Third Party Technique

Fake News Gets Called on the Carpet

by Diane Farsetta — October 3, 2005 - 9:24am

"The Bush administration violated the law by buying favorable news coverage of President Bush's education policies, by making payments to the conservative commentator Armstrong Williams and by hiring a public relations company to analyze media perceptions of the Republican Party," ruled the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office. The GAO report, "the first definitive ruling on the legality of the activities," found that the Department of Education contract with the Ketchum PR firm violated the ban on "covert propaganda." Objectionable activities include a video news release where PR flack Karen Ryan says the Bush tutoring program "gets an A-plus"; news monitoring to determine whether stories agree that "the Bush administration / the G.O.P. is committed to education"; and Armstrong Williams' newspaper columns and television spots praising the No Child Left Behind Act, without disclosing that he was paid by the Education Department. The GAO doesn't have enforcement powers, but reports to the White House and Congress.

Main Source: 
New York Times, October 1, 2005

Hughes Gets a Little Help from a Friend

by Diane Farsetta — September 30, 2005 - 11:20am

"At the State Department's invitation," former Voice of America director and current dean of the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication Geoffrey Cowan wrote an opinion piece for USA Today praising Karen Hughes, the new

Main Source: 
USA Today, September 28, 2005

Like-Minded Groups Across a Rising Pond

by Diane Farsetta — September 20, 2005 - 11:04am

"For decades, corporations have known that, if they lobby for their own interests, public opinion won't take them seriously," begins the Independent's article on the "most influential" third party groups that have aligned with businesses to oppose action on climate change.

Main Source: 
The Independent (UK), September 20, 2005

The Education Department's Paid Apple Polishers

by Diane Farsetta — September 6, 2005 - 11:42am

An "angry op-ed" in the Dallas Morning News claimed the city's school system was "limiting the future and opportunities for our children" by not enacting policies mandated under the federal No Child Left Behind law more quickly.

Main Source: 
USA Today, September 3, 2005

Finally, McDonald's Story Can Be Told

by Diane Farsetta — November 28, 2004 - 11:00pm

"McDonald's had a great story to tell, and we weren't telling it," said Mike Donahue, McDonald's U.S. communications head. In 2002, Donahue "held a summit of the 125 PR firms that work with McDonald's and its various owner-operators," encouraging them to promote company-financed studies on the chain's positive economic impact.

Main Source: 
PR Week (reg. req'd.), November 29, 2004

Propaganda, Homeland Style

by Diane Farsetta — October 28, 2004 - 10:00pm

A leaked draft public relations plan for the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection bureau suggested "repeating the message, in the weeks leading up to the presidential election, that America is safer," reports the Washington Post.

Main Source: 
Washington Post, October 29, 2004

False Fronts

by Sheldon Rampton — June 30, 2003 - 10:00pm

This spring, the Dr. Pepper company recruited bloggers to talk up "Raging Cow," a flavored-milk drink. "The company hoped to work up Internet buzz about the beverage - and it was OK, by the way, if the bloggers didn't mention that Dr Pepper had given them freebies and flown them to Dallas for a pep session," writes James Hebert, who examines several examples of the old PR trick of "getting a supposedly independent third party to tout your product."

Main Source: 
San Diego Union-Tribune, July 1, 2003

Pakistan's PR Firm Uses Classic Third Party Technique

by Laura Miller — November 4, 2002 - 11:00pm

Pakistan's recent contract with Stirling Consulting for "media relations" work will include dealing with negative media stories, "stimulating" pro-Pakistan letters-to-the-editor, and enlisting Pakistani-American "message surrogates," Working for Change columnist Bill Berkowitz writes. "Recruiting 'message surrogates' is a classic example of what in PR lingo is called 'the third party technique,'" PR Watch's Sheldon Rampton told Berkowitz.

Main Source: 
Working for Change, November 5, 2002

Iraqi Dissident, "Keep Hammering On The Same Nail"

by Laura Miller — September 1, 2002 - 10:00pm

The State Department is providing media training to Iraqi dissidents to "help make the Bush administration's argument for the removal of Saddam Hussein," PR week reports. In addition to teaching the 17 Iraqis how to write "effective op-eds and speeches," the State Department is giving direction on "what to speak about in order to convince the public of the need to topple Hussein." PR Week reports a State Department spokeswoman saying, "The message is democracy. The message is open and free elections.

Main Source: 
On the Media, August 30, 2002; PR Week, September 2, 2002

CNN To Require Celebrities To Disclose Drug Company Ties

by Laura Miller — August 22, 2002 - 10:00pm

"After learning that some celebrities who talked on its news programs about their health problems were being paid by drug companies, CNN has issued a new policy and will tell viewers about the stars' financial ties to corporations," New York Times' Melody Petersen writes. In an August 11 Times article, Petersen revealed the widespread testimonial practice. Petersen reports stars like Lauren Bacall and Kathleen Turner "had been paid to help promote drugs or other medical products" on network morning "news" programs.

Main Source: 
New York Times, August 23, 2002
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