Media

Follow the Money, Eh? Canadian Reporters' Glowing Failure

by Bob Burton — September 26, 2007 - 1:35am
  • Topics: Journalism, Issue Management, Nuclear Power, Third Party Technique, Environment, Ethics, International, Media, Public Relations

    • "Much of the environmental movement, including Greenpeace, has lost its way when it comes to nuclear power, caught up in politically correct ideology and stooping to sensationalism to garner support," declared a recent media alert announcing the visit of one-time Greenpeace activist Patrick Moore to Toronto. The alert continued, "In Ontario, CANDU nuclear energy is the greatest single contributor to carbon reduction relative to all other energy producing technologies."

    Australian Government Lays Information Smokescreen

    by Bob Burton — September 26, 2007 - 1:34am

    Faced with opposition to increasing government secrecy by Australia's Right to Know, a coalition of Australian media companies and the journalists' union, the Australian Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, has announced a review of the

    Main Source: 
    Sydney Morning Herald, September 25, 2007

    A First for the FCC: Fining Fake News!

    by Diane Farsetta — September 24, 2007 - 5:38pm
  • Topics: Video News Releases, Fake TV News, Marketing, Media, Public Relations, U.S. Government

    • The VNR that cost Comcast $4,000The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced on September 21 that it was fining Comcast Corp. $4,000 for its cable channel CN8's broadcast of fake TV news, a video news release (VNR) without disclosure.

    The Comcast fine is the first-ever sanction for airing a VNR, a sponsored PR video that mimics the structure and style of television news reports. The fine is a direct result of Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) investigations, and of a joint complaint filed with the FCC by CMD and Free Press.

    The FCC's action against Comcast is precedent setting. It firmly rejects the public relations industry's argument that no disclosure is needed if television stations are not paid to air VNRs. Hopefully, the FCC will soon address the nearly 140 other undisclosed VNR broadcasts that were documented in CMD's two reports, "Fake TV News" and "Still Not the News."

    Lobbyists Do the Darndest Things

    by Diane Farsetta — September 18, 2007 - 11:42am

    "Lobbyists for a business group close to the crooked government of Azerbaijan have scheduled what looks to be" a National Press Club event for a front group, according to Harper's Ken Silverstein. The event features members of the "Association for Civil Society Development in Azerbaijan" (ACSDA), and was organized by the lobbying firm Bob Lawrence & Associates.

    Main Source: 
    Harper's magazine, September 17, 2007

    Conservative Media Bias

    by Sheldon Rampton — September 14, 2007 - 10:25am

    Media Matters for America, the liberal media watchdog organization, has conducted a systematic study of the commentary sections in U.S. newspapers. "The results show that in paper after paper, state after state, and region after region, conservative syndicated columnists get more space than their progressive counterparts," they conclude. "Sixty percent of the nation's daily newspapers print more conservative syndicated columnists every week than progressive syndicated columnists."

    Main Source: 
    Media Matters for America, September 12, 2007

    A Visit to OhmyNews

    by Judith Siers-Poisson — September 4, 2007 - 2:32pm
  • Topics: Citizen Journalism, Activism, Internet, Journalism, International, Media

    • On my way home from conferences in Malaysia, I unexpectedly ended up spending a few days in Seoul, South Korea. Thanks to Dan Gillmor, who described OMN as the best manifestation of "journalism-as-a-conversation" model, I was able to connect with OhmyNews (OMN), and fortunate to meet with Mr. Jean Min, the director of OhmyNews International (OMNI), on August 22, 2007.

    Literal "Whitewashing": The Taiwanese Show How PR is Done After Plane Catches Fire

    by Conor Kenny — September 2, 2007 - 3:42pm

    This bit of PR whitewashing comes very close to a literal definition. From a Japanese press account quoted in the "Telstar Logistics" blog: "China Airlines has painted over its name and logo on the wreckage of a passenger jet that exploded in flames at Naha Airport in Okinawa moments after passengers slid down emergency chutes to escape. The airline painted over the name 'China Airlines' on the left-hand side of the aircraft and the company's logo on the plane's tail fin.

    Main Source: 
    Telstar Logistics blog, August 23, 2007

    My Bucks Are Beautiful to P&G

    by Diane Farsetta — August 28, 2007 - 3:44pm

    The biggest U.S. advertiser, Procter & Gamble, is launching "a new multibrand campaign called 'My Black Is Beautiful,'" reports Advertising Age. The brainchild of P&G multicultural marketing director Najoh Tita Reid, the campaign seeks to "make all black girls and women" feel beautiful, while forging "a closer relationship between P&G brands and their black consumers." According to P&G research, "71% of black women feel they're portrayed worse than other women in media and advertising.

    Main Source: 
    Advertising Age, August 27, 2007
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