War / Peace

Covert Recruiting Video in Schools, on Planes and TV

by Diane Farsetta — May 8, 2006 - 11:16am

United Airlines' new in-flight video "was produced and funded by the Department of Defense -- a fact passengers do not learn from watchi

Main Source: 
Chicago Tribune, May 6, 2006

Neil Young Clobbers the Thought Police

by John Stauber — April 28, 2006 - 12:05pm
  • Topics: Activism, Iraq, Guerrilla Marketing, War / Peace

    • I'm listening to Neil Young's new album, Living With War. It's not my first time; I was lucky enough to be at a private listening last week in California. But now, along with millions of others connected to the Internet, I'm hearing it free of charge through my computer speakers, courtesy of Mr. Young and his absolutely brilliant bunch of guerrilla marketers and movement builders.

    U.S. Army Reserves PR Help

    by Diane Farsetta — April 20, 2006 - 12:18pm

    Management Analysis Technologies, a small Virginia-based marketing and consulting firm owned by a Vietnam veteran, won "a competitive review to advise the Office of the Chief of the Army Reserve on its strategic communications," reports O'Dwyer's.

    Main Source: 
    O'Dwyer's PR Daily (sub req'd), April 20, 2006

    Public Service or War Propaganda?

    by Diane Farsetta — April 13, 2006 - 9:49am

    In early April, "a public-service advertising campaign began ...

    Main Source: 
    San Francisco Chronicle, April 8, 2006

    Playing Public Diplomacy Games

    by Diane Farsetta — April 11, 2006 - 5:47pm

    The U.S. State Department and the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication are co-sponsoring a "Reinventing Public Diplomacy Through Games Competition, which seeks to improve America's reputation abroad," reports Wired magazine.

    Main Source: 
    Wired News, March 27, 2006

    Sudan Promotes Self to NY Times Readers

    by Laura Miller — March 21, 2006 - 5:11pm

    The Government of Sudan -- tired of international media focusing on the country's ongoing genocide -- paid for an upbeat eight-page advertising insert in Monday's New York Times. O'Dwyer's PR Daily reports that Summit Communications prepared the insert which "extols the investment opportunities in the energy-rich state" but "has no rebuttal to United Nations and U.S.

    Main Source: 
    O'Dwyer's PR Daily, March 20, 2006

    'Brand America,' Now with More Terror

    by Laura Miller — March 13, 2006 - 6:30pm

    While George W. Bush's domestic poll numbers find a new low, the U.S. image abroad continues to scrape bottom. Addressing the White House's failure to win "hearts and minds," John Brown writes, "Personnel and programs matter in foreign policy, but what counts most is policy itself. ...

    Main Source: 
    TomPaine.com, March 10, 2006

    Boldly Militarizing Where No One Has Gone Before

    by Diane Farsetta — March 2, 2006 - 7:23pm

    "Lobbyists from the fledgling commercial space industry are besieging Capitol Hill, hoping to persuade the government to hand out contracts to help put the U.S. military into orbit," reports John Lasker. The main "talking point" for the 50 to 75 lobbyists is "how the private sector can help the U.S.

    Main Source: 
    Wired News, March 1, 2006

    The Devil Is in the Lack of Details: The Defense Department's Media Contracts

    by Diane Farsetta — February 21, 2006 - 6:02pm
  • Topics: Democracy, Ethics, Propaganda, Public Relations, U.S. Government, War / Peace

    • Although they've done their best to keep their spinning from public scrutiny, several major incidents have exposed the Bush administration's manipulation of news media: The "sell job" for the invasion of Iraq. Payola pundits Armstrong Williams, Maggie Gallagher and Michael McManus. Stooge "reporter" Jeff Gannon / James Guckert. Video news releases determined to be covert propaganda by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO).

    The Long, Protracted, Not-Going-To-Be-Over-Soon, War

    by Diane Farsetta — February 13, 2006 - 1:24pm

    Reporter Tim Harper notes the Bush administration's shift from "War on Terror" to "The Long War." Communications professor Christopher Simpson explains, "The War on Terror brand had gone sour." Moreover, "if it is a Long War," then expanded executive powers "will be needed not just this year, but next year and for decades." Harper writes, "Alt

    Main Source: 
    The Toronto Star (Canada), February 11, 2006
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