Public Relations

Don't Forget the Falsies!

by Judith Siers-Poisson — November 20, 2007 - 7:06pm

Do your civic duty -- vote for your favorite Falsies!

At the end of each year, CMD issues the "Falsies Awards," to recognize the people and players that take spin and propaganda to new lows. We need you to help identify the worst of the worst hard at work in 2007. We have put together a juicy selection of nominees -- but we need you to vote and tell us who deserves the Falsies this year.

Main Source: 
The Falsies survey

Fine-Tuning the Sell Job for the Next War

by Diane Farsetta — November 19, 2007 - 4:07pm

"The basis of the whole thing was, 'we're going to go into Iran and what do we have to do to get you guys to go along with it,'" said Laura Sonnenmark, a participant in a recent focus group apparently funded by the Republican-associated lobbying group Freedo

Main Source: 
Mother Jones, November 19, 2007

Olympic Sponsors Go for the Green (Forget Darfur and Tibet)

by Diane Farsetta — November 16, 2007 - 6:46pm

Human rights, environmental, health and labor campaigns around the Beijing 2008 Olympics that seek to change China's behavior are increasingly targeting Olympic sponsors.

Main Source: 
Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), November 15, 2007

Wal-Mart's Fish Tales

by Diane Farsetta — November 16, 2007 - 6:23pm

"Two years ago, Wal-Mart chief executive H. Lee Scott Jr. outlined ambitious goals to turn the world's largest retailer into a more environmentally friendly company," reports the Washington Post.

Main Source: 
Washington Post, November 16, 2007

Betting Bigger Bucks on Buzz

by Diane Farsetta — November 15, 2007 - 6:55pm

Spending on word-of-mouth marketing "has increased from $76 million in 2001 to $981 million in 2006 and is expected to grow to approximately $3.7 billion by 2011," according to a report by PQ Media.

Main Source: 
Advertising Age, November 15, 2007

America Might Support You, But Your Bureau Chiefs Don't

by Diane Farsetta — November 14, 2007 - 4:43pm

"If we can't get our own people to release public documents, why should we expect the military to cooperate?" asked the Europe bureau chief of the military newspaper Stars and Stripes.

Main Source: 
Stars and Stripes, November 14, 2007

Check out our Falsies!

by Judith Siers-Poisson — November 13, 2007 - 3:35pm

It's that time of year -- time to vote for your favorite Falsies!

2007 was a year full of deception, manipulation, prevarication, and Orwellian spin. But now it's payback time! Every day, we at the Center for Media and Democracy are up to our ankles (and sometimes higher) in the corporate spin and government propaganda that PR firms keep churning out. We are all too familiar with the many ways that our information environment gets polluted. We have our "favorites," to be sure -- but now we want to hear what YOU think!

Main Source: 
The 2007 Falsies

The Failure of Oregon's Cigarette Tax: a Postmortem

by Anne Landman — November 12, 2007 - 6:19pm
  • Topics: Front Groups, Issue Management, Health, Public Relations, Tobacco

    • The November 6, 2007 election brought a stinging defeat to Oregon's cigarette tax increase. The proposal aimed to raise the state's cigarette tax by 84.5 cents a pack to pay for health insurance for about 100,000 additional poor Oregon children who currently have no coverage. Measure 50, as the tax was called, went down by a wide 60-40% margin.

    Praise the Lord and Pass the Prosperity

    by Sheldon Rampton — November 8, 2007 - 6:17pm

    Iowa Senator Charles Grassley (Republican-Iowa) is investigating reports of lavish spending by Christian televangelists, including Joyce Meyer,

    Main Source: 
    Washington Post, November 7, 2007
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