Stations Won't Run Ad Exposing Ford's Greenwashing

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Radio stations won't let environmentalists at the Sierra Club run a radio ad urging the US car industry to build more fuel efficient cars. The ad spot specifically names Bill Ford Jr. of Ford Motor Company, an executive who excels at greenwashing his company with rhetoric, while failing to 'walk the walk.' Ford gives lip service to fuel efficiency, but staunchly opposes laws that would require it. Radio stations doing business with Ford and running its car ads are refusing to run the Sierra Club's radio spot. The New York Times reports that "The Sierra Club intended to start running the radio spot in Detroit yesterday as well as Washington but has not yet found a local station willing to play the ad. 'We felt it was inappropriate for the Sierra Club to single out an individual and attack an individual in the ad,' said Rich Homberg, general manager of WWJ, a local news station owned by Viacom. Ford has been one of the station's advertisers, but Mr. Homberg said the decision was made on the merits of the ad. 'Singling out the C.E.O. of a major automaker, especially one who was in the forefront of the issue, seems inappropriate,' he said. 'We're one of the stations that sets the standard for journalism in this community. We didn't make this call lightly.' "