Democracy

Yahoo Serious Trouble

by Diane Farsetta — September 7, 2005 - 11:12am

After notifying "foreign Web sites that his newspaper colleagues had been instructed not to commemorate the then-pending 15th anniversary of China's 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy activists," Chinese journalist Shi Tao received a 10-year prison sentence. According to Reporters Without Borders, the court that sentenced Mr. Shi "relied partly on evidence provided by a Hong Kong subsidiary of Internet company Yahoo Inc." The government of President Hu Jintao has repeatedly targeted the media.

Main Source: 
Wall Street Journal (sub. req'd.), September 7, 2005

Fleishman-Hillard Hired By Japanese Opposition Leader

by Bob Burton — September 6, 2005 - 4:57am

Katsuya Okada, the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan and the main rival to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, has hired PR firm Fleishman-Hillard to help buff his image ahead of the September 11 national election.

Main Source: 
Mainichi Daily News, September 5, 2005

Preemptive Snipe at Voices of Reason

by Bob Burton — September 5, 2005 - 1:25am

Nine months before Antony Loewenstein's book on the conflict in Israel and Palestine, Voices of Reason, has even been published, it's under attack. Loewenstein, who is a progressive member of the Jewish community and a Sydney-based freelance journalist, unsuccessfully made several attempts to ask the right-wing Australian Labor Party parliamentarian and Jewish community member, Michael Danby, some questions on the issue.

Main Source: 
The Age, September 5, 2005

Diebolder, California Style

by Diane Farsetta — August 25, 2005 - 9:42am

"Diebold Election Systems (DES) has hired Ogilvy PR to burnish the company's image and the benefits of electronic voting in California," reports PR Week.

Main Source: 
PR Week (sub. req'd.), August 25, 2005

Chinese Reporters Fight Pay to Praise Plan

by Sheldon Rampton — August 20, 2005 - 12:50pm

A leading state-run newspaper in China has scrapped a controversial appraisal system in which reporters would get paid more if they pleased the Communist Party's central propaganda department. The plan prompted a rebellion by the paper's reporters, one of whom posted an open letter condemning it on the Internet.

Main Source: 
Weekend Australian, August 20, 2005

SLAPPing Speech

by Sheldon Rampton — August 19, 2005 - 8:26pm

Thanks to Molly Ivins for mentioning our work in her recent column about "strategic lawsuits against public participation" (SLAPPs), in which corporations file harassment lawsuits to silence their critics. Ivins cites the experience of Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, which "has already spent $10 million defending itself against a lawsuit filed by Isuzu Motors Ltd.

Main Source: 
AlterNet, August 19, 2005

Post-Revolutionary Marketing

by Diane Farsetta — June 16, 2005 - 10:35am

One candidate in Iran's presidential election, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, "has done more than the others to market his particular presidential brand," writes Tehran-based design consultant Tori Egherman.

Main Source: 
MarketingProfs.com, June 14, 2005

Stop the Fake News Dummies!

by Laura Miller — June 1, 2005 - 8:49am

Video news releases (like those featuring Karen Ryan) and pundit payola (like Armstrong Williams' promotion of the No Child Left Behind Act) are just two examples of how corporate and government interests have infiltrated news media, turning reporters and c

Main Source: 
Center for Media and Democracy

Spreading Democracy, for Shah

by Diane Farsetta — May 31, 2005 - 3:02pm

"The Bush administration is expanding efforts to influence Iran's internal politics," including increasing aid to exile groups and airing "longer broadcasts criticizing the Iranian government" on Voice of America satellite TV programs. Under secretary of state for political affairs R.

Main Source: 
New York Times, May 29, 2005

Sowing Seeds of Discontent

by Diane Farsetta — May 27, 2005 - 2:47pm

"Close to 100 New England towns have passed resolutions opposing the unregulated use of GMOs (genetically modified organisms); nearly a quarter of these have called for local moratoria on the planting of GMO seeds.

Main Source: 
CounterPunch, May 26, 2005
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