Issue Management

Roche Fined for Doctors' Feast

by Bob Burton — February 14, 2007 - 6:37am

Source: Guillaume restaurant at the Sydney Opera House

The global drug company, Roche has been fined $A75,000 for breaching a provision of the Australian drug industry's voluntary c

Main Source: 
The Australian, February 13, 2007

Monsanto Mulled PCB "Smokescreen"

by Jonathan Rosenblum — February 12, 2007 - 4:03pm

The United Kingdom's Environment Agency has opened an investigation into toxic groundwater contamination in south Wales after examining evidence that Monsanto knowingly contracted to dump thousands of tons of waste in British landfill sites. In 1968, a Monsanto committee secretly considered disposal options for Aroclor, a trade name for cancer-causing PCBs, and wrote: "[I]t will be impossible to deny the presence and persistence of Aroclors. ...

Main Source: 
The Guardian (UK), February 12, 2007

UK Gov't Seeks to ID Flack for IDs

by Bob Burton — January 24, 2007 - 8:57pm

The British government is looking to recruit a senior PR professional to help sell the controversial UK National Identity Cards Scheme. The yet-to-be appointed Director of Marketing and Communications will will help oversee the roll-out of the ID cards, which are scheduled to be introduced in 2009.

Main Source: 
PR Week (sub req'd), January 17, 2007

Some Carbon Belchers Seek New Image on Global Warming

by Jonathan Rosenblum — January 24, 2007 - 4:55pm

Ten of the nation’s largest companies, including Caterpillar and former Global Climate Coalition member, Duke Power, say they now want Congressional legislation to limit climate change--including at least a 10 percent annual national decline in carbon dioxide emissions.

Main Source: 
San Francisco Chronicle, January 23, 2007

FCC's TV/Child Obesity Task Force Adds Members, Sets Valentine's Day Meeting

by Jonathan Rosenblum — January 24, 2007 - 11:25am

The Federal Communications Commission has added junk food marketing critic Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), the Benton Foundation (an FCC watchdog), and several academic groups to a list of mostly industry advocates on an FCC task force slated to consider limits on marketing food and beverage products to children. Sen.

Main Source: 
TV Week, January 23, 2007

Moore Delivers For Nuclear Waste Client

by Bob Burton — January 24, 2007 - 6:36am

The most recent pro-nuclear presentation by Patrick Moore, a former Greenpeace activist turned PR consultant, was at the annual conference of EnergySolutions.

Main Source: 
Salt Lake Tribune, January 20, 2007

As Nicotine Dose Increases, So Must Awareness of the Pitfalls of FDA Regulation

by Anne Landman — January 24, 2007 - 12:12am
  • Topics: Corporate Social Responsibility, Issue Management, U.S. Congress, Health, Marketing, Public Relations, Science, Tobacco

    • The Harvard School of Public Health released a study Thursday revealing that the amount of nicotine in cigarettes has increased significantly since the major American tobacco companies signed the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) in 1998. Predictably, Philip Morris (PM), in a media release available at their web site, denies the study results. The U.S. Surgeon General in 1988 warned that nicotine is as addictive as heroin and cocaine, but these drugs don't have decades of sophisticated R&D behind them aimed at heightening their addictiveness. Cigarettes, among the most highly engineered consumer products in the world, deliver nicotine into more people's bodies more times every day than aspirin. Still, they remain unregulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

    Spin Doctor Outed As 'Health' Adviser on Guantanamo Prisoner

    by Bob Burton — January 21, 2007 - 5:42pm

    The Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer, recently sought to downplay concerns about the mental health of an Australian citizen, David Hicks, who has been imprisoned in G

    Main Source: 
    The Australian, January 20, 2007

    Gazprom Plans PR Blitz

    by Bob Burton — January 18, 2007 - 5:32pm

    Gazprom, the Russian gas company that supplies approximately one quarter of Europe's gas needs, is planning a PR and lobbying campaign in Europe and the U.S. to improve its image, after it cut off gas supplies to the Ukraine in 2006 and Belarus in 2007.

    Main Source: 
    Kommersant (Moscow), January 16, 2007

    Gates Foundation Retreats From Responsibility

    by Bob Burton — January 17, 2007 - 12:22am

    After two articles exposing the contradiction between the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funding health programs while maintaining $8.7 billion in investments in companies involved in socially damaging projects, the foundat

    Main Source: 
    Los Angeles Times, January 14, 2007
    Syndicate content