Issue Management

More Spin for the Span

by Diane Farsetta — March 19, 2008 - 5:25pm

After the tragic collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge in Minneapolis last August, the state wants to "restore the image of the beleaguered Minnesota Department of Transportation." So Minnesota is paying the public relations firm Himle Horner at least $550,000.

Main Source: 
Star Tribune (Minneapolis - St. Paul, Minnesota), March 16, 2008

Monsanto-Funded Front Group Fights Milk Labeling

by Anne Landman — March 10, 2008 - 5:33pm

A new "grassroots" farmers' group with close ties to Monsanto has been formed to outlaw labels that would notify consumers they are buying milk from cows not treated with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH). Monsanto genetically engineers rBGH, called Posilac, which is injected into cows, forcing them to produce more milk.

Main Source: 
New York Times, March 9, 2008

Coal Lobby Gets Down and Dirty

by Bob Burton — March 5, 2008 - 6:52am

"It's our job to keep coal at the table. It's not there now," said Bob Henrie, a principal in the Salt Lake-based advertising and public relations firm R&R Partners.

Main Source: 
Salt Lake Tribune, March 1, 2008

When "Social Values" Means Smoking

by Anne Landman — February 18, 2008 - 1:56pm

When the dangers of smoking first became widely known, cigarette companies secretly hired biomedical scientists to create confusion.

Main Source: 
New Scientist (sub req'd), February 16, 2008

Big Oil: Coming Soon to a Rotary Club Near You!

by Diane Farsetta — February 12, 2008 - 5:21pm

The American Petroleum Institute's (API's) efforts to assuage public resentment of the oil industry apparently know no bounds. API's Denise McCourt recently addressed a Rotary Club meeting in Charleston, West Virginia. "The oil and natural gas industry hasn't done a very good job telling people about energy issues," McCourt told the group.

Main Source: 
The Charleston Gazette (West Virginia), February 12, 2008

Anonymously Defending Guantanamo from Criticism

by Diane Farsetta — December 17, 2007 - 6:16pm

"US military personnel at Guantanamo Bay called Fidel Castro a transsexual and defended the prison for terrorism suspects in anonymous web postings," according to a new report.

Main Source: 
Associated Press, December 13, 2007

Cosmetics Industry Group Gives Itself a Makeover

by Diane Farsetta — December 3, 2007 - 3:25pm

"What has been known for more than three decades as the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association now has a new name, the Personal Care Products Council, and with a new persona comes a fact-laden product safety Web site designed to win consumer trust," reports Women's Wear Daily. The changes come after cosmetics safety studies and pressure campaigns by public health and environmental groups.

Main Source: 
Women's Wear Daily, November 28, 2007
Syndicate content