War / Peace

Moonie Walk

by Diane Farsetta — August 31, 2005 - 10:21am

"Two weeks after The Washington Post pulled its co-sponsorship of a controversial Pentagon-organized march to commemorate Sept. 11, The Washington Times has offered to take its place," reports Editor & Publisher.

Main Source: 
Editor & Publisher, August 29, 2005

America's Army Fights Back: The PR Plan for the Pentagon's "Demonstration Village"

by Diane Farsetta — August 24, 2005 - 10:17am
  • Topics: Human Rights, International, Public Relations, War / Peace

    • Sometimes even the slickest public relations effort doesn't improve a person's or an institution's image. Think of the U.S. State Department's $15 million "Shared Values" ad campaign, which tried to assuage anti-American sentiment in Muslim countries.

    Uncle Sam Wants Your Parents

    by Sheldon Rampton — August 22, 2005 - 10:56am

    Last month we noted that one of the obstacles facing U.S. military recruiters is "parents who are reluctant to see their kids enlist." Now the army is responding with an advertising campaign targeting parents directly with the slogan, "help them find their strength." Seth Stevenson analyzes the ads and their new slogan, in which "The Army has at last been repositioned as a finishing school.

    Main Source: 
    Slate, August 22, 2005

    You Can't Be Neutral on a Freedom Walk, Media Told

    by Diane Farsetta — August 17, 2005 - 10:11am

    The Washington Post "is withdrawing its offer of free advertising for an organized event by the Defense Department," after its sponsorship drew criticism from peace groups and the Newspaper Guild, which represents 1,400 Post employees.

    Main Source: 
    Washington Post, August 16, 2005

    Sheehan's Story

    by Sheldon Rampton — August 12, 2005 - 4:11pm

    Media Matters for America, the liberal watchdog group, says conservative media are spreading "a lie" about Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq who has become a vocal anti-war protester.

    Main Source: 
    Media Matters for America, August 10, 2005

    e-Qaeda

    by Sheldon Rampton — August 8, 2005 - 4:30pm

    The Washington Post has produced an impressive special report, "e-Qaeda," which shows how al Qaeda and allied groups are using the Internet to recruit more fighters, spread their message and train their followers to commit acts of terror. The site includes samples of terrorist manuals and screenshots of jihadist web sites. It includes an interview with Evan Kohlmann, an expert in jihadists' use of the web.

    Main Source: 
    Washington Post, August 7, 2005

    Terrorism.net

    by Sheldon Rampton — August 4, 2005 - 1:25pm

    Neil Doyle, an author who studies the way terrorists use the internet, says they've developed an effective propaganda machine that can't easily be stopped. Among other uses, they post gruesome videos celebrating terrorist attacks. "Quite often these films come out within hours of the attacks taking place," Doyle says.

    Main Source: 
    PBS Online News Hour, August 2, 2005

    War is Fun as Hell

    by Sheldon Rampton — July 27, 2005 - 6:13am
  • Topics: War / Peace

    • Years of writing about public relations and propaganda has probably made me a bit jaded, but I was amazed nevertheless when I visited America's Army, an online video game website sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). In its quest to find recruits, the military has literally turned war into entertainment.

    "America's Army" offers a range of games that kids can download or play online. Although the games are violent, with plenty of opportunities to shoot and blow things up, they avoid graphic images of death or other ugliness of war, offering instead a sanitized, Tom Clancy version of fantasy combat. One game, Overmatch, promises "a contest in which one opponent is distinctly superior ... with specialized skills and superior technology ... OVERMATCH: few soldiers, certain victory" (more or less the same overconfident message that helped lead us into Iraq).

    Pentagon Paid The Rendon Group $1.6 Million To Influence Vieques Vote

    by Laura Miller — July 27, 2005 - 12:16am

    The U.S. Navy spent over $1.6 million on PR work to influence a vote on whether part of the Puerto Rican island of Vieques would continue to serve as a bombing range, the Associated Press reports.

    Main Source: 
    Contra Costa Times, July 23, 2005

    Terror War Gets New Slogan

    by Laura Miller — July 26, 2005 - 5:32pm

    "The Bush administration is retooling its slogan for the fight against Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups," the New York Times reports. The administration's new spin emphasizes that the U.S. is waging a "global struggle against violent extremism" instead of a "global war on terror" and that the struggle is more than just a military campaign. The solution is "more diplomatic, more economic, more political than it is military," Gen.

    Main Source: 
    New York Times, July 26, 2005
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