THE WEEKLY SPIN, March 5, 2008 Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2008 10:34:18 -0600 (CST) THE WEEKLY SPIN, MARCH 5, 2008 == BE A CITIZEN JOURNALIST == 1. Featured Participatory Project: Join Huffington Post Readers in More Superdelegate Muckraking on Congresspedia == SPIN OF THE DAY POSTINGS == 1. Coal Lobby Gets Down and Dirty 2. Philip Morris Snuffs Out Controversial Research Program 3. Comcast Pushes Public out of Internet Debate 4. Medical Disclosure Riles Professor 5. GE Plans European Greenwashing Blitz 6. Weekly Radio Spin: Sins of Toxic Omission 7. Pfizer Pulls Deceptive Lipitor Ads 8. Up, Up and Away with Greenwashing 9. Update on the Wikleaks Case 10. Coal on the Ropes: Part Two 11. Coal on the Ropes: Part One 12. Not Armstrong's Strong Suit 13. Canada's Groupthink Tanks on Afghanistan -------------------------------------------------------------------- == BE A CITIZEN JOURNALIST == 1. FEATURED PARTICIPATORY PROJECT: JOIN HUFFINGTON POST READERS IN MORE SUPERDELEGATE MUCKRAKING ON CONGRESSPEDIA http://www.prwatch.org/node/7063 As part of the ongoing collective research project on Congresspedia to track the "superdelegates" who may decide the Democratic nominee for president, our partners at the Huffington Post have enlisted hundreds of citizens to research some of the more obscure party officials in the ranks of the superdelegates. NOW WE NEED YOU TO HELP MOVE THIS INFORMATION INTO CONGRESSPEDIA SO THAT THE PUBLIC CAN KNOW JUST WHO THESE PEOPLE ARE THAT MAY BE PICKING OUR NEXT PRESIDENT. It only takes a minute and no experience - technical or political - is necessary. It should also be noted that, unlike the superdelegate counts from the major news organizations, the Superdelegate Transparency Project is the only fully transparent, fully sourced count of superdelegates anywhere, and it's all due to the work of citizens like you. You can join this effort by taking a minute to help out with our current task of moving the information from the Huffington Post. There's full instructions and support at the project's "help out" page: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Portal:Superdelegate_Transparency_Project/Help_out/Transfer_Profiles SOURCE: Superdelegate Transparency Project on Congresspedia == SPIN OF THE DAY POSTINGS == 1. COAL LOBBY GETS DOWN AND DIRTY http://www.prwatch.org/node/7062 "It's our job to keep coal at the table. It's not there now," said Bob Henrie, a principal in the Salt Lake-based advertising and public relations firm R&R Partners. In September last year, Henrie's firm won the contract with the National Mining Association and other mining industry lobby groups to develop a $35 million advertising campaign aimed at improving the coal mining industry's image. The ads are being run by Americans for Balanced Energy Choices (ABEC), a front group which initially had its domain name registered by the coal industry trade organization, the Center for Energy and Economic Development. Late last year an analysis of ABEC's claims, published by the Center for American Progress Action Fund, accused the front group of having a "dirty agenda," running "dirty ads" and using "dirty political targeting" to promote "dirty lies." In his biographical note, Henrie boasts that he was once the chief of staff of the House Mines and Mining Subcommittee which involved him working "to protect vital mining legislation." SOURCE: Salt Lake Tribune, March 1, 2008 2. PHILIP MORRIS SNUFFS OUT CONTROVERSIAL RESEARCH PROGRAM http://www.prwatch.org/node/7060 Philip Morris has quietly disbanded its controversial External Research Program (PMERP), through which it funded academic and scientific research at major universities. The funds doled out by the program were substantial: in the 2006-07 fiscal year, the University of California system alone received around $16 million through PMERP. The end of the program comes amid growing controversy over whether universities should accept tobacco money at all. A number of prominent research institutions have enacted policies specifically prohibiting tobacco company funding for research. Whether the end of PMERP will have any real impact is unknown though, since PM has said it will continue providing universities with research funds, just not through its External Research Program. SOURCE: The Daily Californian, March 3, 2008 3. COMCAST PUSHES PUBLIC OUT OF INTERNET DEBATE http://www.prwatch.org/node/7057 Cable and Internet giant Comcast Corporation, whose website says that it provides services that "connect people to what's important in their lives," admitted to having paid "seat warmers" to take up space at a February 25 Federal Communications Commission hearing. The hearing examined charges that Comcast has been blocking file-sharing traffic on its Internet service. Comcast reportedly hired about three dozen people to fill the seats after the company discovered that the media reform group Free Press had urged its members to attend. Comcast claims they paid the people to hold the seats for company employees, many of whom apparently failed to show up. The seat-fillers arrived from ninety minutes to several hours early. Many had no idea what the hearing was about, and some were even photographed sleeping at the hearing. Comcast wouldn't say how how much they paid the seat-fillers. Because of the paid attendees, other people who genuinely wanted to attend the hearing were turned away due to overcrowding. SOURCE: Associated Press, February 26, 2008 4. MEDICAL DISCLOSURE RILES PROFESSOR http://www.prwatch.org/node/7056 Thomas P. Stossel, a professor at Harvard Medical School and member of the Board of Trustees of the corporate-funded American Council on Science and Health (ACSH), accuses medical journals and regulators requiring conflict of interest statements from doctors of bowing to "preaching by anti-business activists." "Medical journals waste space on meaningless compilations of who receives what payments from companies and dubious 'social science research' purporting to prove that most doctors lack the intelligence or character to be wary of promotional claims," Stossel complained. Kirby Lee, from the University of California, San Francisco disagrees. "Such requirements may frustrate clinicians and researchers but, in doing so, will help to ensure the safety and welfare of the public, uphold scientific integrity, and preserve trust," she responded. "And when you become the patient, wouldn't you want to be assured that medical decisions are made in your best interest?" SOURCE: British Medical Journal (sub req'd), March 1, 2008 5. GE PLANS EUROPEAN GREENWASHING BLITZ http://www.prwatch.org/node/7055 General Electric's power industry division, GE Energy, is set to launch a greenwashing blitz in five European countries, including the United Kingdom. The centerpiece of the campaign will, according to PR Week, be an "aggressive green strategy" including the promotion of new GE technologies "including its Arklow Bank wind turbine park off the Irish coast." The campaign will be run by the Paris-based Hopscotch and its Irish subsidiary, Hopscotch Europe in One. Patrick Frison-Roche, the Managing Director of Hopscotch Europe in One, stated that "the company is still perceived as a large US corporation, so what we are doing here is ensuring stakeholders, influencers and other audiences are clear about its importance in Europe." In May 2005 GE launched its Ecomagination campaign, under which it is seeking to portray itself as an environmental leader. In the UK, GE Energy has been lobbying the UK government for an expansion of the nuclear power industry. SOURCE: PR Week, February 28, 2008 6. WEEKLY RADIO SPIN: SINS OF TOXIC OMISSION http://www.prwatch.org/node/7054 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 look at inconvenient research results on toxins, big coal spending to survive, and coconuts in the fuel tank. In "Six Degrees of Spin and Fakin'," we look at the Armstrong Williams: hardly a paragon of ethics, but still a go-to guy for commentary. 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, February 29, 2008 7. PFIZER PULLS DECEPTIVE LIPITOR ADS http://www.prwatch.org/node/7051 Drug maker Pfizer yielded to pressure from a Congressional committee and pulled deceptive Lipitor ads featuring Dr. Robert Jarvik. In one of the ads, created by the Kaplan Thaler Group, Dr. Jarvik is shown apparently rowing a boat, but the rowing was in fact done by a stunt double. In the ads, Dr. Jarvik also claims to be a user of Lipitor, but he didn't actually start taking the medication until after he was hired by Pfizer to promote it. The House Committee was also concerned that the ads presented Dr. Jarvik as offering the public medical advice, when in reality he is not a medical doctor, but a medical engineer. SOURCE: Advertising Age, February 25, 2008 8. UP, UP AND AWAY WITH GREENWASHING http://www.prwatch.org/node/7050 Virgin Atlantic has flown a jumbo jet from London to Amsterdam fueled by bio fuel derived from a mixture of Brazilian babassu nuts and coconuts. But is this really green progress, or just greenwashing? Virgin Atlantic's head, Richard Branson, called the flight a "vital breakthrough" for the airline industry. "This pioneering flight will enable those of us who are serious about reducing our carbon emissions to go on developing the fuels of the future." But environmentalists had a different take, calling it a "gimmick," and a publicity stunt. Dr Doug Parr of Greenpeace called it a "high-altitude greenwash," saying, "Instead of looking for a magic green bullet, Virgin should focus on the real solution to this problem and call for a halt to relentless airport expansion." SOURCE: BBC News, February 24, 2008 9. UPDATE ON THE WIKLEAKS CASE http://www.prwatch.org/node/7048 As CMD recently reported, a federal judge ordered the Wikleaks website shut down. The site allows whistleblowers to post documents anonymously. Lawyers for a dozen news and public interest organizations, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, American Civil Liberties Union and Public Citizen, asked the judge to rescind his order. On February 29, Judge Jeffrey White reversed the ruling, reports the New York Times. The judge "acknowledged that the bank's request posed serious First Amendment questions and might constitute unjustified prior restraint." He also criticized the ability of online technology to evade legal jurisdiction, saying that "people can do some good things and people can do some terrible things without accountability." Thanks to the reversal, Wikileaks is again available via its U.S. web domain, Wikileaks.org. SOURCE: Wired, February 27, 2008 10. COAL ON THE ROPES: PART TWO http://www.prwatch.org/node/7047 David Roberts of Grist.org writes in the Nation, "So there you have it: just in the past week, elite opinion against coal has accelerated, two major coal projects have run into embarrassments, and an independent report has confirmed that things are only going to get worse." Power consulting firm Wood MacKensie says that "the rate of coal plant cancellations accelerated during 2007 to the point that more than 50% of the new coal capacity announced since 2000 has now been canceled." On top of that, the cost of building new power plants has increased 130% since the start of the decade. Desperation is palpable in industry's efforts in places like Kansas. After the Sunflower plant was denied a permit last year based on failure to meet air quality requirements, they leaned on their friends in the state legislature to pass a coal-friendly "compromise" bill. When Governor Kathleen Sebelius promised to veto the bill, Sunflower resorted to blatant bribery. The firm says they "will give $2.5 million over 10 years to Kansas State University ... but only if the plant is approved." But what about the promise of "clean coal"? Roberts states that "an official at Royal Dutch Shell said last week that carbon prices would have to reach about $100/tonne -- three times current levels -- before investment in carbon capture and storage would make economic sense." SOURCE: The Nation, February 21, 2008 11. COAL ON THE ROPES: PART ONE http://www.prwatch.org/node/7046 The coal industry is on the ropes, but is working hard to ensure that regardless of who wins in the November elections, coal will come out on top. Funded by the coal industry, the front group Americans for Balanced Energy Choices (ABEC) is appealing directly to politicians, but also to the general public that will be voting. "We are out there talking to everybody, from people who are running for president of the United States down to Joe Six-pack," said Joe Lucas of ABEC. ABEC has run several TV ads, including the one above. Among ABEC's other expenditures is $5 million paid to CNN for advertising and co-sponsorship of at least six presidential debates. They are expected to lay out $40 million this year to further their cause -- double their 2007 budget. "With 59 coal power plants scrapped last year, the industry is fighting to make sure it can emerge from the climate change debate with a guaranteed spot in the nation's energy future." As CMD previously reported, ABEC was responsible for 30 santas delivering coal-shaped chocolate to members of Congress at the holidays. For more information on coal, visit the Coal Issues portal on SourceWatch.org. SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, February 27, 2008 12. NOT ARMSTRONG'S STRONG SUIT http://www.prwatch.org/node/7037 Who better to turn to for a discussion of journalism ethics than "payola pundit" Armstrong Williams? On February 22, MSNBC Live asked Williams to comment on the New York Times article about presidential candidate and Senator John McCain's ties to a telecom lobbyist. "What it does more than anything else," Williams replied, "it causes those of us in the media to lose credibility. People begin to question what we print, whether there's any truth to it, whether we do our research." He left out one important question: what we're paid to promote. Williams was a subcontractor on a 2004 agreement between the U.S. Education Department and the PR firm Ketchum. He promoted the controversial "No Child Left Behind" legislation on television and radio, without disclosing that he was being paid to do so. Last year, the Federal Communications Commission cited Williams and proposed fines against Sinclair Broadcast Group and Sonshine Family Television, for airing the Williams segments. SOURCE: Media Matters, February 22, 2008 13. CANADA'S GROUPTHINK TANKS ON AFGHANISTAN http://www.prwatch.org/node/7036 As the debate over Canada's military mission in Afghanistan continues, the country's "Department of National Defence is ... spending millions of dollars sponsoring think tanks and scholars to offer up agreeable commentary," writes University of Ottawa professor Amir Attaran. "Take the Conference of Defence Associations, a think tank that got $500,000 from DND last year. ... A current DND policy reads that to receive money, CDA must 'support activities that give evidence of contributing to Canada's national polices.'" CDA's annual conference featured "no opposition politicians," and its executive director said the DND "contract obliges it 'to write a number of op-eds to the press.'" DND also "sponsors policy scholars, who create the ideas, news and views that shape Canadians' perception of the military and the war. ... When DND needs a kind word in Parliament or the media -- presto! -- a [DND]-sponsored scholar often appears, without disclosing his or her financial link." Attaran calls for full disclosure and a system "to award [DND] grants on an arm's-length basis." He adds, "Canada needs fresh ideas -- not groupthink -- to win." SOURCE: The Globe and Mail (Canada), February 21, 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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