Lobbying

Deadly Cowboys

by Bob Burton — November 25, 2007 - 5:49am

Blackwater USA is a private military contractor facing a federal U.S. grand jury investigation for the shooting of Iraqi citizens. The company recently hit the headlines after its personnel opened fire on Iraqi civilians in September, killing 17.

Main Source: 
Washington Post, November 20, 2007

Fine-Tuning the Sell Job for the Next War

by Diane Farsetta — November 19, 2007 - 4:07pm

"The basis of the whole thing was, 'we're going to go into Iran and what do we have to do to get you guys to go along with it,'" said Laura Sonnenmark, a participant in a recent focus group apparently funded by the Republican-associated lobbying group Freedo

Main Source: 
Mother Jones, November 19, 2007

Amgen Website Invites Testimonials, Posts Off-Label Claims By Patients

by Paul Goldberg — November 19, 2007 - 2:28am
  • Topics: Astroturf, Internet, Ethics, Lobbying, Marketing, Pharmaceuticals

    • To mobilize elderly Americans in an effort to overturn the new Medicare coverage policy for erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs, which boost red blood cell production), Amgen Inc. appears to have borrowed a strategy from the purveyors of alternative medicine.

    The company launched a "Protect Cancer Patients" website, where visitors were invited to submit testimonials about the healing powers of ESAs. Also, they could contact members of Congress, or review the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services coverage decision and the House and Senate resolutions to vacate it.

    Though the Internet designation ".org" suggests that the site is operated by an advocacy group, the "privacy policy" section notes that "this site is owned and operated by Amgen Inc." and can be used for communications with the company.

    On the home page, the site is described as "online headquarters of a national campaign to protect cancer patients on Medicare from a decision denying them ... coverage for needed medicines."

    "Amgen's mission is to serve patients, which is why we openly support the Protect Cancer Patients website," Kelley Davenport, an Amgen spokesman, said in an email. "The site educates cancer patients on Medicare and their caregivers about a Medicare policy that impacts cancer patients, so that their voices and concerns are heard by government policymakers.

    Ethanol Industry Fuels New Ad Campaign

    by Diane Farsetta — November 5, 2007 - 4:43pm

    "Renewable Fuels Now," a new ethanol industry group, "plans a splashy ad campaign next week that will appear in popular Capitol Hill publications, including The Hill and Roll Call," reports Lauren Etter. The group, which counts the National Corn Growers Association and the Renewable Fuels Association among its members, has hired the PR firm Manning Selvage & Lee.

    Main Source: 
    Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), November 3, 2007

    Product Safety Officials Get the Lead Out

    by Diane Farsetta — November 5, 2007 - 3:37pm

    After "several highly publicized recalls of Chinese-made toys that contained hazardous levels of lead," the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has come under increased scrutiny.

    Main Source: 
    Washington Post, November 2, 2007

    Broadcasters' Coalition of the Shilling Objects to Fake News Fines

    by Diane Farsetta — November 1, 2007 - 5:56pm
  • Topics: Video News Releases, Corporations, Fake TV News, Lobbying, Media, U.S. Government

    • Do you remember when the Surgeon General's warning appeared on cigarette packs, and everyone stopped smoking? Or when nutritional information was added to food packaging, and everyone stopped eating sugary snacks? Neither do I.

    Yet lawyers and lobbyists for the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) insist that mounting pressure to disclose fake news "already has begun to drastically chill speech in newsrooms across the country, inhibiting broadcasters and cablecasters from fully serving their viewers."

    That claim is made in RTNDA's new filing (PDF) with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The broadcasters' group is urging the FCC to stop considering fines for undisclosed video news releases (VNRs). The FCC has proposed fines totaling $20,000 against Comcast, for its cable channel CN8 having aired five VNRs — public relations videos designed to look like news reports — without disclosure.

    The FCC fines are an important first step in ensuring news viewers' right to know. But rather than roll up its metaphoric sleeves and address the impact of VNRs on television news, RTNDA is lobbying against any FCC action.

    Coalition of the Killing

    by Sheldon Rampton — November 1, 2007 - 4:51pm

    Its reputation in tatters, the Blackwater private military firm has hired "a bipartisan stable of big-name Washington lawyers, lobbyists and press advisers," report John Broder and James Risen. In addition to the Burson-Marsteller PR firm, the hired guns who have worked for Blackwater include Kenneth D.

    Main Source: 
    New York Times, November 1, 2007

    The Abramoff Files

    by Sheldon Rampton — November 1, 2007 - 4:05pm

    Disgraced lobbyist Jack AbramoffWhen lobbyist Jack Abramoff pled guilty last year to multiple counts of fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy, White House officials and George W.

    Main Source: 
    Washington Post, November 1, 2007

    AT&T's Wisconsin Network Finds Broad Support for Video "Choice"

    by Diane Farsetta — October 30, 2007 - 5:36pm
  • Topics: Front Groups, Corporations, Lobbying, Media, Public Relations, Science

    • It's no secret that polls are used to shape public opinion at least as much as they're used to measure it. The website of one major U.S. polling firm, the Mellman Group, boasts its "extensive experience developing effective communications strategies that lead people to choose our client's product or service, join their organization, hold their opinion, or vote as we would like."

    Polling was used as a perception management tactic in the national debate over the children's health insurance program known as SCHIP. As President Bush prepared to veto an SCHIP reauthorization bill, Republican strategists worried about the impact on their party. Republican pollster David Winston came up with a solution: present the party's opposition as an attempt to "'put poor kids first' rather than expand coverage to adults, illegal immigrants and those already with insurance," reported the Wall Street Journal. "Independents favored that message 47%-38%." The veto went ahead, with the "poor kids first" theme figuring prominently in Republican talking points and briefing materials, such as the White House's "Five Key Myths About President Bush's Support for SCHIP Reauthorization."

    Polls are also frequently employed as part of a "bandwagon" strategy: most people support (or oppose) this, so you should support (or oppose) this, too. Last year, a poll purported to show strong opposition to "net neutrality," the principle that networks should provide access to any data, without discrimination. But the poll questions were highly leading, asking participants whether they preferred "new TV and video choice" and "lower prices for cable TV," or "barring high speed internet providers from offering specialized services." The poll was funded by Verizon Communications, which opposes net neutrality.

    Another telecom-related poll was unveiled last month at a press conference in Madison, Wisconsin. According to a press release (PDF) put out by the newly-formed Wisconsin Video Choice Coalition, "Wisconsin residents across demographic, geographic and party lines overwhelmingly support a state bill that would encourage competition to cable TV."

    By all accounts, the legislation in question is controversial. Why, then, did the poll find such strong support for it?

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