Secrecy

Reporters Without Respect for their Borders

The head of Germany's federal intelligence agency (Bundesnachrichtendienst or BND), August Hanning, "admitted that several journalists, scientists and public figures had been spied on by the German secret services between 1993 and 1998. ...

Much Ado About Libby

Conservative pundits have been spinning the perjury indictment of Cheney chief of staff Scooter Libby as "Nadagate," a "mountain that's been made out of a molehill" based on an "investigation about nothing." The latest CBS opini

The Plame Blame Game?

"With indictments" in the Plame leak case possibly looming, "Republicans are preparing a public relations blitz aimed at shoring up public support for the Bush administration," writes the Boston Globe. "The outlines ...

Preventing Embarrassing Information Becoming Public

Guidelines issued by the Australian government's Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet advise public servants on how to avoid personal notebook comments being disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act.

Spotlight on Philippine Government PR Contracts

In the wake of the Philippine government's cancellation of the $75,000 per month contract with the Washington D.C. law firm and lobbyshop Venable, Malou Mangahas from the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism has shifted the spotlight onto other contracts. "Since 2001, the Arroyo administration has spent at least $3.7 million ...

Katrina's Environmental Secrets

The Society of Environmental Journalists has criticized the government's "tight-lipped approach" in responding to requests for information about the toxic gumbo left by Hurricane Katrina. SEJ President Perry Beeman says the government is "denying the public crucial information collected with taxpayers' money on behalf of taxpayers in the first place. ...

The Best Science Money Can Buy

Last December, researchers involved with studying the use of antidepressants in children faced questions as federal regulators looked into evidence that the drugs increased suicide risks. The researchers tried "for months to gather all the test data," writes Barry Meier, but "could get only pieces of that information. Some drug companies refused to turn over data to the group, even though these researchers had helped come up with it. ...

FDA Trying to Tarnish a Whistleblower?

After challenging Food and Drug Administration policies that he claims leave the public "virtually defenseless" against questionable drugs, FDA drug safety official Dr. David Graham contacted the Government Accountability Project, a non-profit organization that protects whistleblowers.

Not Embedded Enough

"While some charge that embedded reporters are often too protective of the military, [U.S. Representative] Sylvestre Reyes (D-Texas) feels they are dangerous loose cannons, and says it's time to consider revoking their privileges," reports Editor and Publisher. During a House Armed Services Committee discussion of the videotaping of a U.S. Marine shooting an injured Fallujah insurgent in a mosque, Reyes said, "We don't want to know everything that's going on in the field. ...

PR Executives Refuse to 'Go Public'

When PBS's "Frontline" airs "The Persuaders," a new documentary exploring the marketing and advertising industry, you won't be seeing public relations executives explaining their work on camera. The program, which airs November 9, "intended to have a PR focus, but PR executives refused to 'go public' about what they do, Justin Vogt, a producer at 'Frontline,'" told the trade publication O'Dwyer's PR Daily.

Syndicate content