Media

The Color TV of Fear

by Diane Farsetta — May 24, 2005 - 4:14pm

"Obsessive coverage of urban crime by local television stations, UCLA law professor Jerry Kang argued in the Harvard Law Review ... is one of the engines driving lingering racism in the United States.

Main Source: 
Boston Globe, May 22, 2005

BP: Beyond Published Criticism

by Diane Farsetta — May 24, 2005 - 11:54am

Like General Motors and Morgan Stanley, the energy company BP "has adopted a zero-tolerance policy toward negative editorial coverage." BP's media buyer, the WPP firm MindShare, now "demands that ad-accepting publications inform BP in advance of any news text or visuals they plan to publish that directly mention the company, a competitor or the oil-and-energy industry" and give BP "the option

Main Source: 
Advertising Age, May 24, 2005

The Passion of Fake Radio News

by Diane Farsetta — May 23, 2005 - 2:56pm

"Back when Mel Gibson's movie 'The Passion of the Christ' was arousing passions nationwide, a promotion packet arrived at local public radio station KAZU," writes Karen Ravn in California. It included "a transcript of questions an enterprising reporter might want to ask Jim Caviezel, the movie's star," and "a CD of Caviezel-recorded answers." As KAZU's news director at the time, Bernhard Drax, described, "The transcript would say, 'Hi, Jim, how are you?' and on the CD, Jim would say, 'I'm fine.

Main Source: 
Monterey County Herald (California), May 21, 2005

Stormin' Morgan Joins Ad Bullies' League

by Diane Farsetta — May 19, 2005 - 2:45pm

"Morgan Stanley, whose battle with unhappy shareholders has played out on the business pages, is warning prominent newspapers that it could pull its advertising if it objects to articles." Morgan Stanley's new ad policy says the company "must be notified" of any "objectionable editorial coverage," so that a "last-minute change" in its advertising can be made. If notification is impossible, the policy directs all ads to be canceled, "for a minimum of 48 hours," reports Advertising Age.

Main Source: 
Reuters, May 19, 2005

FCC Commissioner Adelstein Issues Fake News Challenge

by Laura Miller — May 17, 2005 - 2:29am
  • Topics: Activism, Media

    • "We need to fight one of [media consolidation's] most pernicious symptoms, I think, which is the increasing commercialization of media," the Federal Communications Commission's Jonathan Adelstein t

    Blogging Puts PR in a Spin

    by Bob Burton — May 16, 2005 - 4:51am

    Jay Rosen, who is an Associate Professor at New York University's Journalism Department and author of the PressThink blog, believes the rise of blogging is posing a major challenge to the PR industry. Rosen argues that because PR is "totally about control," the PR industry will struggle to cope with the proliferation of sources of information and opinions available on the Internet.

    Main Source: 
    Australian Broadcasting Corporation, May 12, 2005

    U.S. Senate Holds "Fake News" Hearing: PR Industry Imitates Big Tobacco

    by Diane Farsetta — May 13, 2005 - 11:28am
  • Topics: Media, Public Relations, U.S. Government

    • Anyone who's ever looked at a package of cigarettes in the United States since 1965 is familiar with the Surgeon General's warning labels.

    More Government-Grown "News": USDA Pays Writer

    by Diane Farsetta — May 11, 2005 - 11:39am

    "An Agriculture Department agency paid a freelance writer at least $7,500 to write articles touting federal conservation programs and place them in outdoors magazines," reports the Washington Post.

    Main Source: 
    Washington Post, May 11, 2005

    Why Armstrong Williams Wants Us To Forgive and Forget

    by Bob Burton — May 11, 2005 - 9:23am
  • Topics: Education, Media, Public Relations, U.S. Government

    • There's an old PR trick that if bad news can't be suppressed, its release should be stalled until late on a Friday afternoon or just before a holiday break. It's a trick that served the U.S. Department of Education well when, late on Friday April 15, it released its Office of Inspector General's damning final report into the $240,000 Armstrong Williams contract to promote the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation.

    The strategy behind the late Friday afternoon news dump is simple: most media outlets will be squeezed for space to cover a late-breaking story, looming deadlines will ensure harried journalists don't have time to get much further than the executive summary, and by the time Monday rolls around, it will be seen as stale news by editors with the attention span of a gnat.

    Reading the 20-page report, which was prompted by Greg Toppo's exposé on the Williams contract in USA Today, it's easy to see why the Education Department wanted to bury it. The report chronicles the deception, bungling and mismanagement behind the Williams contract.

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