| THE WEEKLY SPIN, Wednesday, December 29, 2004 | |
sponsored by the nonprofit Center for Media and Democracy 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: www.prwatch.org/cmd/subscribe_sotd.html --------------------------------------------------------------------- THIS WEEK’S NEWS 1. Getting
the Extra Exposure from a PSA ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. GETTING
THE EXTRA EXPOSURE FROM A PSA Public service announcements — those informational spots that air for free on radio and TV — are technically not supposed to be thought of in commercial terms, but Erica Iacono writes that “there are ways for corporate sponsors to gain recognition” through PSAs. In a PR Week feature examining how to get “the extra mile out of a PSA,” Iacono highlights a King Oscar sardines partnership with the Women’s Sports Foundation. Their PSA stars the Olympic swimmer Katrina Radke, who suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome, and says that exercise and a diet rich in Omega-3 can help with the illness. “At one point, the spot shows Radke opening a can of King Oscar sardines for lunch,” PR Week reports. “Although a corporate entity’s involvement with a PSA is traditionally supposed to be kept quiet, [the PSA’s producer Ray] Salo says there are subtle ways to indicate the relationship without going over the line.” SOURCE: PR Week, December 13, 2004 (sub. req’d.) For more information or to comment on this story, visit: 2. THE BIGGEST MEDIA STORY OF THE YEAR www.ctnow.com/features/lifestyle/hc-whatsnews.artdec23,0,598398,print.story The “most important media story of the year,” according to Steve Lovelady, managing editor of Campaigndesk.org, was “the way in which the press was so easily manipulated by spin machines all the way through the election campaign, partly thanks to the fact that it was hopelessly hobbled by some of its own outdated conventions and frameworks. And that, in turn, is related to its embarrassing performance in 2003 on weapons of mass destruction and on the question of an Iraqi tie to 9/11.” SOURCE: Hartford Courant, December 24, 2004 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: 3. NORQUIST DREAMS OF TWELVE MORE YEARS afr.com/premium/articles/2004/12/22/1103391828960.html Conservative activist Grover Norquist, from Americans for Tax Reform, told Australian Financial Review journalist Tony Walker that three of his political priorities ‚Äì tort reform, curtailing political contributions from unions, and promoting free trade ‚Äì would have the combined effect of weakening support for the Democratic Party. Grover‚Äôs dream is that the conservative revolution runs for another 12 years. ‚ÄúIf we do our job right over the next four years, weakening the institutions of the left, reducing the cost of government, reforming the government so that it becomes less intrusive in such a way that we deserve and win the presidency in 2008, that would give us another eight years,” he said. SOURCE: Australian Financial Review (sub req‚Äôd) For more information or to comment on this story, visit: 4. OPEN SOURCE NEWS IN GREENSBORO www.cyberjournalist.net/news/001776.php The Greensboro News & Record is looking to make a “transformative, revolutionary change” by turning its Web site into “more of an online community or public square,” inviting bloggers and the general public to add and comment throughout their website. Journalism professor and [w:citizen journalism] advocate Jay Rosen offers some advice and other observations. Record editor Lex Alexander wants more. “We want — we NEED — your input and help,” he writes on his own blog. SOURCE: Cyberjournalist.net For more information or to comment on this story, visit: 5. VERY SWEET HOLIDAY WISHES www.guerrillanews.com/articles/article.php?id=1015 “Like Big Tobacco, Coca-Cola has the right to push their product. Like Big Tobacco, Coca-Cola knows of the health risks of their product, yet prefer silence to safeguarding children,” writes John Borowski. After publishing an earlier article, Borowski was contacted by Coca-Cola’s principal manager of scientific and regulatory affairs, who suggested the piece “misinformed” readers. “Soft drinks do not cause obesity, soft drinks do not cause osteoporosis and finally, there is no data to link soft drink consumption to diabetes,” the Coca-Cola executive stated. After challenging those claims, Borowski writes, “May Coca-Cola executives wake up Christmas morning to find the gift of corporate integrity, ethical standards and moral fiber tucked neatly under their tree.” SOURCE: Guerrilla News Network, December 21, 2004 For more information or to comment on this story, visit: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 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: 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: www.prwatch.org/spin/index.html Archives of our quarterly publication, PR Watch, are at: CMD also sponsors the Disinfopedia, a collaborative research project that invites anyone (including you) to contribute and edit articles: PR Watch, Spin of the Day, the Weekly Spin and Disinfopedia 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 |
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