Ethics

Murdoch Subsidiary Faces Investigation Over Spying Claims

by Bob Burton — July 9, 2009 - 2:44pm

Nick Davies reports that a UK subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation "has paid out more than £1m to settle legal cases that threatened to reveal evidence of his journalists' repeated involvement in the use of criminal methods to get stories." "The payments," he reports, "secured secrecy over out-of-court settlements in three cases that threatened to expose evidence of Murdoch journalists using private investigators who il

Main Source: 
Guardian (UK), July 8, 2009

Bristol-Myers' "Celebrity Patient" Goes off Script

by Sheldon Rampton — May 23, 2009 - 8:48pm

The Wall Street Journal has published a revealing story about one of the seamier sides of the drug industry's marketing campaigns: paying patients to offer testimonials about their drugs. As health industry observer Merrill Goozner explains, the story came to light because a "celebrity patient" had a "falling out with his corporate sponsor, Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Main Source: 
Gooz News, May 14, 2009

The Infinite Mind Was Not Aware

by Sheldon Rampton — April 2, 2009 - 9:04am

PR Watch has reported previously on conflict of interest issues surrounding psychiatrist Fred Goodwin, the former host of "The Infinite Mind" public radio series.

JAMA Says Nobody Shoulda Said Nothin'

by Sheldon Rampton — March 26, 2009 - 11:40am

The Journal of the American Medical Association is requiring that anyone who complains to its editors about conflict of interest violations at the publication must remain silent publicly while they investigate the complaint. "The new policy is the result of a public spat with Jonathan Leo, a professor of neuro-anatomy at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tenn.," explains the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Main Source: 
CSPI Integrity in Science Watch, March 23, 2009

Australian Police Unspun

by Bob Burton — March 26, 2009 - 4:56am

After pleading guilty to counts of perjury and three of disclosing a confidential hearing, the former media director for Australia's Victoria Police, Stephen Linnell, has been fined $A5,000 and sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years. Linnell, a former journalist, became a friend of the then-assistant commissioner, Noel Ashby, after being appointed media director in 2003. In May 2007, Ashby was a suspect in an investigation by the Office of Police Integrity (OPI) into the leaking of confidential information.

Main Source: 
The Age (Melbourne), March 26, 2009

The PR Firm for "Evil"

by Bob Burton — March 10, 2009 - 1:44pm

After it was revealed that the floundering American International Group (AIG) had hired Burson Marsteller (B-M) as one of its PR advisers, Rachel Maddow, the host of “The Rachel Maddow Show” on MSNBC, wondered who else the firm had worked for. After a scathing review of their past clients -- including the Argentinean military dictatorship, Philip Morris, and Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu -- Maddow concluded that "when evil needs public relations, evil has Burson-Marsteller on speed dial.” In response, B-M CEO Mark Penn wrote an internal email to staff claiming that Maddow "significantly mischaracterized the nature of the firm's past." In the email, which was leaked to PR Week, Penn wrote that "we are and should be proud of the work we do. ... While we can't spend our time responding to every attack that comes our way over the internet or cable television, I do think it is important that I reach out to each of you to let you know that we have a good story to tell about the work we do."

Main Source: 
PR Week, March 7, 2009

Mixing Advocacy, Scholarly Research and Journalism: Can the New America Foundation Square the Circle?

by Diane Farsetta — February 26, 2009 - 4:12pm
  • Topics: Journalism, Ethics, Think Tanks

    • In the spring semester of 2008, I was a fellow researching a paper on think tank ethics ("The Perils of Non-Profit Journalism") at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government's Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy. I was thus pleased when the New America Foundation's President, Steve Coll, spoke at the Shorenstein Center on March 11, 2008, and expressed his commitment to high ethical standards for journalists, researchers and other think tank staff.

    The New America Foundation is a Washington, DC based think tank that has pioneered the introduction of journalism to the traditional think tank mix of advocacy and research. A two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, Steve Coll is the former Managing Editor of the Washington Post and spent 20 years at the Post as a reporter and editor. Currently, in addition to serving as New America's President, Mr. Coll writes a column for The New Yorker magazine. Launched in 1999, the New America Foundation currently employs more than 100 individuals and has an annual budget of over $10 million. Its Chairman of the Board is Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google, Inc.

    Rethinking Think Tanks

    by Diane Farsetta — February 4, 2009 - 4:43pm

    "Fueled by tax-deductible donations and an explosion in philanthropic assets, think tanks have dramatically grown in size and influence during the past 100 years," writes J.H. Snider, himself a think tank fellow. "U.S. think tanks increased in number from eight in 1910 to 98 in 1960 and 1,106 in 2006. ...

    Main Source: 
    Politico.com, February 3, 2009

    Front Group King Rick Berman Gets Blasted by his Son, David Berman

    by Anne Landman — January 30, 2009 - 11:00am
  • Topics: Front Groups, Ethics, Lobbying

    • Washington, D.C. lobbying scourge Richard B. "Rick" Berman is facing steadily increasing pushback these days, and some of it is coming from a surprising source -- his own son, musician David Berman.

    Berman has long been the front man through which corporations have aggressively attacked their opponents without leaving fingerprints. Known to his own friends and enemies alike as "Dr. Evil," Berman has perfected the art of setting up non-profit "charitable" groups to advance corporate interests. The groups have deceptively helpful-sounding names, like "Guest Choice Network," the "Employment Policies Institute" or the "Center for Consumer Freedom," but really serve as well-funded attack dogs for the tobacco, alcohol, chain restaurant, tanning and other industries. The groups' non-profit status makes their funding hard to trace, which has permitted Berman to operate in the shadows for decades while pocketing millions from unpopular industries for his work thwarting public interest legislation.

    Fiat Saves the World, and Gets Ads Aired for Free

    by Diane Farsetta — January 30, 2009 - 10:39am

    "Fiat, strapped for cash and struggling to draw attention to the Lancia, decided a few years ago to promote the brand as helping improve society," reports Aaron Patrick. So the company sponsored the Ninth World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, held in Paris in December 2008. The laureates were driven to the summit in black Lancia Deltas, and filmed by the car company as they arrived.

    Main Source: 
    Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), January 26, 2009
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