Headlines

Online Politics: A Post-Mortem

by Sheldon Rampton — November 28, 2000 - 11:00pm

The elections of 2000 were touted as a coming-out party for politics on the internet. Websites with names like Voter, Speakout, Vote, Grassroots, and Votenet promised to revolutionize politics, gushing hype and dreamy, feel-good mission statements about "using the Internet to promote a more active and informed electorate" and "enabling citizens and their representatives to affect positive, democratic change." After the confetti has settled, howeer, it is painfully clear that online politics was as badly oversold as the rest of the internet.

Main Source: 
New Republic, November 28, 2000

Sound Bites Get Shorter

by Laura Miller — November 11, 2000 - 12:00am

A study by the Center for Media and Public Affairs shows the average sound bite length for the presidential candidates on the network nightly news has dropped to 7.3 seconds, a 26% decline since 1988 (9.8 seconds) and an 83% drop from the 1968 presidential election.

Main Source: 
O'Dwyer's PR Newsletter, November 11, 2000

Standing Up to the Swoosh

by Sheldon Rampton — October 3, 2000 - 11:00pm

Professional athlete Jim Keady became an activist against sweatshop conditions in Nike's overseas factories while studying theology at St. John's University and coaching for the school's soccer program. His athletic and academic career slammed to a halt, he says, when St. John's negotiated a multi-million-dollar sponsorship deal with Nike that would have required him to become "a billboard for a company that was reaping profits on the backs of the poor. ... As a coach, I would've had to wear the equipment

Main Source: 
Village Voice, October 4, 2000

Documentary Rips Philip Morris Image Makeover

by Sheldon Rampton — September 21, 2000 - 11:00pm

A documentary film by INFACT, the Boston-based corporate watchdog, charges Philip Morris with orchestrating a global lobbying campaign to curb any effort by the World Health Organization to restrict the marketing of cigarettes. The film, titled "Making a Killing: Philip Morris, Kraft and Global Tobacco Addiction," says that Philip Morris, which uses Burson-Marsteller for PR, is spending millions in the U.S. for a "feel good" corporate image campaign the same time that it continues to drive up tobacco sales and tobacco deaths throughout the world.

Main Source: 
O'Dwyer's PR Daily, September 22, 2000

Grass Roots Seeded by Drugmaker

by Sheldon Rampton — September 11, 2000 - 10:00pm

"Showing all the signs of a thriving grass-roots movement, a host of new health-care groups are drawing attention to the perils of a contagious, sometimes lethal virus called hepatitis C," writes Robert O'Harrow. "But contrary to appearances, these coalitions are not spontaneous gatherings of concerned citizens. They are instead a key part of a carefully orchestrated marketing campaign funded by Schering-Plough Corp. to sell the primary therapy for hepatitis C, Rebetron, which costs $18,000 a year." Several members of the Hepatitis C Coalition are on the payroll of the Shandwick PR firm.

Main Source: 
Washington Post, September 12, 2000

Rain Dance: Mississippi's Choctaw Indians Find An Unlikely Ally In a GOP Stalwart

by Sheldon Rampton — July 2, 2000 - 11:00pm

Lobbyist Jack Abramoff sets up and funds coalitions of conservative organizations that then work to push the agendas of his clients. Gambling, sweatshops, you name it and he represents them in Washington.

Main Source: 
Wall Street Journal, July 3, 2000

Crisis in PR!

by Sheldon Rampton — April 30, 2000 - 11:00pm

"Very marginal" is the way Steve Lett, president of a now-defunct dot-com company, describes the result of his company's initial experience with public relations. PaperStudio.com outsourced its PR functions to a so-called virtual agency that stitches together a flock of PR freelancers. One year and $125,000 later, PaperStudio had gained a paltry 15 clips for its press kit.

Main Source: 
Red Herring, May 1, 2000

$100,000 vs $50-million -- Competing Biotech PR Campaigns

by Sheldon Rampton — April 1, 2000 - 11:00pm

"This month, April 2000, biotech biggies Aventis CropScience, BASF, Dow Chemical, Dupont, Monsanto, Novartis, and Zeneca Ag Products, in conjunction with their trade association, launched at $50-million, multi-year, North American PR campaign to improve public understanding and acceptance of biotechnology, particularly genetically modified foods," notes PR pro and right-wing ideologue Ross Irvine (not to be confused with right-wing ideologue Reed Irvine).

Main Source: 
ePublic Relations, April 2000

Laissez-Faire TV

by Sheldon Rampton — March 1, 2000 - 11:00pm

ABC's John Stossel is a man on a mission: to teach Americans about the evils of government regulation and the rewards of capitalism.

Main Source: 
Brill's Content, March 1, 2000

Prime-Time Propagandist

by Sheldon Rampton — February 25, 2000 - 11:00pm

While ABC News has been looking the other way, correspondent John Stossel has been transformed from a right-leaning bomb-thrower of prime-time news into a full-fledged propagandist in the classroom. The transformation was fostered by an affiliation among ABC News, Stossel and the conservative Palmer R. Chitester Fund, which sells educational materials based on Stossel's ABC reporting. The arrangement touches on the fundamental ethical question of whether or not journalists and the news organizations they work for should align themselves with ideologically driven organizations.

Main Source: 
Salon.com, February 25, 2000
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