLD http://www.prwatch.org/node/6728 A public relations trade publication has editorialized in favor of video news release (VNR) disclosure ... sort of. "The Federal Communications Commission is correctly serving the US citizens' right to know where footage originates," writes PR Week. "And no amount of rhetoric will change the fact that a corporate-produced video is less likely to be critical of a particular subject than an independent, news-produced video." The magazine suggests that "broadcasters and news producers" agree on "a universal VNR disclosure standard. ... The news organizations must realize either through proactive means or via the brunt force of the FCC, tomorrow's VNRs will be broadcast with labels." In other words, the PR and broadcast industries still might be able to forestall independent oversight if they promise, once again, to do a better job of policing themselves. SOURCE: PR Week, November 12, 2007 7. OLYMPIC SPONSORS GO FOR THE GREEN (FORGET DARFUR AND TIBET) http://www.prwatch.org/node/6725 Human rights, environmental, health and labor campaigns around the Beijing 2008 Olympics that seek to change China's behavior are increasingly targeting Olympic sponsors. "Companies operating in China are 'absolutely focused' on minimizing their potential exposure to issues such as Darfur and Tibet during the Olympics, says Richard Edelman, president and chief executive of Edelman Public Relations," whose clients include Olympic sponsors General Electric and Coca-Cola. Some sponsors "appear to be hoping to avoid the red flags by going green, focusing on environmental projects in China. ... Coke is playing up its water-conservation efforts on the Yangtze River," and has also partnered with World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace. "Since March, Volkswagen has been planting thousands of trees in Inner Mongolia. GE is touting its role selling ecofriendly products such as solar-power and water-filtration systems for the Olympic venues." Edelman calls it a "win-win" strategy, saying the companies avoid addressing difficult issues while currying the favor of the Chinese government. SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), November 15, 2007 8. WAL-MART'S FISH TALES http://www.prwatch.org/node/6724 "Two years ago, Wal-Mart chief executive H. Lee Scott Jr. outlined ambitious goals to turn the world's largest retailer into a more environmentally friendly company," reports the Washington Post. "Wal-Mart yesterday released its first report on its progress in meeting those goals, and showed mixed results." Among Wal-Mart's supposedly "significant gains" was "selling 22 seafood products that have been certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council" (MSC). But, as the Center for Media and Democracy's Bob Burton has written, the MSC's environmental record is questionable. One independent review, "commissioned by three U.S. foundations, concluded that MSC's claim to certify 'sustainable' fisheries 'in most cases is not justified,' and fisheries 'that are not in compliance with the law can be, and have been, certified,'" states an excerpt from Burton's new book, "Inside Spin." SOURCE: Washington Post, November 16, 2007 9. THE WEEKLY RADIO SPIN: PROCTER & GAMBLE'S NEW "MOVEMENT" http://www.prwatch.org/node/6722 Listen to this week's edition of the "Weekly Radio Spin," the Center for Media and Democracy's audio report on the stories behind the news. This week, we cover U.S. military interrogators, the importance of asking where questions come from, and the "My Black is Beautiful" marketing campaign. In "Six Degrees of Spin and Fakin'," we tell you how many steps it takes to get from supporting the troops to sending them overseas. The Weekly Radio Spin is freely available for personal and broadcast use. Podcasters can subscribe to the XML feed on www.prwatch.org/audio or via iTunes. If you air the Weekly Radio Spin on your radio station, please email us at editor@prwatch.org to let us know. Thanks! SOURCE: Center for Media and Democracy, November 16, 2007 10. BETTING BIGGER BUCKS ON BUZZ http://www.prwatch.org/node/6720 Spending on word-of-mouth marketing "has increased from $76 million in 2001 to $981 million in 2006 and is expected to grow to approximately $3.7 billion by 2011," according to a report by PQ Media. Still, word-of-mouth marketing accounts for just 0.4% of the estimated $254 billion spent on all marketing services, which includes direct marketing, branded entertainment and public relations. The new report defined word-of-mouth marketing as "supported by research and technology that encourages consumers to dialogue about products and services." Word-of-mouth may be more effective than traditional advertising. Nearly 80 percent of those polled in a recent Nielsen Global Survey ranked "recommendations from consumers" as the most credible source for product information. Newspapers were ranked second-most credible. SOURCE: Advertising Age, November 15, 2007 11. UNLOCKING ONE THINK TANK'S OILY SECRETS http://www.prwatch.org/node/6718 Why would the John Locke Foundation, a "conservative North Carolina-based think tank" launch a "series of scathing attacks" against the Center for Climate Strategies (CCS), a Pennsylvania-based "nonprofit group of scientists, engineers, business strategists and policy experts who guide states in figuring out how to best reduce greenhouse gas pollution"? Sue Sturgis follows the money, and finds that Locke "received at least $126,500 from outfits with ties to the fossil-fuel industry between fiscal [year] 2002 and 2005." Locke funders include DCI Group, Atlas Economic Research Foundation and Reason Foundation. In September, Locke and the Heartland Institute (which has received funding from ExxonMobil) hosted a conference call on CCS's alleged "hijacking of climate policy." During the call, Locke's Michael Sanera suggested discrediting "CCS's Sponsoring Organization (State environmental bureaucracy)" and demanding "cost-benefit analysis by academic economists." Later, Locke released a "peer review assessment" of CCS's methods, drawn up by the Beacon Hill Institute. Not disclosed was the fact that Beacon's clients include several oil industry-funded climate change skeptics, such as DCI Group, Heritage Foundation and Pacific Research Institute. SOURCE: Facing South (Institute for Southern Studies blog), November 13, 2007 12. TOXIC SLUDGE MIGHT NOT BE GOOD FOR YOU http://www.prwatch.org/node/6717 In Canada, "a leading toxicologist has called for an urgent study on the potential health hazards posed by biosolids -- or human sewage sludge -- that is being spread on farming fields in Northumberland County." The sludge is offered as a free fertilizer by the local water and waste treatment plant. About 120,000 tons of sludge are spread on 6,000 acres of farmland in Ontario. Toxicologist Dr. Anne Mildon is treating four couples who live near fields sprayed with sludge. "They're all non-smokers are were in very good health until this past year. Then suddenly they get very sick and their blood tests show incredibly high levels of various metals," said Dr. Mildon. "Without a scientific study, you cannot definitely link their health problems directly to the biosolids but I have a growing sensation in my stomach that they are probably connected," she added. The affected families, who have experienced sudden weight loss, headaches, reduced kidney function, respiratory and other illnesses, have stopped using their properties' well water. They are petitioning their local and regional governments. SOURCE: The Independent (Ontario, Canada), November 14, 2007 13. AMERICA MIGHT SUPPORT YOU, BUT YOUR BUREAU CHIEFS DON'T http://www.prwatch.org/node/6715 "If we can't get our own people to release public documents, why should we expect the military to cooperate?" asked the Europe bureau chief of the military newspaper Stars and Stripes. He and other bureau chiefs have called on the paper's acting publisher, Max Lederer, to resign, "saying he has refused to release information on the extent of the paper's relationship with America Supports You," a Pentagon PR campaign. The Defense Department Inspector General's Office recently widened its investigation of America Supports You (ASY), which was initially focused on ASY's fundraising, to include ASY's apparent funneling of funds through Stars and Stripes. The newspaper "issued a $499,000 purchase agreement for the public relations firm Susan Davis International" for ASY work, and "awarded a $311,650 contract for Semel Media to develop and design Web sites" for ASY and the Defense Department (DOD). Stars and Stripes' managing editor echoed the bureau chiefs' concerns, saying "any involvement between Stripes and DOD public affairs that are outside the newspaper's core mission of providing editorially independent news to the troops" should be fully disclosed. SOURCE: Stars and Stripes, November 14, 2007 14. HILLARY CLINTON FOLLOWS IN FEMA'S FAKE FOOTSTEPS http://www.prwatch.org/node/6714 After a November 6 speech at a biodiesel plant in Iowa, Senator Hillary Clinton took questions. But "some of the questions from the audience were planned in advance," reports Patrick Caldwell. Grinnell College student Muriel Gallo-Chasanoff said that "one of the senior [Clinton campaign] staffers told me what" to ask. She said that "staffers prompted Clinton to call on her and another [person] who had been approached before the event." Gallo-Chasanoff's question was: "As a young person, I'm worried about the long-term effects of global warming. How does your plan combat climate change?" Clinton responded: "You know, I find as I travel around Iowa that it's usually young people that ask me about global warming." A campaign spokesperson told FOX News, "A member of our staff did discuss a possible question. ... However, Senator Clinton did not know which questions she was calling on during the event. This is not standard policy and will not be repeated." In related news, CBS has obtained a picture "of the now infamous fake FEMA press conference held during the California wildfires." The press gallery seats are occupied by "high-level agency employees." SOURCE: Scarlet and Black (Grinnell College newspaper, Grinnell, Iowa), November 9, 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