Well as I told you last class we won't have a class next week but will have one after Golden Week so look forward to seeing you then. In the mean time would like you to look at the following article and do some research on your own and write a news story about it and send it to my e-mail address carsure@dragon.email.ne.jp.
Factories contain 1.7 million toxic time bombs
About 1.7 million electric devices containing toxic polychlorinated biphenyl are being kept at factories nationwide, according to officials of the environment and industry ministries.
Production of the substance has been banned since 1972.
The devices, including high-voltage electric transformers, are stored at such facilities as steel, rolling stock and automobile plants, according to officials of the Environment Ministry and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
The devices are not harmful to the environment because they are sealed, they said.
The ministries estimated the number of PCB-containing devices from manufacturers' records, the officials said.
Despite the 1972 production ban, the devices were still being manufactured until around 1990, they said.
The ministries' findings might prompt the government to revise its plan to complete detoxifying and disposing of PCB-containing materials by March 2016.
PCB was used in insulation oil for such devices as transformers and capacitors.
In 2000, it was discovered that transformers being produced by some manufacturers still contained PCB, prompting the then Ministry of International Trade and Industry to ask the Japan Electrical Manufacturers' Association to investigate.
The association found that the transformers had been contaminated in the production process; manufacturers had used insulation oil made from old oil that contained PCB. It said production of the PCB-contaminated insulation oil has been halted since 1990.
The ministries will report the results of the investigations to a joint meeting on PCB-containing products.
The Japan Times: April 22, 2005
(C) All rights reserved
Friday, April 22, 2005
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
The following e-newsletter is a great place to find out what the issues are in modern journalism. We will use the issue below as talk points and to get you familiar with the vocabulary of journalism.
From: weekly-spin@prwatch.org
Subject: The Weekly Spin, April 20, 2005
Date: April 21, 2005 12:42:01 AM JST
To: weekly-spin@prwatch.org
Reply-To: weekly-spin@prwatch.org
THE WEEKLY SPIN, April 20, 2005
---------------------------------------------------------------------
sponsored by the nonprofit Center for Media and Democracy
http://www.prwatch.org
To support our work now online visit:
https://www.egrants.org/donate/index.cfm?ID=2344-0|1118-0
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The Weekly Spin features selected news summaries with links to
further information about media, political spin and propaganda.
It is emailed free each Wednesday to subscribers.
SHARE US WITH A FRIEND (OR FIFTY FRIENDS)
Who do you know who might want to receive Spin of the Week?
Help us grow our subscriber list! Just forward this message to
people you know, encouraging them to sign up at this link:
http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/subscribe_sotd.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------
THIS WEEK'S NEWS
== BLOG POSTINGS ==
1. The FCC on "Fake News": Who's Trying to Persuade You?
== SPIN OF THE DAY ==
1. Praising the Golden CAFTA
2. Getting Spin with a Little Help from Friends
3. Trust Us, We're Paid TV Experts!
4. Heritage Foundation's Asian Belle
5. Red Flags Ignored in Williams Case
6. Unhappy Campers
7. Good and Bad News on Fake News
8. Bad Brains: Mad Cow Cover-Up?
9. Travelobbying
10. Welcome to Our Lair, Murdoch Says to Bloggers
11. Israel Moves to Muzzle Nuclear Whistleblower
----------------------------------------------------------------------
== BLOG POSTINGS ==
1. THE FCC ON "FAKE NEWS": WHO'S TRYING TO PERSUADE YOU?
by Diane Farsetta
"Listeners and viewers are entitled to know who seeks to persuade
them," noted the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, in a Public
Notice (PDF file, Word file) released last night.
The Public Notice was precipitated, in part, by the "large
number of requests" asking the FCC to "consider whether the use of
'video news releases' or 'VNRs' ... complies with the Commission's
sponsorship identification rules." Those requests came from the more
than 40,000 people who signed onto a petition circulated by the
Center for Media and Democracy and the media reform group Free Press
(you can still sign the petition, here), as well as from two U.S.
Senators.
For the rest of this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3592
== SPIN OF THE DAY ==
1. PRAISING THE GOLDEN CAFTA
http://www.truthabouttrade.org/article.asp?id=3659
"A fierce battle over the Central American Free Trade Agreement is
expected," reported the Grand Forks Herald. "The agreement needs the
approval of both houses of Congress. ... Bush administration
officials launched a campaign in rural America to urge farmers to
convince Congress to approve the CAFTA." Last month, Chief
Agricultural Negotiator Allen Johnson "acknowledged that there is a
'perception' in Iowa and other farm states that trade agreements are
not achieving the benefits that were expected." Yet the Agriculture
Coalition for CAFTA-DR, comprised of "over 55 food and agricultural
organizations committed to quick passage of CAFTA-DR," released an
"economic impact study that identifies the gains 40 congressional
districts could expect upon passage," reported Meatingplace.com. The
study is posted on the National Pork Producers Council website and
promoted by the Business Coalition for U.S. - Central America Trade.
According to Roll Call, "GOP lobbyists crammed into Room HC-5 of the
Capitol last Thursday ... to show K Street that Senate and House
Whips have coordinated their efforts - and that they continue to
need lobbyists' help if they are to pass major items on the business
agenda," including CAFTA.
SOURCE: Grand Forks Herald (North Dakota), April 6, 2005
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3605
2. GETTING SPIN WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM FRIENDS
"As House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) faces increasing scrutiny
over various allegations of ethical lapses, a powerful cadre of
friends and colleagues is stepping up to help protect his image,"
reports PR Week. DeLay legal advisor and former Republican National
Committee strategist Barbara Comstock heads the group, which
includes DCI Group's Stuart Roy and Edelman's Jonathan Grella. They
are "placing supporters on cable news channels and radio talk
shows," distributing talking points to conservative groups, and
asking "prominent conservatives," including Ketchum's Susan
Molinari, "to speak out on DeLay's behalf." This "unofficial PR
offensive" is separate from DeLay's congressional office, which
"developed its own media war room to combat the accusations." On the
other side, Fenton Communications is working with MoveOn.org,
Campaign for America's Future and Common Cause "to tarnish and
ultimately unseat" DeLay.
SOURCE: PR Week (sub. req'd.), April 18, 2005
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3604
3. TRUST US, WE'RE PAID TV EXPERTS!
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111386025685009961,00.html?mod=home%5Fpage%5Fone%5Fus
"The use of TV consumer experts is the latest way marketers have
tried to disguise their promotions as real news," similar to
magazine "'advertorials' designed to look like editorial features"
and video news releases aired as TV reports. The stable of paid
"experts" includes "Today" show tech-product reviewer Corey
Greenberg, "trend and fashion expert" Katlean de Monchy, Popular
Photography & Imaging magazine editor John Owens, and Child magazine
tech editor James Oppenheim. The Wall Street Journal reports that
all four "experts" have neglected to disclose to viewers that they
received payments to promote products being discussed. Journal
reporter James Bandler writes, "TV shows present these gurus'
recommendations as unbiased and based solely on their expertise. But
that presentation is misleading if the experts have been paid to
mention products."
SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (sub. req'd.), April 19, 2005
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3603
4. HERITAGE FOUNDATION'S ASIAN BELLE
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59539-2005Apr16.html
As happened with neighboring Indonesia, "the 9/11 attacks opened the
door to improved U.S.-Malaysia relations." The Heritage Foundation
began promoting Malaysia in mid-2001, "at the same time a Hong Kong
consulting firm co-founded by Edwin J. Feulner, Heritage's
president, began representing Malaysian business interests." The
firm, Belle Haven Consultants, lists Feulner's wife and Heritage
consultant Ken Sheffer among its staff. "To help represent Malaysian
clients," Belle Haven hired the Republican lobbying firm Alexander
Strategy Group. "Experts say that the relationship between one of
Washington's most influential conservative think tanks and a network
of lobbying firms collecting fees from Malaysian business interests
- well in excess of $1 million over two years - could pose a problem
for Heritage's status as a nonprofit group," reports the Washington
Post.
SOURCE: Washington Post, April 16, 2005
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3602
5. RED FLAGS IGNORED IN WILLIAMS CASE
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-armstrong16apr16,0,2006695.story?coll=la-home-headlines
The report by the Education Department's inspector general on
Armstrong Williams, a pundit paid $240,000 to advertise and advocate
for the No Child Left Behind Act, notes that the White House "was
told about potential problems," but that did not "prevent the
contract from being renewed." The report found no evidence that
President Bush or senior staff knew about Williams, but "a midlevel
White House aide received calls from Education officials concerned
about the contract's cost, its effectiveness and Williams' dual role
as journalist and government public relations man." This finding
contradicts Bush's January 2005 statement that "we didn't know about
this in the White House." Education Secretary Margaret Spellings,
who "declined to be interviewed" for the report, said she would
"immediately adopt the report's recommendations for improvements in
contract oversight." Whether the contract "breached federal rules
prohibiting the use of taxpayer funds to 'covertly distribute
propaganda'" is being investigated separately.
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, April 16, 2005
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3601
6. UNHAPPY CAMPERS
http://www.crikey.com.au
The president of the Public Relations Institute of Australia's
(PRIA) Victoria chapter, David Hawkins, bluntly summarised the
results of a membership survey as, "Most people think the PRIA
sucks. The average score across all members was about four out of a
possible nine." In the Australian e-zine Crikey.com.au, Hugo Kelly
reports that survey results included the suggestion that the PRIA
run "a public relations campaign - ongoing - to explain, and where
necessary, defend, public relations." Over the next two weeks, PRIA
chapters in Western Australia, Victoria and Queensland are hosting
events for Ross S. Irvine, the president of his own firm, ePublic
Relations. Irvine, who describes himself as a "corporate warrior,"
promises to tell his Australian audience "how to beat activists at
their own game."
SOURCE: Crikey.com.au (sub. reqâ??d.), April 15, 2005
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3598
7. GOOD AND BAD NEWS ON FAKE NEWS
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/15/politics/15armstrong.html
Following the FCC's Public Notice on "fake news," the U.S. Senate
approved, by 98 to 0, a measure requiring "clear notification within
the text or audio of the prepackaged news story" for all fake news
produced with federal funding. The measure was offered by Senator
Robert Byrd and inserted into an emergency spending bill for Iraq
and Afghanistan operations. But not all of Washington DC has seen
the light on fake news. Representative George Miller warned that the
Department of Education's investigation into the Ketchum - Armstrong
Williams payola scandal is being obstructed. The Department's
Inspector General was "'denied access' to some current and former
White House employees," while Secretary Margaret Spellings is
"considering invoking special privileges that would force the
investigator to shield parts of his findings from the public,"
according to Miller.
SOURCE: New York Times, April 15, 2005
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3595
8. BAD BRAINS: MAD COW COVER-UP?
http://sask.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=mad-cow-concerns050413
"The United States did not properly analyze two suspected cases of
mad cow disease in 1997," reported Canada's CBC News. The U.S.
Department of Agriculture veterinarian who investigated the cases,
Dr. Masuo Doi (now retired), said he is "haunted by fears that the
right tests were not done" and wonders, "How many did we miss?" and
"Can you really trust our inspection [system]?" With both potential
mad cow (also called BSE) cases, "key areas of the brain where signs
of BSE would be most noticeable were never tested." At the time, a
USDA scientist called his examination of one case "questionable,"
because "he couldn't tell what part of the cow's brain he was
looking at." Two other current or former USDA staff, Dr. Karl
Langheindrich and Lester Friedlander, supported Dr. Doi's claims.
SOURCE: CBC News, April 13, 2005
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3596
9. TRAVELOBBYING
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111351750759807490,00.html
"A fast-growing trend in the business of influencing government is
corporate-funded trips," reports the Wall Street Journal. "Because
the trips are paid for by corporations and trade associations - and
not the hired guns who lobby for them - such trips are permitted
under House and Senate rules," unless the sponsors are registered
lobbyists or foreign agents. The number of junkets increased from
1,400 in 2000 to 1,900 in 2004; their cost increased 50% over the
same period, to $3 million in 2004. Already this year, the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce "has flown more than a dozen House and Senate
aides to the Dominican Republic to learn about trade." The American
Association of Airport Executives, Consumer Electronics Association,
National Association of Broadcasters, and Advanced Medical
Technology Association have also funded trips, as have groups within
the finance, telecommunications, agriculture, and energy industries,
with "members of both parties ... taking advantage."
SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (sub. req'd.), April 15, 2005
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3597
10. WELCOME TO OUR LAIR, MURDOCH SAYS TO BLOGGERS
http://www.newscorp.com/news/news_247.html
In a speech at the American Society of Newspaper Editors'
conference, News Corporation chief executive Rupert Murdoch pondered
the impact that the growth in online news is having on newspapers.
"The trends are against us," he warned. Murdoch also mused on the
possibilities of harnessing bloggers to the corporate news cart. "We
need to be the destination for those bloggers. We need to encourage
readers to think of the web as the place to go to engage our
reporters and editors in more extended discussions about the way a
particular story was reported or researched or presented."
Newspapers might experiment with using bloggers to extend coverage,
he suggested. However, Murdoch cautioned that bloggers could pose a
risk to "our standards for accuracy and reliability."
SOURCE: News Corporation, April 13, 2005
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3594
11. ISRAEL MOVES TO MUZZLE NUCLEAR WHISTLEBLOWER
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/564195.html
At a preliminary court hearing, Israeli whistleblower Mordechai
Vanunu declined to enter a plea on twenty-one charges that he spoke
with U.S., British, Australian and French journalists. After
revealing the existence of Israel's nuclear weapons program to the
U.K. newspaper the Sunday Times in 1986, Vanunu was imprisoned for
eighteen years. He was released on April 21, 2004, subject to
draconian restrictions on his ability to travel or speak to
reporters about Israel's weapons of mass destruction. "As a human
being, I have the right to express my political views and my ideas.
I have no more secrets," he told reporters outside the courtroom
Tuesday. The next hearing is scheduled for May 19.
SOURCE: Haaretz, April 12, 2005
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3593
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Weekly Spin is compiled by staff and volunteers at the
Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), a nonprofit public
interest organization. To subscribe or unsubcribe, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/subscribe_sotd.html
Daily updates and news from past weeks can be found at the
"Spin of the Day" section of the Center website:
http://www.prwatch.org/spin/index.html
Archives of our quarterly publication, PR Watch, are at:
http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues
CMD also sponsors SourceWatch, a collaborative research
project that invites anyone (including you) to contribute
and edit articles:
http://www.sourcewatch.org
PR Watch, Spin of the Day, the Weekly Spin and SourceWatch
are projects of the Center for Media & Democracy, a nonprofit
organization that offers investigative reporting on the public
relations industry. We help the public recognize manipulative
and misleading PR practices by exposing the activities of
secretive, little-known propaganda-for-hire firms that
work to control political debates and public opinion.
Please send any questions or suggestions about our
publications to:
editor@prwatch.org
Contributions to the Center for Media and Democracy
are tax-deductible. Send checks to:
CMD
520 University Ave. #227
Madison, WI 53703
To donate now online, visit:
https://www.egrants.org/donate/index.cfm?ID=2344-0|1118-0
_______________________________________________
Weekly-Spin mailing list
Weekly-Spin@prwatch.org
http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/weekly-spin
From: weekly-spin@prwatch.org
Subject: The Weekly Spin, April 20, 2005
Date: April 21, 2005 12:42:01 AM JST
To: weekly-spin@prwatch.org
Reply-To: weekly-spin@prwatch.org
THE WEEKLY SPIN, April 20, 2005
---------------------------------------------------------------------
sponsored by the nonprofit Center for Media and Democracy
http://www.prwatch.org
To support our work now online visit:
https://www.egrants.org/donate/index.cfm?ID=2344-0|1118-0
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The Weekly Spin features selected news summaries with links to
further information about media, political spin and propaganda.
It is emailed free each Wednesday to subscribers.
SHARE US WITH A FRIEND (OR FIFTY FRIENDS)
Who do you know who might want to receive Spin of the Week?
Help us grow our subscriber list! Just forward this message to
people you know, encouraging them to sign up at this link:
http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/subscribe_sotd.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------
THIS WEEK'S NEWS
== BLOG POSTINGS ==
1. The FCC on "Fake News": Who's Trying to Persuade You?
== SPIN OF THE DAY ==
1. Praising the Golden CAFTA
2. Getting Spin with a Little Help from Friends
3. Trust Us, We're Paid TV Experts!
4. Heritage Foundation's Asian Belle
5. Red Flags Ignored in Williams Case
6. Unhappy Campers
7. Good and Bad News on Fake News
8. Bad Brains: Mad Cow Cover-Up?
9. Travelobbying
10. Welcome to Our Lair, Murdoch Says to Bloggers
11. Israel Moves to Muzzle Nuclear Whistleblower
----------------------------------------------------------------------
== BLOG POSTINGS ==
1. THE FCC ON "FAKE NEWS": WHO'S TRYING TO PERSUADE YOU?
by Diane Farsetta
"Listeners and viewers are entitled to know who seeks to persuade
them," noted the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, in a Public
Notice (PDF file, Word file) released last night.
The Public Notice was precipitated, in part, by the "large
number of requests" asking the FCC to "consider whether the use of
'video news releases' or 'VNRs' ... complies with the Commission's
sponsorship identification rules." Those requests came from the more
than 40,000 people who signed onto a petition circulated by the
Center for Media and Democracy and the media reform group Free Press
(you can still sign the petition, here), as well as from two U.S.
Senators.
For the rest of this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3592
== SPIN OF THE DAY ==
1. PRAISING THE GOLDEN CAFTA
http://www.truthabouttrade.org/article.asp?id=3659
"A fierce battle over the Central American Free Trade Agreement is
expected," reported the Grand Forks Herald. "The agreement needs the
approval of both houses of Congress. ... Bush administration
officials launched a campaign in rural America to urge farmers to
convince Congress to approve the CAFTA." Last month, Chief
Agricultural Negotiator Allen Johnson "acknowledged that there is a
'perception' in Iowa and other farm states that trade agreements are
not achieving the benefits that were expected." Yet the Agriculture
Coalition for CAFTA-DR, comprised of "over 55 food and agricultural
organizations committed to quick passage of CAFTA-DR," released an
"economic impact study that identifies the gains 40 congressional
districts could expect upon passage," reported Meatingplace.com. The
study is posted on the National Pork Producers Council website and
promoted by the Business Coalition for U.S. - Central America Trade.
According to Roll Call, "GOP lobbyists crammed into Room HC-5 of the
Capitol last Thursday ... to show K Street that Senate and House
Whips have coordinated their efforts - and that they continue to
need lobbyists' help if they are to pass major items on the business
agenda," including CAFTA.
SOURCE: Grand Forks Herald (North Dakota), April 6, 2005
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3605
2. GETTING SPIN WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM FRIENDS
"As House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) faces increasing scrutiny
over various allegations of ethical lapses, a powerful cadre of
friends and colleagues is stepping up to help protect his image,"
reports PR Week. DeLay legal advisor and former Republican National
Committee strategist Barbara Comstock heads the group, which
includes DCI Group's Stuart Roy and Edelman's Jonathan Grella. They
are "placing supporters on cable news channels and radio talk
shows," distributing talking points to conservative groups, and
asking "prominent conservatives," including Ketchum's Susan
Molinari, "to speak out on DeLay's behalf." This "unofficial PR
offensive" is separate from DeLay's congressional office, which
"developed its own media war room to combat the accusations." On the
other side, Fenton Communications is working with MoveOn.org,
Campaign for America's Future and Common Cause "to tarnish and
ultimately unseat" DeLay.
SOURCE: PR Week (sub. req'd.), April 18, 2005
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3604
3. TRUST US, WE'RE PAID TV EXPERTS!
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111386025685009961,00.html?mod=home%5Fpage%5Fone%5Fus
"The use of TV consumer experts is the latest way marketers have
tried to disguise their promotions as real news," similar to
magazine "'advertorials' designed to look like editorial features"
and video news releases aired as TV reports. The stable of paid
"experts" includes "Today" show tech-product reviewer Corey
Greenberg, "trend and fashion expert" Katlean de Monchy, Popular
Photography & Imaging magazine editor John Owens, and Child magazine
tech editor James Oppenheim. The Wall Street Journal reports that
all four "experts" have neglected to disclose to viewers that they
received payments to promote products being discussed. Journal
reporter James Bandler writes, "TV shows present these gurus'
recommendations as unbiased and based solely on their expertise. But
that presentation is misleading if the experts have been paid to
mention products."
SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (sub. req'd.), April 19, 2005
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3603
4. HERITAGE FOUNDATION'S ASIAN BELLE
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59539-2005Apr16.html
As happened with neighboring Indonesia, "the 9/11 attacks opened the
door to improved U.S.-Malaysia relations." The Heritage Foundation
began promoting Malaysia in mid-2001, "at the same time a Hong Kong
consulting firm co-founded by Edwin J. Feulner, Heritage's
president, began representing Malaysian business interests." The
firm, Belle Haven Consultants, lists Feulner's wife and Heritage
consultant Ken Sheffer among its staff. "To help represent Malaysian
clients," Belle Haven hired the Republican lobbying firm Alexander
Strategy Group. "Experts say that the relationship between one of
Washington's most influential conservative think tanks and a network
of lobbying firms collecting fees from Malaysian business interests
- well in excess of $1 million over two years - could pose a problem
for Heritage's status as a nonprofit group," reports the Washington
Post.
SOURCE: Washington Post, April 16, 2005
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3602
5. RED FLAGS IGNORED IN WILLIAMS CASE
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-armstrong16apr16,0,2006695.story?coll=la-home-headlines
The report by the Education Department's inspector general on
Armstrong Williams, a pundit paid $240,000 to advertise and advocate
for the No Child Left Behind Act, notes that the White House "was
told about potential problems," but that did not "prevent the
contract from being renewed." The report found no evidence that
President Bush or senior staff knew about Williams, but "a midlevel
White House aide received calls from Education officials concerned
about the contract's cost, its effectiveness and Williams' dual role
as journalist and government public relations man." This finding
contradicts Bush's January 2005 statement that "we didn't know about
this in the White House." Education Secretary Margaret Spellings,
who "declined to be interviewed" for the report, said she would
"immediately adopt the report's recommendations for improvements in
contract oversight." Whether the contract "breached federal rules
prohibiting the use of taxpayer funds to 'covertly distribute
propaganda'" is being investigated separately.
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, April 16, 2005
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3601
6. UNHAPPY CAMPERS
http://www.crikey.com.au
The president of the Public Relations Institute of Australia's
(PRIA) Victoria chapter, David Hawkins, bluntly summarised the
results of a membership survey as, "Most people think the PRIA
sucks. The average score across all members was about four out of a
possible nine." In the Australian e-zine Crikey.com.au, Hugo Kelly
reports that survey results included the suggestion that the PRIA
run "a public relations campaign - ongoing - to explain, and where
necessary, defend, public relations." Over the next two weeks, PRIA
chapters in Western Australia, Victoria and Queensland are hosting
events for Ross S. Irvine, the president of his own firm, ePublic
Relations. Irvine, who describes himself as a "corporate warrior,"
promises to tell his Australian audience "how to beat activists at
their own game."
SOURCE: Crikey.com.au (sub. reqâ??d.), April 15, 2005
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3598
7. GOOD AND BAD NEWS ON FAKE NEWS
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/15/politics/15armstrong.html
Following the FCC's Public Notice on "fake news," the U.S. Senate
approved, by 98 to 0, a measure requiring "clear notification within
the text or audio of the prepackaged news story" for all fake news
produced with federal funding. The measure was offered by Senator
Robert Byrd and inserted into an emergency spending bill for Iraq
and Afghanistan operations. But not all of Washington DC has seen
the light on fake news. Representative George Miller warned that the
Department of Education's investigation into the Ketchum - Armstrong
Williams payola scandal is being obstructed. The Department's
Inspector General was "'denied access' to some current and former
White House employees," while Secretary Margaret Spellings is
"considering invoking special privileges that would force the
investigator to shield parts of his findings from the public,"
according to Miller.
SOURCE: New York Times, April 15, 2005
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3595
8. BAD BRAINS: MAD COW COVER-UP?
http://sask.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=mad-cow-concerns050413
"The United States did not properly analyze two suspected cases of
mad cow disease in 1997," reported Canada's CBC News. The U.S.
Department of Agriculture veterinarian who investigated the cases,
Dr. Masuo Doi (now retired), said he is "haunted by fears that the
right tests were not done" and wonders, "How many did we miss?" and
"Can you really trust our inspection [system]?" With both potential
mad cow (also called BSE) cases, "key areas of the brain where signs
of BSE would be most noticeable were never tested." At the time, a
USDA scientist called his examination of one case "questionable,"
because "he couldn't tell what part of the cow's brain he was
looking at." Two other current or former USDA staff, Dr. Karl
Langheindrich and Lester Friedlander, supported Dr. Doi's claims.
SOURCE: CBC News, April 13, 2005
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3596
9. TRAVELOBBYING
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB111351750759807490,00.html
"A fast-growing trend in the business of influencing government is
corporate-funded trips," reports the Wall Street Journal. "Because
the trips are paid for by corporations and trade associations - and
not the hired guns who lobby for them - such trips are permitted
under House and Senate rules," unless the sponsors are registered
lobbyists or foreign agents. The number of junkets increased from
1,400 in 2000 to 1,900 in 2004; their cost increased 50% over the
same period, to $3 million in 2004. Already this year, the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce "has flown more than a dozen House and Senate
aides to the Dominican Republic to learn about trade." The American
Association of Airport Executives, Consumer Electronics Association,
National Association of Broadcasters, and Advanced Medical
Technology Association have also funded trips, as have groups within
the finance, telecommunications, agriculture, and energy industries,
with "members of both parties ... taking advantage."
SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (sub. req'd.), April 15, 2005
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3597
10. WELCOME TO OUR LAIR, MURDOCH SAYS TO BLOGGERS
http://www.newscorp.com/news/news_247.html
In a speech at the American Society of Newspaper Editors'
conference, News Corporation chief executive Rupert Murdoch pondered
the impact that the growth in online news is having on newspapers.
"The trends are against us," he warned. Murdoch also mused on the
possibilities of harnessing bloggers to the corporate news cart. "We
need to be the destination for those bloggers. We need to encourage
readers to think of the web as the place to go to engage our
reporters and editors in more extended discussions about the way a
particular story was reported or researched or presented."
Newspapers might experiment with using bloggers to extend coverage,
he suggested. However, Murdoch cautioned that bloggers could pose a
risk to "our standards for accuracy and reliability."
SOURCE: News Corporation, April 13, 2005
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3594
11. ISRAEL MOVES TO MUZZLE NUCLEAR WHISTLEBLOWER
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/564195.html
At a preliminary court hearing, Israeli whistleblower Mordechai
Vanunu declined to enter a plea on twenty-one charges that he spoke
with U.S., British, Australian and French journalists. After
revealing the existence of Israel's nuclear weapons program to the
U.K. newspaper the Sunday Times in 1986, Vanunu was imprisoned for
eighteen years. He was released on April 21, 2004, subject to
draconian restrictions on his ability to travel or speak to
reporters about Israel's weapons of mass destruction. "As a human
being, I have the right to express my political views and my ideas.
I have no more secrets," he told reporters outside the courtroom
Tuesday. The next hearing is scheduled for May 19.
SOURCE: Haaretz, April 12, 2005
For more information or to comment on this story, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/3593
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Weekly Spin is compiled by staff and volunteers at the
Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), a nonprofit public
interest organization. To subscribe or unsubcribe, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/subscribe_sotd.html
Daily updates and news from past weeks can be found at the
"Spin of the Day" section of the Center website:
http://www.prwatch.org/spin/index.html
Archives of our quarterly publication, PR Watch, are at:
http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues
CMD also sponsors SourceWatch, a collaborative research
project that invites anyone (including you) to contribute
and edit articles:
http://www.sourcewatch.org
PR Watch, Spin of the Day, the Weekly Spin and SourceWatch
are projects of the Center for Media & Democracy, a nonprofit
organization that offers investigative reporting on the public
relations industry. We help the public recognize manipulative
and misleading PR practices by exposing the activities of
secretive, little-known propaganda-for-hire firms that
work to control political debates and public opinion.
Please send any questions or suggestions about our
publications to:
editor@prwatch.org
Contributions to the Center for Media and Democracy
are tax-deductible. Send checks to:
CMD
520 University Ave. #227
Madison, WI 53703
To donate now online, visit:
https://www.egrants.org/donate/index.cfm?ID=2344-0|1118-0
_______________________________________________
Weekly-Spin mailing list
Weekly-Spin@prwatch.org
http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/weekly-spin
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
