THE WEEKLY SPIN, April 9, 2008 Date: Wed, 9 Apr 2008 10:52:26 -0500 (CDT) THE WEEKLY SPIN, APRIL 9, 2008 == BLOG POSTINGS == 1. Lawsuits, Light Cigarettes and Fear-Based Marketing Strategies 2. The Legion of Lobbyists Behind a "Consumer" Group 3. Hillary Stands By Her Man, But Colombia Dumps Mark Penn 4. War? What War? == BE A CITIZEN JOURNALIST == 1. New Participatory Project: Maximum Weirdness: Tobacco Industry Brainstorming Documents == SPIN OF THE DAY POSTINGS == 1. Media Deathwatch 2. B-M Spins Line that Penn Is Mightier than the Sword 3. China Seeks PR Firm to Smooth over Protests 4. University Helps Censor "One-Sided" Science 5. More on the Suddenly Disposable (But Still Present) Penn 6. Vets for Freedom Offers Free DC Trips to Pro-War Lobbyists 7. Weekly Radio Spin: Civil Wrongs on the Ballot 8. Changing of the Guard at Freedom's Watch 9. A Sick Way to Promote Drugs 10. Much Ado About Fossil Fuels on April Fool's 11. R.J. Reynolds -- the Thoughtful Tobacco Company 12. When "Civil Rights" Means Ending Affirmative Action == UPCOMING EVENTS == 1. It's Our Birthday! Come Celebrate with Us! -------------------------------------------------------------------- == BLOG POSTINGS == 1. LAWSUITS, LIGHT CIGARETTES AND FEAR-BASED MARKETING STRATEGIES by Anne Landman The Second Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals missed a great opportunity this week to hold the tobacco industry accountable for one of its worst marketing tactics -- positioning brands in response to smokers' medical concerns. The April 7, 2008, issue of the New York Times has an article about the dismissal of a huge, class-action lawsuit against the tobacco industry that was brought by smokers of "light" cigarettes who claimed they were misled about the relative safety of "light" cigarettes compared to regular, "full flavor" cigarettes. The suit, and its dismissal by the court, brought to mind a little-recognized tobacco industry marketing survival tactic that weighs heavily on the public's perception of exactly what "light" means. The tobacco industry has long had a remarkable ability to rescue itself from damaging health claims by turning allegations against its products into marketing opportunities. Inside the industry, the fact that cigarettes cause widespread illness and death is referred to as the "smoking and health" issue, or "S&H issue" for short. Tobacco marketers consider "S&H issues" to be little more than "external marketing forces" that require re-positioning of products, through changes in advertising copy strategy, so that smokers will get an illusion of safety from the dangers they perceive. To read the rest of this item, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/7181 2. THE LEGION OF LOBBYISTS BEHIND A "CONSUMER" GROUP by Bob Burton Consumers for World Trade (CWT), which describes itself as being a "network of consumers," is enthusiastic about everything from the right of the U.S. President to negotiate free trade agreements, slashing import duties and quotas on items such as footwear and apparel and opposing mandatory country-of-origin labeling. You'd be right in thinking this doesn't sound like a normal consumer group, but exactly who they are is not immediately obvious. A little digging though, reveals that CWT is just another front group trying to wrap a self-serving corporate message in a public interest name. To read the rest of this item, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/7183 3. HILLARY STANDS BY HER MAN, BUT COLOMBIA DUMPS MARK PENN by John Stauber Mark Penn runs the labor-busting PR giant Burson-Marsteller and is the top strategist and pollster for Hillary Clinton's campaign for president. His mixed loyalties have been a continuing image problem for Clinton, to the degree his conflicts makes the news. The Wall Street Journal first reported, on April 4, that Penn had "met with Colombia's ambassador to the U.S. on Monday to discuss a bilateral free-trade agreement, a pact the presidential candidate (Clinton) opposes." Burson-Marsteller "has a contract with the South American nation to promote congressional approval of the trade deal." The New York Times later noted that Penn apologized for his conflict of loyalty saying "the meeting was an error in judgment." But that was not enough. Saturday, April 5, Colombia fired Penn (and B-M his company) for his embarrassing bumbling. Still, Hillary Clinton is sticking by her man Mark - for now. To read the rest of this item, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/7176 4. WAR? WHAT WAR? by Sheldon Rampton "Five years later, the United States remains at war in Iraq, but there are days when it would be hard to tell from a quick look at television news, newspapers and the Internet," observes New York Times reporter Richard Perez-Pena. "Media attention on Iraq began to wane after the first months of fighting, but as recently as the middle of last year, it was still the most-covered topic. Since then, Iraq coverage by major American news sources has plummeted, to about one-fifth of what it was last summer, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism." The past week saw a dramatic escalation in violence in Iraq and rising civilian deaths, prompting analysts to warn that "Iraqis may be about to witness a new phase in the cycle of violence ... intra-Shi'ite bloodletting that could tear Iraq apart and more deeply embroil U.S. forces." But even these developments have barely cast a media ripple. The Iraq war has also been losing ground for attention on the internet, according to a recent report which shows that "the war in Iraq continues to decline in search interest, down 120 percent over the past three and a half years," while interest turns to topics such as Paris Hilton, Ashley Alexandra Dupre, Heath Ledger and the latest YouTube video. To read the rest of this item, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/7167 == BE A CITIZEN JOURNALIST == 1. NEW PARTICIPATORY PROJECT: MAXIMUM WEIRDNESS: TOBACCO INDUSTRY BRAINSTORMING DOCUMENTS http://www.prwatch.org/node/7156 A rock cocaine cigarette filter? A cigarette that delivers birth control and sexual stimulant drugs to the smoker at the same time? A geriatric brand? All of these are actual ideas for new products and promotions that were recorded at cigarette company "brainstorming" meetings. Information about these revealing meetings is compiled on the Brainstorming documents page of TobaccoWiki. It's one of the strangest and most fun pages on SourceWatch. What crazy, weird or sick ideas can you find among the tobacco industry's documents? Go to the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library and, as search criteria, mix and match words like "brainstorming," "synectics," "exploratory" or "problem lab" with words like "promotional" "smoker," "ideas," "sex," "cigarette," "list," and "creative." Be imaginative in your search criteria and see what pops up. When you find something interesting, enter it on the Brainstorming documents page with a short description of the document after the link, or write a short article about it. Don't forget to link to the document using its unique URL -- the one that contains the letters "tid". For examples see the Brainstorming documents page. If this is your first time editing on SourceWatch, you can go to www.sourcewatch.org for help. HOLD ONTO YOUR HAT, HAVE FUN, AND THANKS FOR YOUR HELP! SOURCE: Tobaccowiki.org, April 7, 2008 == SPIN OF THE DAY POSTINGS == 1. MEDIA DEATHWATCH http://www.prwatch.org/node/7187 The CBS television network is discussing "a deal to outsource some of its news-gathering operations to CNN," reports Tim Arango. (The network denies the report.) The discussions reflect "a strategic shift in the face of changing market forces by the network that is widely credited as having invented television news. ... While broadcast television as a medium is in decline because new platforms -- the Internet, mobile devices -- are fragmenting audiences, the problems at CBS News are more acute. While overall evening news viewership across the three networks declined 5 percent last year, CBS's fell 13 percent." But newspapers are feeling even more heat, according to Eric Alterman. "Independent, publicly traded American newspapers have lost forty-two per cent of their market value in the past three years," he writes. "Most managers in the industry have reacted to the collapse of their business model with a spiral of budget cuts, bureau closings, buyouts, layoffs, and reductions in page size and column inches. Since 1990, a quarter of all American newspaper jobs have disappeared." Alterman worries that the decline of traditional media and the rise of citizen journalism are creating "a fractured, chaotic world of news, characterized by superior community conversation but a decidedly diminished level of first-rate journalism." (Meanwhile, work for internet journalists has become so demanding that the New York Times says it may be killing them.) SOURCE: New York Times, March 8, 2008 2. B-M SPINS LINE THAT PENN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD http://www.prwatch.org/node/7186 After Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign announced that Burson-Marsteller (B-M) CEO Mark Penn was no longer its chief strategist, the PR firm distributed a set of talking points for "clients and staff." The memo states that "it is more important than ever for us as leaders of this firm to communicate that we are more focused than ever on achieving our clients' goals." The memo claims that B-M lost the $300,000-a-year contract with the Colombian government because "our work for them was reported in the media." However, the Embassy stated that the contract was canceled because of Penn's comment that it "was an error in judgment" to meet with the Colombian ambassador, which they believed demonstrated "a lack of respect to Colombians." The memo states that Penn "will continue to advise the Clintons and the campaign" but that no longer being "chief strategist" will "afford him more time" to advise B-M clients. SOURCE: Washington Wire (Wall Street Journal blog), April 7, 2008 3. CHINA SEEKS PR FIRM TO SMOOTH OVER PROTESTS http://www.prwatch.org/node/7185 In the wake of the widespread protests in Tibet and growing protests along the route of the Olympic Torch Relay, the Chinese government is looking to recruit a public relations firm to advise the government "on strategies to repair its image before the Beijing Olympics." Jim Pickard and Richard McGregor report that "several British and U.S. agencies were invited to interviews with Chinese officials to discuss a contract, which includes pre-games PR strategies, media training and market research on western perceptions of China." The new contract would be in addition to Hill & Knowlton's role in advising the Beijing Organizing Committee, which is responsible for organizing the Olympic Games. It would also be separate from "an invitation issued in Beijing several months ago by the State Council Information Office for pitches on how to brand China around the world." SOURCE: Financial Times, April 3, 2008 4. UNIVERSITY HELPS CENSOR "ONE-SIDED" SCIENCE http://www.prwatch.org/node/7179 Administrators of "Popline," the "world's largest scientific database on reproductive health," which is housed at the Johns Hopkins University's School of Public Health, "blocked the word 'abortion' as a search term after receiving a complaint from the Bush administration over two abortion-related articles listed in the database." The search block has since been removed, with the university's public health dean stressing the school's commitment "to the advancement and dissemination of knowledge and not its restriction." But the two studies that prompted the complaint have been removed from the database. Popline is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In 2001, President Bush revived the "gag rule," which bans U.S. government funding for groups that perform or "actively promote abortion." A USAID spokesperson said she "could not identify the documents that prompted her office's complaint, but said the publications were one-sided in favor of abortion rights." SOURCE: Wired blog "Threat Level," April 4, 2008 5. MORE ON THE SUDDENLY DISPOSABLE (BUT STILL PRESENT) PENN http://www.prwatch.org/node/7178 When labor leaders complained about Burson-Marsteller's union-busting work, Burson CEO Mark Penn remained as chief strategist for Senator Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. When Penn blogged that his role in Clinton's campaign was "good for business," it wasn't a problem. But it was a serious "error in judgment" -- according to Clinton campaign manager Maggie Williams -- when Penn met with Colombian government officials as part of his firm's work to promote a free trade agreement between Colombia and the United States. Clinton had previously criticized Senator Barack Obama over reports that his "economic adviser had met with Canadian officials," to assure them that Obama's "campaign rhetoric was harsher than his real beliefs about the North American Free Trade Agreement." Penn was "all but forced out" as Clinton's chief strategist, after news of the Colombia meeting broke. However, Penn and his polling firm "will continue to provide polling and advice to the campaign." According to Marc Ambinder, on April 7, "Penn took part on the campaign's morning message call ... as usual. This afternoon, he is also scheduled to be on a call with Clinton and other aides to begin to prepare for Saturday's presidential debate in Philadelphia." On O'Dwyer's PR Daily, one reader commented, "This is not only a huge black eye for Burson, [but] for all of us in the profession. ... Where are the Council [of Public Relations Firms], Arthur Page [Society, and] PRSA on this?" SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), April 7, 2008 6. VETS FOR FREEDOM OFFERS FREE DC TRIPS TO PRO-WAR LOBBYISTS http://www.prwatch.org/node/7177 The pro-war lobby is heading to Washington and the halls of Congress Tuesday, April 8, when General David Petraeus testifies on the continuing war in Iraq. The Modesto Bee reports that the Republican front group called Vets for Freedom, "in an extraordinary move suggestive of fairly deep pockets ... will pay all travel, lodging and food expenses" for any recent veteran wanting to lobby with them in DC. The offer attracted Zak Applequist, a local soldier. "He's never been to Washington; until now, he hasn't even been particularly involved in politics. ... 'I heard about it through my mom,' Applequist said, 'and she heard about it through Fox News.'" SOURCE: Modesto Bee, April 5, 2008 7. WEEKLY RADIO SPIN: CIVIL WRONGS ON THE BALLOT http://www.prwatch.org/node/7174 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 Al Gore's not-so-green PR firm, who cares about the FDA, and a strange definition of "civil rights." In "Six Degrees of Spin and Fakin'," how Big Oil is courting the blogosphere. 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, April 4, 2008 8. CHANGING OF THE GUARD AT FREEDOM'S WATCH http://www.prwatch.org/node/7172 Freedom's Watch, the right-wing advocacy group, recently hired Carl Forti, the former political director for former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, signalling that the group "is getting ready to gear up for Election 2008," reports Bill Berkowitz. Forti, a notorious mudslinger, was communications director at the National Republican Congressional Committee from 2004 to 2006, turning it into what the the Annenberg Political Fact Check called an "attack-ad factory" whose work "stands out ... for the sheer volume of assaults on the personal character of Democratic House challengers." Freedom's Watch has pledged to spend close to $250 million during the coming election cycle, but Berkowitz notes that several prominent staffers have recently left the group, including its co-founder, Bradley Blakeman, and Matt S. David, its communications director, amid "reported questions about the actual existence of the $250 million war chest that Freedom's Watch's leaders have boasted about." The group has also been criticized by some conservative activists as a "rootless organization built to capitalize on the Republican agenda" that "no doubt will raise and spend a lot of money and much of it will go to the PR company that organized it and for which they are a front." SOURCE: Media Transparency, April 3, 2008 9. A SICK WAY TO PROMOTE DRUGS http://www.prwatch.org/node/7170 "I've never been on the opposite side of the NAACP," said Dr. Alicia Fernandez, an associate professor of clinical medicine. "I've been a big admirer of the SEIU" labor union. "But now these drug companies are going to the good guys for cover." In particular, the SEIU affiliate International Association of EMTs and Paramedics (IAEP) recently sent two letters to its members promoting Pfizer's cholesterol drug Lipitor. "IAEP leadership stands behind LIPITOR as the lipid-lowering agent of choice," read one letter, which was signed by IAEP director Matthew Levy and printed on IAEP letterhead, but with a Pfizer copyright at the end. IAEP stated it "does not endorse specific drugs," but refused to say whether the union has any financial relationship with Pfizer. In a similar case, the NAACP's New England branch accused Medicare of racism for refusing to cover the heart medication BiDil. (NitroMed, BiDil's manufacturer, has donated $1.5 million to the NAACP.) BiDil is a combination of two generic drugs that won "patent protection for treating African-American patients with heart failure." Fernandez believes NitroMed's "real goal" is "selling an expensive 'new' pill made from two cheap old ones." Meanwhile, she warned, "the argument over coverage of BiDil deflects attention from the real issues involved in health disparities." SOURCE: AlterNet, March 26, 2008 10. MUCH ADO ABOUT FOSSIL FUELS ON APRIL FOOL'S http://www.prwatch.org/node/7169 On April 1, executives from Exxon Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, BP and Shell testified before the U.S. House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. Members of Congress asked about high gas prices and the oil companies' failure to make major investments in renewable energy. "Putting more money into something does not necessarily equal progress," responded Exxon's Stephen Simon. The same day, Senators Olympia Snowe and Jack Reed asked the American Petroleum Institute (API) to establish a voluntary industry program to help low-income consumers "cope with rising energy costs," reports Reuters. Instead, API suggested that Congress fully fund "an existing government program that helps poor families pay their heating and cooling bills." But API turned on the charm in Rhode Island, according to the Providence Journal. It set up a "one-day interactive technology exhibit and presentation" at the State House on April 1, "to give the oil and gas industry perspective on energy issues." An account executive with the PR firm Edelman guided visitors through API's exhibit. SOURCE: Reuters, April 1, 2008 11. R.J. REYNOLDS -- THE THOUGHTFUL TOBACCO COMPANY http://www.prwatch.org/node/7168 Tobacco company R.J. Reynolds is running print and TV ads against the proposal that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulate tobacco products. The bill would also ban candy-flavored cigarettes. The TV spot shows a vaudeville plate spinner, and says that the FDA has enough on its plate already without this extra burden. "But the bill tries to address that concern by establishing a new center for tobacco regulation within the F.D.A. It would be financed by tobacco industry fees projected at more than $5 billion over the next 10 years," reports the New York Times. To complement the ads, Reynolds launched www.fdaconcerns.org, through which people can contact their Congresspeople to voice their opposition to the proposal. As CMD previously reported, Reynolds competitor Philip Morris has come out in favor of FDA oversight. There's a good reason: "Analysts contend that the bill could benefit Philip Morris over its smaller competitors. By imposing tighter restrictions on advertising, the new regulations could make it harder for Reynolds to market Camel -- No. 3 in the United States market -- against the industry's top seller, Marlboro, which is made by Philip Morris." SOURCE: New York Times, April 2, 2008 12. WHEN "CIVIL RIGHTS" MEANS ENDING AFFIRMATIVE ACTION http://www.prwatch.org/node/7165 People in Colorado who signed an anti-affirmative action ballot initiative petition are charging that petition circulators deceived them about the measure's real purpose and intent. The signature-gathering effort is part of a push by African-American conservative Ward Connerly to qualify ballot initiatives in Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma that would end affirmative action policies and programs in those states. Signature-gatherers for Connerly's measure, which is deceptively titled the "Colorado Civil Rights Initiative," reportedly approached people in the Denver metro area by asking them whether they were "against discrimination." If a person answered "yes," they were asked to sign a petition that they were told would legally end discrimination in their state. Many signers were upset later when they discovered that the "Civil Rights Initiative" was really an effort to end existing affirmative action programs and policies that help level the playing field for groups like minorities and women, that historically have suffered the most from discrimination in employment, contracts and educational opportunities. SOURCE: New York Times, April 1, 2008 == UPCOMING EVENTS == 1. IT'S OUR BIRTHDAY! COME CELEBRATE WITH US! Please join hosts Mike and Saori Kappus, and CMD staffers Sheldon Rampton, Judith Siers-Poisson and John Stauber at the Rosebud Agency in San Francisco's Haight neighborhood for wonderful music by Rick Didia and Aireene Espiritu, a tempting silent auction and delicious food. There will be lots of fun, fellowship, story sharing and excitement. We're asking for a donation of $50 per person. Please email us at event@PRWatch.org by April 7th to RSVP. To read the rest of this item, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/7121 -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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