Public Relations

Croakwashing?

by Sheldon Rampton — December 11, 2008 - 10:10am

Consumer Reports WebWatch's Beau Brendler is questioning SaveTheFrog.com, a new Web site by the Discovery Channel's Animal Planet and the Clorox bleach company. The site purports to educate people about environmental concerns related to the planetwide disappearance of frogs.

Main Source: 
The Unsponsored Link, December 2, 2008

The 2008 Falsies Awards: In Memory of the First Casualty

by Diane Farsetta — December 10, 2008 - 4:07pm
  • Topics: Activism, Iraq, Election 2008, Global Warming, International, Media, Propaganda, Public Relations, U.S. Government

    • There's nothing quite like a hotly contested election. The candidates have their devoted supporters and angry detractors. Then there are vigorous debates over the issues, while some people question the integrity of the entire process.

    We speak, of course, of the Falsies Awards.

    This year marks the Center for Media and Democracy's (CMD's) fifth annual Falsies Awards. The Falsies are our attempt to shine an unflattering light on those responsible for polluting the information environment over the past year. We're happy to report that more people -- nearly 1,450 -- voted in this year's Falsies survey than ever before! We're also bestowing special recognition on one of this year's "winners."

    Falsies recipients can collect their prizes -- a pair of Groucho Marx glasses, our two cents and a chance to atone for their spinning ways by making a detailed public apology -- by visiting CMD's office in Madison, Wisconsin. This year's Gold and Silver Falsies go to masters of war deception, while the Bronze Falsie recognizes a massive greenwash campaign. The first-ever Lifetime Achievement Falsie goes to a serial corporate front man, while a determined (if at times laughable) attempt at nation re-branding wins dishonorable mention. Then there are the Readers' Choice Falsies and Win Against Spin Awards, nominated by our survey participants.

    Penn Pushed on His Losing Campaign

    by Bob Burton — December 8, 2008 - 11:40pm

    Mark Penn, the CEO of the global PR firm Burson-Marsteller, recently spoke at a corporate conference in the UK promoting his book Microtrends.

    Main Source: 
    The Independent (UK), December 7, 2008

    An Officer and a Conflicted Man: McCaffrey, the Pentagon and Fleishman-Hillard

    by Diane Farsetta — December 5, 2008 - 10:42am
  • Topics: Propaganda, Public Relations, War / Peace

    • What will it take, for the Defense Department officials involved to be held responsible for an illegal government propaganda campaign? Why don't news professionals realize that they need to vet their commentators and disclose any potential conflicts of interest to their audiences? When will the cable and network television stations that featured the Pentagon's pundits tell viewers that their war commentary was anything but independent?

    An in-depth article on one of 75 retired military officers covertly cultivated by the Pentagon to be its "message force multipliers" recently raised these questions yet again. Retired general, NBC News analyst and industry consultant Barry McCaffrey is a prime example of "a deeply opaque world," where "privileged access to senior government officials" and "war commentary can fit hand in glove with undisclosed commercial interests," writes New York Times reporter David Barstow.

    Bell's Belarus: Never Mind Its Human Rights Record

    by Diane Farsetta — December 2, 2008 - 6:11pm

    With help from British public relations guru Lord Timothy Bell and his firm, Bell Pottinger, the country of Belarus -- where "opposition protests are regularly crushed with overwhelming force by riot police" and the domestic spy agency is still called the KGB -- is getting an image make-over.

    Main Source: 
    Agence France Press, November 30, 2008

    Science Reporting by Press Release

    by Sheldon Rampton — November 18, 2008 - 10:05am

    Science reporting "is more and more the direct product of PR shops," according to Charles Petit, a veteran science reporter who runs MIT’s online Knight Science Journalism Tracker.

    Main Source: 
    Columbia Journalism Review, November 14, 2008

    War and Deceptive Spinning Are Over... Not

    by Diane Farsetta — November 12, 2008 - 6:12pm

    "Public relations firms across the country predict massive layoffs in the coming months due to recent legislation outlawing the firms' most lucrative practices," according to an article in a spoof edition of the New York Times, dated July 4, 2009. The real Times reports, "In an elaborate hoax, pranksters distributed thousands of copies ...

    Main Source: 
    New York Times "City Room" blog, November 12, 2008

    Iraqi Party Comes to the United States

    by Diane Farsetta — October 29, 2008 - 4:13pm

    The Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq is launching a public campaign in the United States, "to educate and raise awareness of the goals of the leading Shiite political party that opposes Muqtada al-Sadr's group."

    Main Source: 
    O'Dwyer's PR Daily (sub req'd), October 27, 2008

    Who's Behind the Council for a Democratic Iran?

    by Diane Farsetta — October 29, 2008 - 3:47pm

    CMD's Diane Farsetta digs further into the Virginia-based Council for a Democratic Iran (CDI) and its major new contract with the Livingston Group lobbying and PR firm, which Lauri Fitz-Pegado is working on. CDI's founder, Dr.

    Main Source: 
    WIMN's Voices, October 24, 2008
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