Media

Bush Nominates Sitcom Producer For Corporation for Public Broadcasting

by Bob Burton — July 16, 2006 - 5:16pm

In early June George W. Bush announced he was nominating sitcom producer, Warren Bell, to the board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). The corporation funds public radio and television programming.

Main Source: 
Los Angeles Times, July 14, 2006

Government PR Dominates Washington Coverage, Says Veteran Reporter Pincus

by Bob Burton — July 15, 2006 - 10:24pm

Reflecting on his 50 years of reporting Washington politics, Washington Post journalist, Walter Pincus, notes that media coverage has "become dominated by increasingly sophisticated public relations practitioners, primarily in the White House and other agencies of government." Writing in an edition of the Nieman Reports on the theme of "journalistic courage", Pincus argues that "journalistic courage should include the refusal to publish in a newspaper or carry on a TV or radio news show any statement

Main Source: 
Nieman Reports, July 13, 2006

The ABCs of Adult Marketing to Children

by Jonathan Rosenblum — July 11, 2006 - 1:13pm

"Adult shopping decisions might be affected by a sociological change called 'age compression'--the idea that kids may be getting older younger and demanding adult products," reports Andrea Canning. By ABC's count, kids are demanding cell phones, iPods, and may even want Japan's nonalcoholic "Kids'Beer." The story twice quotes Paul Kurnit, president of KidsShop Youth Marketing Company: "There is focus on a more savvy, more informed, more inclusive kid today," he notes.

Main Source: 
ABCnews.com/Good Morning America, July 8, 2006

When Newspapers Fall for Political "Drops"

by Bob Burton — July 9, 2006 - 12:29am

"Next time you see an 'exclusive' tag on a story about state politics, stop and have a closer look. The chances are that the story, far from being a feat of journalistic endeavor, is what we call in the trade 'a drop,'" writes Anne Davies in the Sydney Morning Herald. "You'll be able to tell it's a drop because it's likely to quote one side of politics only. This is often a condition of the drop." Drops, especially those in Sunday papers, help politicians influence the week's media agenda.

Main Source: 
Sydney Morning Herald, July 3, 2006

BBC Archives Reveal Spooks Vetted Staff

by Bob Burton — July 5, 2006 - 4:14am

Archived internal BBC documents from the 1980's, obtained by The Sunday Telegraph under Freedom of Information legislation, reveal that the British spy service, MI5, was used to vet existing and potential staff at the public broadcaster. The paper reported that the documents revealed that "at one stage it [MI5] was responsible for vetting 6300 BBC posts - almost a third of the total workforce." The BBC adopted "categorical denial" as its "defensive strategy" to deflect questions about the practice by unions.

Main Source: 
Sydney Morning Herald, July 3, 2006

The Reach of Rupert Murdoch

by Bob Burton — July 5, 2006 - 4:05am

Lance Price, who worked as a media adviser to British Prime Minister Tony Blair between 1998 and 2001, writes that Rupert Murdoch "seemed like the 24th member of the cabinet. His voice was rarely heard ...

Main Source: 
The Guardian (UK), July 1, 2006

Keeping Media "On Track" with Audio News Releases

by Bob Burton — June 30, 2006 - 5:44am

Kate Corcoran, an account executive at the New York-based PR firm Articulate Communications, told PR Week that one of the benefits of audio news releases that run to a 60-second script is control. "This allows the message to be delivered in the exact way the company chooses," she said.

Main Source: 
PR Week (sub req'd), June 29, 2006

CanWest Pushes Drug Ads in Canada

by Bob Burton — June 24, 2006 - 11:32pm

The Canadian government has until the end of June to respond to a legal action by CanWest MediaWorks, which wants to overturn the ban on direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs. CanWest MediaWorks, which owns a national television network in Canada, lodged the claim in December 2005.

Main Source: 
British Medical Journal (sub req'd), June 24, 2006

Pentagon Calls SOS for Foreign Media Work

by Diane Farsetta — June 21, 2006 - 4:08pm

STRATCOM, the U.S. military's Strategic Operations Command, has awarded its new contract for foreign media monitoring to SOS International. Perennial Pentagon favorite the Rendon Group formerly held the contract. SOS will track "foreign press in several languages across Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Asia and Mexico with a focus on the so-called Global War on Terrorism," reports O'Dwyer's PR Daily.

Main Source: 
O'Dwyer's PR Daily (sub req'd), June 21, 2006

Race and Media: Only the Ads Are Diverse

by Diane Farsetta — June 20, 2006 - 5:14pm

"The tentacles of the transnational mediopolies reach deeper into racial and ethnic communities than ever before," warns media analyst and activist Makani Themba-Nixon. "For some, this is a triumph in diversity. Big corporations reaching consumers of color is something they say we should celebrate. However, this market penetration has gone hand in hand with decreasing media ownership by people of color. ... Diversity in staffing (especially at the top) is closely tied to diversity in ownership.

Main Source: 
The Nation, June 15, 2006
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