Readers' Comments

  • The Color TV of Fear   18 years 51 weeks ago
    this should be on tv
    This is the one that you should have chosen for today. Real fathers who are not treated like real men. On father's day, I should be noted as the only father who has fought the long journey of 10 years to be the custodial parent of his children, but do not have them with me and paying child support to a dead beat mother. To define deadbeat, is to say a person who avoids working to keep from paying support. If you ever want to see an unworthy use of the court system in Wisconsin, investigate this. Family court case 96FA002179 and 96FA001474. This under the divorce order where Dane County thinks it is fit for four preteen and teenage children from three different fathers to live with a woman on section 8 in a two bedroom apartment. The real concern here is this woman is a true alcoholic and drug user. In spiteful means is using the free reign she has of appointed case workers and counsel to swindle money out of a person who has legal custody and placement of these children to support her habit. To use her children and status to avoid paying utility and other bills in the winter, because under the county or state rule of service can't be turned off or evicted in the winter months. How ironic is this? Imagine a father who lives in Florida with his children and they come to Wisconsin to visit their mother that would not see them for two years and she doesn't send them back. She calls her case worker who automatically starts an old support order without asking the father. Now, he is stuck to defend himself long distance or take the chance of coming to Wisconsin to be arrested for not paying. The court loses my documents for getting the children back, but has hers which are filed by her guardian ad litem. Isn't the guardian ad litem to find the "best interest" of the children? How can you do that if you don't know the environment in which they live. I am sorry for the long response. But, if you want a noteworthy story. Tell this story of the military veteran who has been to Libya and the Persian Gulf, who can't have his family because of the system that he fought to protect. What good is it to be alive from the war, when you have no family to come back home to.I know many veterans that can attest to that. Lester Shields
  • The Rise of 'Newsvertisements'   18 years 51 weeks ago
    the real issue is our obsession with entertainment news
    Once again we're being given, unfortunately, what we want -- more and more entertainment news rather than news about more important issues. Look across the dial and that's what Americans want today. As for disclosing their "financial interest," that seems kind of silly in this case. The stations are pretty clear in pointing out that the shows air on their stations -- they even give the date and time. It's such obvious promotion that a disclosure would add nothing. There are bigger issues here. www.mediaorchard.com
  • Still in the Torturers' Lobby   18 years 51 weeks ago
    Donor money used by Yoweri Museveni to buy a life presidency
    What a shame that you received US$ 675,000 from an African despot plotting to have a life presidency cum monarch to improve his image among the international community. That money is part of the donations we get from our development partners. Where is the moral obligation we can learn from your firm? Do you remember Mobutu Sese seko of Zaire and how he ended up? As an enlightened Ugandan I know that Museveni is just the old school dictator type who has literary bought our poor legislators with little money that you may even laugh at (@ USD 3,000) to get permanent residency at state house. What you are doing for him is good for your pockets BUT bad for our poor banana republic. Anyway, I know that you can polish Lucifer's image as long as he pays up! Go ahead! Munauganda in Kampala.
  • Edelman's Rescue Plan for the PR Industry   18 years 52 weeks ago
    Why NOT slam Edelman?

    Interesting argument from Mark Rose.

    • First he makes the rather ludicrous claim that "all communications is PR." This is an old dodge that goes back to the days of [[sw:Edward Bernays]]," who included everything from the Sermon on the Mount to Shakespeare's plays in his list of examples of "public relations." On the basis of a similarly overstretched definition, Rose then makes a straw man argument: since "all communications is PR," any critique of unethical public relations must by definition be demanding "a world of silence," which we all know is unrealistic.
    • Then Rose shifts gears and begins talking about the "traditional systems of PR control," which he says are "fading fast." But if PR's "traditional systems" are about "control," that's quite a different thing from the other types of communications that Rose would have us believe are also PR. Posting a personal ad or producing a work of art is not a "system of control," but the public relations industry is. It's an organized effort to control the thinking of a target population, which is why Bob Burton was quite correct to describe public relations as "propaganda."
    • Finally, Rose attempts to distinguish between "good PR" and "bad PR," offering some rather vague generalities about what constitutes the difference. I agree that there's a difference between good and bad PR, but the areas where Rose gets vague are precisely those areas where the differences between good and bad PR need to be clearly defined.

    By contrast, Bob Burton's commentary was specific. He didn't criticize PR simply for "all being bad." He criticized Edelman on the very specific basis of having been part of some of the recent scandals that have brought the public relations industry into further disrepute. Bob also pointed out that Edelman's proposed solutions to its image problem - such as cultivating a list of "500 influencers" - remain firmly within the industry's traditional "systems of control" paradigm and fail to fix the lack of transparency for which Edelman and other PR firms have rightly been criticized.

    Deliberate lack of transparency is the signature characteristic of virtually all unethical public relations, whether it be the creation of deceptive [[sw:front groups]], [[sw:video news releases]] in which paid spokespersons pretend to be reporters, or pundit-on-the-payroll scandals like the [[sw:Armstrong Williams]] affair. And there's a reason why these scandals keep happening. The public relations industry (as opposed to the work of "some artists" or "everybody who posts a personal ad") is a "system of control" in which the thing the PR firms try to control is public opinion. For the purpose of efficiency in achieving that control, it helps if the public doesn't know that those video news releases are paid spots, that [[sw:Karen Ryan]] isn't a reporter, or that Armstrong Williams has actually been paid a quarter of a million dollars to praise the Bush administration's education policy. Lack of transparency in these cases isn't an accidental oversight. It's part of the system.

  • Oil Lobbyist Becomes White House Climate Science Editor   19 years 1 day ago
    consistency
    The highly Orwellian characteristics of the current administration are blatantly apparent. This latest bit is reminiscent of 'Newspeak' in "1984," wherein the main character's job - his name escapes me - is to alter newspaper headlines to reflect the Party's position. We're winning the war, unemployment is down, production is up, and tomorrow your chocolate ration will be increased. The global corporate oligarchy continues its unwitting move toward totalitarianism, guided by simpletons who tell us that their actions serve our best interest while lining their pockets, while supposedly free people blindly accept their doctrine. "Ignorance is Strength." - Orwell. Jerome Alicki
  • Edelman's Rescue Plan for the PR Industry   19 years 1 week ago
    Why Slam Edelman?
    Bob Burton's slam against Edelman "propaganda" is naiive and displays a full-fledged bias that is disingenuous. If you want to hate the public relations business in toto then you don't have to pretend to objectively analyze it. Everything that comes from the White House, or any other politician, from executives, lawyers, many artists, or even PR Watch, can be considered public relations. Maybe a world of silence would be free of propaganda but we all promote ourselves and our views. Everybody who posts a personal ad can be accused of "spin."

    With the ubiquity of the Internet the traditional forms of PR control are fading fast. There are few secrets anymore beyond deep, proprietary information. Big companies like Hewlett-Packard and Sun and Microsoft encourage employees to publicly blog without prior management approval. This is the big shift in communication that Edelman is addressing. Edelman should be commended for starting a blog and allowing comment, and exposing himself to slams by PR Watch. If his "500 influencers" is a flawed idea then he is at least trying. Does Burton have a better idea, outside of PR simply disappearing (as likely as lawyers disappearing).

    Good PR is about telling your story effectively and concisely. Good PR helps you better understand yourself and your audience. Bad PR is when you hide the source of information, inflate billings, and falsely promote. The challenges of public relations strong equates with the legal profession. You can win in court and lose in public opinion.

    Web sites like this one radically alter the game. Good PR people will try to understand this powerful, ubiquitous media and operate openly and appropriately within it. Bad PR people will attempt to manipulate and co-opt it. They will fail because the Internet is unforgiving and a cached document can live forever.

    I have worked in public relations for 20 years and I was never a member of PRSA and was not aware of their code of ethics. There is no single body that speaks for the industry. Due to recent scandals many top PR firms (like Edelman) are formalizing and strictly enforcing a code of ethics. The same could be said of journalism, with the advent of the "Public Editor" and new avenues for readers to file editorial complaints.

    Full disclosure: I worked at Edelman Worldwide in New York for one year, until July, 1999. I occasionally post to Richard's blog and have my own blog on PR. See Mark Rose biography

  • Sowing Seeds of Discontent   19 years 1 week ago
    the color of money
    I wonder how many of these states are red or blue. One thing is sure : you're likely to see much green in the Governors' pockets. Stephane MOT http://www.stephanemot.com
  • The Passion of Fake Radio News   19 years 2 weeks ago
    This is not news
    This practice has been going on for decades. Not just for movies, but music artist's new releases as well. It was a great way for small market stations to sound larger. No big deal.
  • "Ecomagination": Beyond Electric   19 years 2 weeks ago
    ECOIMAGINATION - I have an high efficiency engine
    My proof of their ECOIMAGINATION - I have a very high efficiency engine, which can surpass even GE's ecological, and/or financial ob jectives. Who within GE is a contact point for discussion of such?
  • The Color TV of Fear   19 years 2 weeks ago
    Linked at
    BoomanTribune
  • The Passion of Fake Radio News   19 years 2 weeks ago
    Old practice
    Check out the recent DVD release of Dr Strangelove for something exactly like that, canned video answers to questions, meant to be spliced in with footage of a local interviewer. Here are my thoughts on it: http://karchner.com/blog/archives/2005/01/03/our-precious-bodily-fluids/
  • Bush Wins Earth Day Greenwashing Award (If There Were One)   19 years 5 weeks ago
    Stauber describes the symptom well, but what diagnosis?
    Propaganda is only an adjunct to power. Those in power seem to be less and less interested in depending on persuasion and more attracted to more tangible methods of social control. As many have pointed out, we are living under a regime of political repression. While I am a persistent defender of our human natures, it is unreasonable to expect that people will take personal risks in the face of a repressive political climate. So many repressive tools are available to the regime, so much detailed information on individuals is at their fingertips, that it is illusory to expect that organized resistance on a national level will be effective. This is in no way to demean the courageous acts of principled people. However, we are very, very bad at supporting people amongst us who suffer for conscience. Until we come to understand solidarity, our real champions will be attacked when seen, silent while in hiding. We are an occupied country folks. We live under a clever version of martial law. Calm reflection seems to be in order. We need to regroup to forge a clear understanding of our predicament. This will not require money. It will require intellectual and moral honesty. We will need to act locally once we find ourselves on the same page. I would like to be wrong about this. Sorry. herb
  • Living Off the Fat of the Land   19 years 5 weeks ago
    The enemy of my enemy
    is my friend!!!! There are those is the size acceptance movement who lament that the Center for Consumer Freedom is getting involved in this issue. While my opinion of the later is hardly favorable, I say it is high time someone takes on the pharmaceutical companies. For years there have been health professionals who have questioned the automatic association between obesity and poor health. Their voices were stifled by both the pharmaceuticals who pay off journalists and a popular prejudice. No grass roots group has the power to stand up to a behemoth like the Robert Woods Johnson foundation who makes megabucks off antiobesity hysteria. I am glad both sides of the issue are coming out, let this debate at least be examined critically and fairly. And let the corporations go at it against each other and use up all their resources. Since all the benefits of moderate fatness have been suppressed, this may be one war which benefits a more balanced exhange of information.
  • Britain's Nuclear Option   19 years 5 weeks ago
    Realistic Growth
    As a passionate environmentalist myself, and an engineer who happens to dabble in psychology, I firmly believe that the only way OUT of an environmental catastrophe is to develop nuclear power. Nuclear power is scary because it's big, but if you were to do a full analysis of safety considerations, it's probably the best option between fossil fuels, "natural" renewables, and nuclear. Fossil fuels I probably don't have to argue with this crowd. Renewables are a terrible land usage, and to generate enough energy we'd have to use far more land dedicated to these renewables than we would to nuclear disposal. It's scary, but true. Wind farms in enough quantity to alleviate the energy load use up enough land to cause birds significant problems, though they make excellent supplemental power. Solar power is absolutely terrible land usage, as it effectively turns its installation into a desert of sorts. Appropriate for some deserts, of course, but not enough to alleviate the problem. I think the reason nuclear power is so scary is simply because it's so concentrated. With solar power, the huge land loss required is less scary to most people, but has a far larger implication to the natural world. Rolling back human power use just ain't gonna happen. I would encourage anyone skeptical of this view to post some numbers about land usage, environmental impact, and power generated. I'm planning on doing that myself, because this is just my intuition - even though I hope I'm wrong! I'm barking mad about environmentalists who use their emotion before their heads... -Gary
  • Looking for Leads on an Environmental Story   19 years 6 weeks ago
    Trackback
    Sheldon, I wasn't able to create a trackback with the given URL, http://www.prwatch.org/trackback/3629 ... I posted your request at BoomanTribune.com, in a diary.
  • Bush Wins Earth Day Greenwashing Award (If There Were One)   19 years 6 weeks ago
    it's the fairness doctrine stupid
    The problem is any agenda which might inconvenience powerful corporate interests will never see the light of day in main stream media. Here's why: http://bsalert.com/artsearch.php?fn=2&as=354&dt=1
  • The FCC on "Fake News": Who's Trying to Persuade You?   19 years 6 weeks ago
    Some good commentary from Columbia Journalism Review
    Paul McLeary has written a [http://www.cjrdaily.org/archives/001456.asp|nice critique of the FCC statement] for CJR's CampaignDesk blog: Nice try, but producers and station managers likely see little to fear in statements like "operators generally must clearly disclose ..." This borders on the nonsensical. What exactly is meant by "generally?" Most of the time? Some of the time? At least six times out of 10? Worse, the notice also says that "No sponsorship identification is necessary with regard to material that is furnished to the licensee 'without charge or at a nominal charge.'" Since many VNRs are already given to stations for free, or at worst for a "nominal charge," the new language basically means it's business as usual. Also at CJR, Brian Montopoli points out that "[http://www.cjrdaily.org/archives/001452.asp|these high-profile transgressions don't exist in a vacuum]" but actually reflect the common journalistic practice (in print as well as on TV news) of having reporters rewrite news releases into actual news stories: For what, really, is the point of just rewriting a press release? If you're just regurgitating PR, you might as well just send the press release itself over the wire, or print it in the newspaper -- isn't that ultimately more honest? (Although, admittedly, probably not that good for circulation.) Reshaping a press release into story form without adding any real context, pertinent information, or countervailing opinion isn't journalism, appearances notwithstanding. It's actually not all that different from what a Karen Ryan does -- packaging PR so as it give it the imprimatur of editorial legitimacy.
  • Terrorism's Up, But Who's Counting?   19 years 7 weeks ago
    Another good idea politicized by Bush admin.
    Unfortunately, the statute authorizing the report does not stipulate that the report be made public. So the administration can stay within the law by "publishing" the report and keeping it secret. Hopefully some enterprising media group will manage to get its hands on a copy and at least put the administration on the defensive about the effectiveness of its so-called "war on terror."

    The annual report was once a serious policy tool, used by American and international governments to develop terrorism security policies. It was used as well by insurance and other industries for risk assessment and other types of business planning.

    It was pressure from those groups that caused the administration to scrap the politicized version of last year's report and reissue a fact-based one. Realizing they cannot bamboozle serious institutions with a propgandized report, the administration has simply decided to keep the facts out of sight.

    Disgusting.

    Co-founder of Midwest Center for American Values, a new progressive policy think tank. http://www.midwestvalues.org
  • The FCC on "Fake News": Who's Trying to Persuade You?   19 years 7 weeks ago
    S 266 definition of "propaganda"

    I just realized two things - one, that the links for the bill texts, above, expire after some length of time. So, if you're trying to get to S 266 or HR 373 and the links aren't working, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/ and search by bill number.

    The other thing is that the S 266 definition for "propaganda" deserves attention unto itself, so I'll post it here:

    In this Act, the term 'publicity' or 'propaganda' includes--

    1. a news release or other publication that does not clearly identify the Government agency directly or indirectly (through a contractor) financially responsible for the message;
    2. any audio or visual presentation that does not continuously and clearly identify the Government agency directly or indirectly financially responsible for the message;
    3. an Internet message that does not continuously and clearly identify the Government agency directly or indirectly financially responsible for the message;
    4. any attempt to manipulate the news media by payment to any journalist, reporter, columnist, commentator, editor, or news organization;
    5. any message designed to aid a political party or candidate;
    6. any message with the purpose of self-aggrandizement or puffery of the Administration, agency, Executive branch programs or policies, or pending congressional legislation;
    7. a message of a nature tending to emphasize the importance of the agency or its activities;
    8. a message that is so misleading or inaccurate that it constitutes propaganda; and
    9. the preparation, distribution, or use of any kit, pamphlet, booklet, publication, radio, television, or video presentation designed to support or defeat legislation pending before Congress or any State legislature, except in presentation to Congress or any State legislature itself.
  • Porter Novelli's Pyramid Schemes   19 years 8 weeks ago
    Objective?
    The Center for Science int the Public Interest is hardly objective when it comes to food either. As a sociologist who believes we are experiencing a moral panic around food and weight, I see it as a fight between greed and ignorance on one side and fundamentalism and ignorance on the other. I truly believe that some at the CPI are Nutritional McCarthists and no corporations are paying me to say that. As a matter of fact, I think the insurance industry are as pleased as punch with CSPI advocating allowing them to charge more for "overweight" people in group policies. Anyone who had any insight into the issue whatsoever would know it will only lead to more weight obsession = more risky weight loss practice = more obesity. But that is just the point. They are not interested in learning about the complex dynamics of this phenomena. IMO they are interested in forcing their beliefs about what is healthy down the publics throat. Not that they havent done some good in getting the major food companies to stop putting poison in our food. But that they are willing to support measures to coerce the public into buying their agenda is scary. I see no difference between this and any religious group with a sincere believe in its doctrine trying to impose it on everyone else. (Other than the former is allegedly "science" and the later faith.) If the government must stick its nose in my dinner plate, than they should have gotten a broader range of "experts" on the committee.
  • Porter Novelli's Pyramid Schemes   19 years 8 weeks ago
    Porter Novelli
    [http://www.usfoodpolicy.blogspot.com/|I have high hopes now] for the quality of the color scheme on that new Pyramid.
  • T-Bones of Contention   19 years 8 weeks ago
    This makes no sense
    Why are the big food corporations opposing COOL??? Are they really that scared of people choosing food grown closer to home? This one's a no-brainer, politically--even my dad (proud red-state Republican and sometime anti-environmentalist) supports COOL.
  • CMD & Free Press File 'Fake News' Complaint with FCC on Behalf of 40,000 Petition Signers   19 years 8 weeks ago
    Propaganda
    Have you seen this? http://www1.eps.gov/spg/ODA/USSOCOM/FortBraggNC/H92239-05-T-0026/Combine%20Synopsis%5FSolicitation.html
  • Ad Students Create Agent C for the Agency   19 years 9 weeks ago
    Fortunately, as a quick glanc
    Fortunately, as a quick glance at Agent C's ads makes apparent, anyone fearing an upsurge in CIA recruitment as a result of this campaign doesn't have much to worry about: the campaign ads are pretty terrible.The fill-in-the-blank theme, "CIA careers are more___ than you think," invites the search for adjectives more creative than THEY may think. (I posted about this on my blog, btw, Stay Free! Daily)
  • Ad Students Create Agent C for the Agency   19 years 9 weeks ago
    Agent Orange Marketing
    Professor Jacob Jacoby may reconsider the name his NYU students picked for their agency devoted to the promotion of the CIA ("Agent C Marketing"). What's the usual color of C Vitamins ? Orange. Thus, I'd recommand "Agent Orange Marketing", definitely the most relevant description for this outfit. Stephane MOT http://www.stephanemot.com