Media

Secret Marriage Contracts

by Diane Farsetta — January 26, 2005 - 12:57pm

Syndicated columnist and Institute for Marriage and Public Policy president Maggie Gallagher received $41,500 from the Bush administration in 2002 and 2003, to promote Bush's $300 million initiative encouraging poor couples to marry. Although Gallagher repeatedly praised the initiative in her columns and during interviews and television appearances, she never mentioned receiving government funds.

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Washington Post, January 26, 2005

A Trying-Not-To-Be-Captive Audience

by Diane Farsetta — January 24, 2005 - 6:48pm

"Most Western reporters have determined that their only option is to turn to the U.S. and British embassies for transportation help," writes the Los Angeles Times' Alissa Rubin from Iraq. "The embassies, with the power to commandeer military helicopters, armed with gunners and personal security details, allow journalists to leapfrog the ring of danger around Baghdad and visit the rest of the country. ... But with the mobility come some hindrances.

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Los Angeles Times, January 23, 2005

Intensifying the Information War

by Diane Farsetta — January 19, 2005 - 3:25pm

Media training has increased for U.S. forces going to Iraq, reports Editor & Publisher, "becoming mandatory for Army troops since October" and taking "higher priority" for Marines.

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Editor and Publisher, January 18, 2005

Too Much (or Not Enough?) Money Behind the News

by Diane Farsetta — January 17, 2005 - 3:46pm

Revelations about U.S. government attempts to shape the news by paying pundits and producing video news releases have fueled a debate "about whether news reports and opinion pieces provided to media outlets" that "were developed and paid for by government agencies" should be disclosed as such, reports Newsday.

Main Source: 
PR Week (reg. req'd.), January 17, 2005

International Image Assistance

by Diane Farsetta — January 14, 2005 - 4:03pm

"In a newspaper opinion piece signed by President Bush and offered to newspapers around the globe" by the State Department, "a White House eager to lessen anti-American sentiment in the Muslim world is trumpeting U.S. efforts to help tsunami victims," reports Associated Press.

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Associated Press, January 12, 2005

The Other Armstrong Williams Scandal

by Bob Burton — January 14, 2005 - 6:41am
  • Topics: Health, Media, Public Relations

    • Conservative pundit Armstrong Williams has been under fire recently following revelations that he was paid $240,000 to promote the Bush administration's "No Child Left Behind" law.

    The White House's "Good Cop"

    by Diane Farsetta — January 11, 2005 - 3:57pm

    Nicolle Devenish, the new White House communications director, was "once fired for being too nice to reporters," writes the New York Times' Elisabeth Bumiller.

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    New York Times, January 10, 2005

    Email Bombs and Blowbacks

    by Diane Farsetta — January 11, 2005 - 1:14pm

    Christian Science Monitor reporter Tom Regan writes, "The Internet is increasingly being used by special interest groups to try and influence media to change the way they cover a subject, or in some cases not to cover it at all." Regan focuses on the Monitor's on-line polls, which, although not scientific, "encourage deeper involvement in a story and issue." A poll accompanying a story on the U.S.

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    Christian Science Monitor, January 6, 2005

    Karen Ryan, Meet Mike Morris

    by Diane Farsetta — January 7, 2005 - 4:10pm

    For the second time, the Government Accountability Office "scolded the Bush administration for distributing phony prepackaged news reports," or video news releases.

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    Washington Post, January 7, 2005

    The Best Coverage Money Could Buy

    by Diane Farsetta — January 7, 2005 - 3:33pm

    The Bush administration paid $240,000 to prominent African-American pundit Armstrong Williams, to "build support among black families for its education reform law," No Child Left Behind, reports USA Today, citing documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

    Main Source: 
    USA Today, January 7, 2005
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