Guest guest Posted July 27, 2005 Report Share Posted July 27, 2005 27 Jul 2005 15:42:02 -0000 weekly-spin The Weekly Spin, July 27, 2005 THE WEEKLY SPIN, July 27, 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 rs. 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 r list! Just forward this message to people you know, encouraging them to sign up at this link: http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/_sotd.html --- THIS WEEK'S NEWS == BLOG POSTINGS == 1. War is Fun as Hell == SPIN OF THE DAY == 1. Pentagon Paid The Rendon Group $1.6 Million To Influence Vieques Vote 2. Terror War Gets New Slogan 3. Al Jazeera International Enlists PR Help 4. Pentagon Repeats Quote In Separate Car Bombing Statements 5. Government Abandons Children to Big Food 6. Iraqis Don't Count 7. You Can't Handle the Truth 8. Propaganda Czar-To-Be Say She's 'Eager to Listen' 9. Burson-Marseller's BKSH Gets Piece of Pentagon Psyops Pie 10. Political Ads, Not Just For Elections 11. Military Recruiters Use Market Research To Fill Boots ---- == BLOG POSTINGS == 1. WAR IS FUN AS HELL by Sheldon Rampton 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. 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). For the rest of this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3865 == SPIN OF THE DAY == 1. PENTAGON PAID THE RENDON GROUP $1.6 MILLION TO INFLUENCE VIEQUES VOTE http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/nation/12206067.htm 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. Documents obtained by Judical Watch show The Rendon Group was contract by the Navy in 2001 to " develop methods and tracking procedures to increase support among citizens in Vieques to support and vote in the 6 November 2001 referendum for the option of continued Navy training at Vieques. " The Rendon Group has assisted a number of U.S. military interventions in nations including Argentina, Colombia, Haiti, Kosovo, Panama and Zimbabwe. Rendon's activities also include organizing the Iraqi National Congress in 1992 as part of a covert CIA plan to foment the overthrow of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The secretive firm has been paid over $40 million by the Defense Department since September 11, 2001. SOURCE: Contra Costa Times, July 23, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3874 2. TERROR WAR GETS NEW SLOGAN http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/26/politics/26strategy.html?pagewanted=print " 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. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the National Press Club. " New opinion polls show that the American public is increasingly pessimistic about the mission in Iraq, with many doubting its link to the counterterrorism mission, " the Times reports. " So, a new emphasis on reminding the public of the broader, long-term threat to the United States may allow the administration to put into broader perspective the daily mayhem in Iraq and the American casualties. " SOURCE: New York Times, July 26, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3873 3. AL JAZEERA INTERNATIONAL ENLISTS PR HELP http://www.prweek.com/news/news_story.cfm?ID=239890 & site=3 Al Jazeera International has retained Brown Lloyd James (BLJ), a PR firm with offices in New York, Washington and London, as its agency of record. Set to launch in 2006, Al Jazeera International will be the 24-hour English-language news channel run by the Qatar-base company. According to PR Week, BLJ will promote the channel to industry trade publications and may eventually target news " consumers. " BLJ received $37,500 for work in 2003 to help build political support in Washington for Iyad Allawi in his bid to become prime minister of Iraq. BLJ clients include BBC, Disney and the Ford Foundation among others. SOURCE: PR Week (sub req'd), July 25, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3872 4. PENTAGON REPEATS QUOTE IN SEPARATE CAR BOMBING STATEMENTS http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/07/24/military.release/index.html Following a July 24 car bombing in Baghdad that killed 25 people and wounded 33 others, the Pentagon issued a press release with a " quotation attributed to an unidentified Iraqi that was virtually identical to a quote reacting to an attack on July 13, " CNN reports. " After questioning by news media, the military released the statement without the quotation. " An army spokesman said the use of the nearly identical quote was an " administrative error " and that the military was looking into the matter. SOURCE: CNN.com, July 24, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3871 5. GOVERNMENT ABANDONS CHILDREN TO BIG FOOD http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/23648/ " With rising rates of childhood obesity and diabetes, you might think that when the federal government convenes a meeting on how food companies market food to kids, talk of how to regulate industry practices might actually be on the agenda. But you'd be wrong, " writes Michele Simon. Last week's government conference on food marketing to kids was dominated by the companies themselves. " By conservative estimates, a full two-thirds of the panelists & mdash;hand-picked by the FTC and HHS & mdash;had financial ties to either the food or advertising industries. To add insult to injury, from the chairman of the FTC on down, nearly every government official who had the chance made clear that regulation of junk food ads aimed at children was not on the table and wouldn't be anytime soon. ... Only a handful of panel slots were allotted to public health or children's advocates. Even then, their voices were drowned out by the likes of PepsiCo and Kraft, who were each given two separate opportunities to speak, an honor not bestowed on anyone else. " SOURCE: AlterNet, July 22, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3870 6. IRAQIS DON'T COUNT http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=6963 Judith Coburn has written a thoughtful, detailed report on one of the most glaring journalistic failures in Iraq. " Publishing or pronouncing the names of the American dead everyday without ever mentioning the names of the Iraqi dead offers a powerful message that only American dying matters, " she writes. " But there's no way to count, protest American journalists. What they mean is that the Pentagon doesn't count for them. ... The lack of 'official' figures, however, shouldn't absolve the media & mdash;or Americans & mdash;from their blindness to Iraqi suffering, since available figures, incomplete as they are, are staggering for a guerrilla war. " A recent study documented 25,000 civilian deaths in Iraq since the war began (almost certainly a low estimate). Baghdad's main mortuary " looks more like a bus station: dozens of minibuses line up as crowds of men stream in with empty wooden coffins, then out again bearing loaded ones on their shoulders, chanting prayers as they go. " According to war correspondent Oliver Poole, " The people of Baghdad do not need statistics to tell them that they are living through terror unimaginable in the West. Every two days for the past two years more civilians have died in Iraq than in the July 7 London bombings. " SOURCE: Tom Dispatch, July 17, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3869 7. YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/23/politics/23abuse.html Lawyers for the Defense Department are refusing to cooperate with an order from a federal judge to release 87 secret photographs and four videotapes showing human rights abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The images reportedly depict abuses more shocking than any the public has yet seen. After viewing them last year, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told Congress that they were " hard to believe,†showing acts " that can only be described as blatantly sadistic, cruel and inhumane. " Rumsfeld added, " If these are released to the public, obviously it's going to make matters worse. " The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit last year to demand public release of the additional photos. Pentagon lawyers argued that their release would only add to the humiliation of the prisoners, but U.S. District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein ordered the Pentagon to comply with the ACLU's request by July 23, after removing any identifying features from the images. In an eleventh-hour appeal, the government has entered a new legal filing opposing their release. The ACLU has joined the Center for Constitutional Rights and several other organizations to denounce what they called " the latest in a series of attempts by the government to keep the images from being made public and to cover up the torture of detainees in U.S. custody around the world. " SOURCE: New York Times, July 23, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3868 8. PROPAGANDA CZAR-TO-BE SAY SHE'S 'EAGER TO LISTEN' http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/wire/sns-ap-senate-hughes,1,541\ 5882.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines " A scaled-back Senate Foreign Relations Committee showered praise Friday on Karen Hughes and put the former political adviser to President Bush on a fast track to confirmation as the State Department's top public relations official, " the Associated Press writes. " The session barely delved into what Hughes will do about turning around anti-American sentiment in the world, part of her job if she is confirmed as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. " " If I had the opportunity to say just one thing to people throughout the world, it would be, I am eager to listen, " Hughes told Republican Senators Richard Lugar and George Voinovich. " I want to learn more about you and your lives, what you believe, what you fear, what you dream, what you value most. " The New York Times reports Hughes was interviewed as part of the federal grand jury investigation into who leaked Valerie Plame's identity. SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, July 22, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3862 9. BURSON-MARSELLER'S BKSH GETS PIECE OF PENTAGON PSYOPS PIE http://www.odwyerpr.com/members/0722lincoln.htm " Burson-Marsteller's BKSH & Assocs., has been hired by The Lincoln Group, one of three firms selected last month by the U.S. Special Operations Command to wage psychological warfare on behalf of the Pentagon in Iraq and other hot spots, " O'Dwyer's PR Daily reports. " BKSH has experience on the Iraqi front earned from work for Ahmed Chalabi and his Iraqi National Congress. Col. James Treadwell, director of the Joint Psychological Operations Support Element, said TLG was selected to develop 'cutting-edge types of media,' including radio/TV ads, documentaries, text messages, Internet spots and podcasts for the U.S. military. The Pentagon expects to spend $3M in the first-year as a 'test,' and could spend up to $300M over five years if the 'psyops' operations conducted by TLG, SYColeman and Science Applications International Corp are deemed successful. " SOURCE: O'Dwyer's PR Daily (sub req'd), July 22, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3861 10. POLITICAL ADS, NOT JUST FOR ELECTIONS http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/20/AR2005072001611.\ html Within 24 hours of George Bush's announcement of his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, Progress for America, a group with close ties to the White House, had an ad supporting John Roberts ready to roll. The 30-second spot, entitled " Brilliant, " is airing on current affairs cable channels and during Sunday morning talk shows. " The ad's argument is that Roberts is not out of the mainstream and doesn't rise to the level of an extraordinary circumstance, " the Associated Press reports. The ad is part of PFA's " initial one-week, $1,000,000 advertising, grass roots, and e-campaign to persuade opinion leaders in Washington, DC and across America that Judge John G. Roberts is a fair judge who deserves a fair up or down vote. " Political observers say the ad marks a growing trend of year-round political campaigning. Liberal groups MoveOn.Org Political Action and People for the American Way also quickly launched campaigns countering Roberts. SOURCE: Washington Post, July 20, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3860 11. MILITARY RECRUITERS USE MARKET RESEARCH TO FILL BOOTS " As the Army struggles to fill boots, the Pentagon is slicing and dicing data from enlistees and the U.S. Census to sharpen direct-marketing efforts for all the armed services, " Advertising Age writes in an article offering insight on how " to get a piece of the $200 million U.S. Army account. " The Department of Defense has already taken steps to better understand who is enlisting and why by establishing the Joint Advertising Market Research & Studies (JAMRS) program. A visit to JAMRS' website illustrates how the military is using marketing communication -- advertising, direct marketing, and PR -- and market research and studies for recruiting. According to Ad Age, JAMRS, using Claritas' ConsumerPoint software, can sort recruits and applicants down to the ZIP-code-plus-four level, broken into 66 different subgroups. " This information will help the Services reach targeted markets and assist in the development of more effective marketing messages and incentive policies, " states JAMRS' website. SOURCE: Advertising Age, July 11, 2005 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/node/3859 ---- The Weekly Spin is compiled by staff and volunteers at the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), a nonprofit public interest organization. To or unsubcribe, visit: http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/_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 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 __________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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