Journalism

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The Wisconsin Legislature Is Now in Control of Credentialing Capitol Journalists: Who Gets to Cover the Capitol?

by PRW Staff — January 29, 2013 - 8:57am
  • Topics: Journalism, Media

    • by Dylan Brogan

    At the height of the collective bargaining protests, when nearly all the doors at the Capitol were locked and guarded by police officers from every corner of the state, Dick Wheeler -- the unquestioned leader of the Wisconsin Capitol press corps -- ensured that members of the media were not denied access to the building.

    News

    "Citizens for Fire Safety" Smoked Out: Front Group Folds After Exposé

    by Rebekah Wilce — September 10, 2012 - 8:31am
  • Topics: Journalism, Front Groups, Food Rights Network, Health

    • Manufacturers of flame retardant chemicals, an industry that got a boost from Big Tobacco's shadow money decades ago, are being exposed to increased public scrutiny. In the fallout, a front group formed by the three biggest manufacturers, calling itself "Citizens for Fire Safety," has been shuttered.

    News

    Media Coverage of Mad Cow: USDA Calls "Misleading," Columbia Journalism Review Calls "Sane"

    by Rebekah Wilce — May 14, 2012 - 9:21am
  • Topics: Mad Cow Disease, Food Safety, Journalism, Food Rights Network

    • A downer cow at a California dairy was recently found to be infected with an "atypical" strain of "bovine spongiform encephalopathy" (BSE), or "mad cow" disease. There has been some significant media coverage of the case, and the USDA wants the media to know they are not pleased.

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) press secretary, Courtney Rowe, issued a memo saying there were an, "unfortunate amount of misleading articles meant for our public."

    News

    CMD Receives an "Izzy Award" for ALEC Exposed

    by Sara Jerving — March 1, 2012 - 12:36pm
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Journalism, Corporations, Media

    • The Park Center for Independent Media at Ithaca College has selected the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) for its annual "Izzy Award," which recognizes outstanding achievement in independent media. CMD was recognized for its ALEC Exposed project, and shares this year's award with Democracy Now! correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous, who was recognized for his exceptional reporting from Tahir Square. The award is named for the legendary I.F. Stone, the maverick investigative journalist who challenged Joe McCarthy's scare campaign and was the first to question the Gulf of Tonkin hoax.

    News

    Obama Visits WI and Flies the Union Flag, Er, Not Exactly

    by Emily Osborne — February 15, 2012 - 7:01pm
  • Topics: Journalism, Media, Wisconsin Protests

    • President Obama visited Wisconsin today to speak at Master Lock, a union firm that that has brought 100 manufacturing jobs back from China to the United States. Because it was the President's first visit to the state since the historic fight over collective bargaining broke out over one year ago, everyone was watching to see if he would address the controversy or signal his support. Some saw signals where none were intended.

    News

    Syngenta PR’s Weed-Killer Spin Machine: Investigating the Press and Shaping the "News" about Atrazine

    by PRW Staff — February 7, 2012 - 10:33am
  • Topics: Journalism, Atrazine Exposed, Corporations, Public Relations

    • - By Beau Hodai and Lisa Graves

    Documents obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy, recently unsealed as part of a major lawsuit against Syngenta, reveal how the global chemical company's PR team investigated the press and spent millions to spin news coverage and public perceptions in the face of growing concerns about potential health risks from the widely used weed-killer "atrazine."

    This story is part of a new series about this PR campaign to influence the media, potential jurors, potential plaintiffs, farmers, politicians, scientists, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the midst of reviews of the weed-killer's potential to act as an endocrine disruptor, over the past decade or so.

    Dealing with Meddlesome Reporters

    Two years ago, on March 2, 2010, Huffington Post Investigative Fund (HuffPo) reporter Danielle Ivory contacted Syngenta Corporation Director of Corporate Communications-North America Paul Minehart and asked, as reporters do, a few questions.

    Little did she know her questions to Syngenta—which reported sales of over $11 billion that year, almost half of which, $5 billion, was profit—would provoke the creation of a secret dossier on her.

    How News Gets Framed Influences Public Emotions Towards Corporations

    by Anne Landman — January 15, 2012 - 10:26am

    Corporate spinmeisters may take note of a new study out this month by University of Missouri and University of Singapore researchers. They studied readers' reaction to various news articles and found that the subtle way in which journalists report on crises -- like oil spills, plane crashes or product recalls -- can affect the public's attitude towards the corporation involved in the crisis. Not surprisingly, the public tends to respond more favorably towards a corporation if the story is given a "sadness-frame," meaning if it centers around the plight of the victims and how relief is being delivered. By contrast, if a story focuses on the corporation's contribution to the crisis, including laws that were potentially broken and possible punishment, it elicits a more negative attitudes towards the corporation. The research may prove useful to corporate criminals as well as accident-prone industries. "It is important for corporations to put on a human face during crises," Cameron said. "If a corporation can focus on the well-being of the victims and how the corporation will improve following the crisis, they have a better chance of influencing 'sadness-frame' news coverage as opposed to 'anger-frame' coverage. If the news coverage remains 'sadness-framed,' public perception will stay more positive." Watch for this spin in your local news and keep us informed at PRWatch.org.

    Main Source: 
    PhysOrg.com, January 13, 2012
    Op-Ed

    ALEC Politician Claims ALEC Meetings Are "Open to the Public." Really?

    by Lisa Graves — January 12, 2012 - 4:04pm
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Journalism, Public Diplomacy, Corporations, Democracy, Media, Public Relations

    • Confronted with a report by ProgressVA stating that through the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) corporate lobbyists get access to legislators "behind closed doors," ALEC politician Bill Howell dismissed the claim and told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that all ALEC meetings were open to the public.

    Really?

    That would be breaking news to both traditional press and the online media that have been blocked from ALEC meetings and are increasingly being threatened with arrest.

    News

    Franklin Center: Right-Wing Funds State News Source

    by Sara Jerving — October 27, 2011 - 8:00am
  • Topics: Journalism

    • As newsrooms across the country shave off staff due in part to slipping ad revenue and corporate media conglomeration, the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, is rushing to fill the gap. The group has 43 state news websites, with writers in over 40 states. Its reporters have been given state house press credentials and its news articles are starting to appear in mainstream print newspapers in each state. Who funds Franklin and what is its agenda?

    News

    Journalist Kicked out of ALEC Conference, Threatened With Arrest

    by Eric Carlson — August 5, 2011 - 7:32am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Journalism, Corporations, Ethics, Lobbying, Secrecy

    • In late July, shortly after the launch of ALECexposed.org, Lousiana State Rep.Noble Ellington, a Republican from the state's 20th district and the national chairman of the American Legislative Exchange Council, spoke to NPR about the recent spate of criticism leveled at his organization. When discussing the behind-closed-doors process used to craft ALEC model legislation, Ellington dismissed concerns raised by NPR, assuring interviewer Terry Gross that the public "have an opportunity to talk to their legislators about the legislation -- so I don't see how you can get more transparent than that."

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