Headlines

The diet drug craze of the mid-1990s was fueled by cover-ups, misinformation and a multi-million-dollar PR machine, according to Dispensing with the Truth, a new book by Mediaweek's Washington bureau chief, Alicia Mundy. Burson-Marsteller, Edelman Medical Communications, Ogilvy Adams & Reinhart and Ketchum were among firms identified as part of a nearly $100 million public relations spin campaign "that would put presidential consultants to shame," writes Mundy.

Serbia is looking to "establish friendly and constructive relations" with the U.S., and is using consultant Jim Denton, Alexandria, Va., to do so. He is receiving $120K from the "Serbian diaspora community," according to the one-year contract filed with the Justice Dept.

The prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize has been awarded to Jane Akre and Steve Wilson, TV journalists who researched the potential health risks of rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone), the genetically modified hormone injected into U.S. dairy cows to stimulate milk production. The hormone is one of the first genetically modified products approved by the FDA. It is banned in Europe, Japan and most other industrialized nations. The story by Akre and Wilson proved too hot for their local Fox TV network affiliate for which it was produced and ultimately led to their firing.

Archer Daniels Midland Company, seeking a more wholesome image, replaced its longtime slogan "Supermarket to the World" with the touchingly eco-friendly tag "The Nature of What's to Come." ADM has reason to be concerned about its public profile; the feds have convicted the agri-business giant of multiple counts of price-fixing, multiple states have taken it to court for pollution-related issues, and political reformers say ADM has reaped massive government pork from heavy soft money donations.