Corporations

Managing the Enron Meltdown

by Sheldon Rampton — April 25, 2002 - 11:00pm

Hill & Knowlton, the PR firm that "managed communications" at Three Mile Island and worked for the government of Kuwait to spin the war in the Persian Gulf, has now been hired "to salvage Enron Corp.," according to O'Dwyer's. Howard Paster, the White House lobbyist for former President Clinton, is working on the account with a variety of other H&K staffers with ties to both Republican and Democratic politicians.

Main Source: 
O'Dwyer's PR Daily, April 26, 2002

Philip Morris Sheds Its Skin

by Sheldon Rampton — April 25, 2002 - 11:00pm

It's official: Philip Morris, the world's largest tobacco company, has now changed its name to "Altria," from the Latin root for "altruism." The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids isn't impressed.

Main Source: 
Associated Press, April 26, 2002

Endorsements for Sale

by Sheldon Rampton — April 22, 2002 - 11:00pm

The Child Health Corporation of America, which "says its mission is to find the best medical supplies for some of the nation's biggest children's hospitals," is "endorsing certain products in return for a percentage of sales and, in some cases, shares or warrants from their manufacturers." Nevertheless, "Manufacturers that receive the seal hold it up as a major independent endorsement."

Main Source: 
New York Times, April 23, 2002

U.S., Oil Companies Oust Climate Change Scientist

by Sheldon Rampton — April 19, 2002 - 11:00pm

The Bush administration, Exxon-Mobil and other energy companies successfully connived behind the scenes to oust climatologist Robert Watson from leadership of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nation's international scientific panel on climate change. Meanwhile, an extensive research survey published in March confirms that global warming is already affecting life on earth.

Main Source: 
The Guardian (UK), April 20, 2002

The Lockup Lobby

by Sheldon Rampton — April 14, 2002 - 6:17pm

Over the past two decades, America's prison population quadrupled, creating a $50 billion corrections industry that houses two million inmates. "That's bigger than tobacco," notes American RadioWorks correspondent John Biewen.

Main Source: 
http://www.americanradioworks.org/features/corrections/laws1.html

48 Hours

by Sheldon Rampton — April 10, 2002 - 11:00pm

While formulating its national energy policy, the Bush administration's Energy Department met with 109 representatives of the energy industry and its trade associations from late January to May 17, 2001, but gave environmental groups less than 48 hours to review and comment on the policies.

Main Source: 
New York Times, April 11, 2002

Wall Street's "Big Lie"

by Sheldon Rampton — April 10, 2002 - 11:00pm

The full extent of Wall Street's corruption doesn't stop at Enron and Arthur Andersen. Extraordinary revelations about Merrill Lynch surfaced this week when Eliot Spitzer, the New York state attorney general, publicized e-mail messages that circulated among Merrill's stock analysts, suggesting that the analysts privately doubted the stocks they publicly recommended to clients.

Main Source: 
Washington Post, April 11, 2002

Newsroom Staffing Drops Sharply

by Laura Miller — April 8, 2002 - 11:00pm

The American Society of Newspaper Editors reports, "Nearly 2,000 journalists left the newspaper industry last year, the largest loss in 25 years, while the percent of minority journalists working at daily newspapers rose nearly a half of one percentage point to 12.07 percent." In their annual census of newsrooms, ASNE found that most of the losses were reporters at medium-size newspapers. "In 2001, many publishers and editors offered buyouts to senior staffers and laid off other employees as the industry struggled to cope with the recession and a decline in advertising," ASNE writes.

Main Source: 
American Society of Newspaper Editors, April 9, 2002

Arctic Power Sees Conflict With Saudi Arabia, Drops PR Firm

by Laura Miller — April 7, 2002 - 11:00pm

Arctic Power, a lobbying organization that promotes drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, has ended its $4-million account with Qorvis Communication reports PR trade publication O'Dwyer's PR Daily. Arctic Power says there is a conflict of interest since Qorvis also is working for Saudi Arabia. One of Arctic Power's key arguments for opening ANWR to oil drilling is that it would reduce US dependence on foreign oil, particularly Middle-Eastern oil. The US is Saudi Arabia's second top export market.

Main Source: 
American Prospect, April 2, 2002; O'Dwyer's PR Daily, April 8, 2002

The News About the News

by Sheldon Rampton — April 5, 2002 - 7:06am

Leonard Downie Jr., and Robert Kaiser, two top editors at the Washington Post, have written a new book detailing the corrupting influence of corporate ownership on mainstream news. Titled The News About the News: American Journalism in Peril, their book details how the push for profits during the past quarter century has substituted entertainment for analysis, undermined investigative journalism (too expensive), given us ever-more stories about actors, sports figures, and celebrities, and blurred the lines between news and advertising.

Main Source: 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0375408746/thecenterformediA/
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