How They Change Your Mind

Wednesday

Burson-Marsteller To Help Blackwater

Burson-Marsteller To Help Blackwater out of Hot Water | Center for Media and Democracy: "Blackwater USA has hired the PR firm Burson-Marsteller (B-M) for crisis management, following a September 16 incident in which the company killed 17 Iraqi civilians, according to the Iraqi government's investigation. 'The State Department, which pays Blackwater hundreds of millions of dollars to protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq, has stringent rules barring the private security contractor from discussing with the media the details of its work,' reports AP. These constraints make it 'difficult to repair a corporate image.' B-M's Robert Tappan is working on the firm's Blackwater account. Tappan manages B-M's lobbying subsidiary, BKSH & Associates, and is a former State Department official. BKSH helped Blackwater founder and head Erik Prince prepare for his October 2 testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Public relations executives had conflicting advice for Blackwater. 'They need to help people understand that as you attack Blackwater, you're really attacking soldiers,' suggested Beau Phillips. But Richard Levick of Levick Strategic Communications warned that 'figuratively wrapping your company in the American flag' doesn't work so well when an unpopular war is involved.

"

(Via PR Watch.)

Nueromarketing becoming widespread

This Is Your Brain on Advertising: "This Is Your Brain on Advertising
Neuromarketers use sophisticated brain-imaging technology to test consumer response and help clients fine-tune their strategies. Do you ever get the creepy feeling that advertisers know how to put a lump in your throat, inspire subconscious brand loyalty, or make your mouth water? Just wait: It could get worse. An emerging technique called neuromarketing that uses brain scans to measure human response to promotional messages is starting to catch on in Europe—and soon ads may become even more effective at prompting you to pull out your wallet. "

(Via Agenda Inc.)

Tuesday

VNR Penalty: Comcast fined for non-disclosure

Free Press : FCC's VNR Fine: More to Come?: "FCC’s VNR Fine: More to Come? The FCC’s proposed $4,000 fine last week against Comcast for airing an unidentified video news release on one of its local cable news—a hardly noticed item—could be the tip of an iceberg waiting ahead for nearly 100 TV stations and a handful of cable outlets. The fine was being billed by at least one commissioner as the first ever for violating the FCC’s sponsorship identification rules, though Comcast, for one, was still disputing that the FCC had any jurisdiction over the cable news channel’s programming."

(Via freepress.net.)

Callers sign up for Bugged conversations

Pudding Media eavesdrops on internet calls, displays relevant ads - Engadget: "Pudding Media, a California-based startup, is opening up a beta test of its internet calling service, and while calls are said to be completely free, there's most definitely a catch. Users making the call will be presented with advertisements that actually relate to the conversation taking place, as the company's speech recognition software picks out key words and beams in ads based on what you're yappin' about. Notably, the company actually seems quite interested in licensing its technology out rather than becoming 'an independent provider of ad-financed internet phone calls,' and while we're sure hordes of privacy advocates will be none too pleased with the setup, those without issue can head on over and give it a try today."

(Via engadget.)

Thursday

The Shock Doctrine

Reviews of The Shock Doctrine | Naomi Klein: "Naomi Klein's new book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, tells the history of how the American version of 'free market' capitalism has spread in moments of crisis and catastrophe, when societies are too traumatized and disoriented to challenge the introduction of radical economic policies that go against their own interests."

Formula for Deceiving Mothers Online

The Formula for Deceiving Mothers Online | Center for Media and Democracy: "Source: Mothering Magazine, September/October 2007

Peggy O'Mara, the editor of Mothering Magazine, reports that 'in addition to the inaccurate information on breastfeeding' by the media, the 'marketing practices of the formula companies continue to undermine breastfeeding.' She notes the existence of several 'stealth' websites 'that appear to be grassroots advocacy sites, but are actually mouthpieces for the formula industry.' One of the websites, MomsFeedingFreedom.com, is campaigning against proposed restrictions on the free bags of infant formula being given to new parents by hospitals. The website, which was registered by the web-based marketing company ENilsson LLC, is funded by the International Formula Council and run by Kate Kahn. 'A sister site, Babyfeedingchoice.org, is licensed to Kellen Communications, a public relations firm whose clients include the International Formula Council,' O'Mara writes. BantheBags, which supports a ban on free samples, argues that the 'sites use classic formula company strategies, paying lip service to benefits of breastfeeding even as they promote formula.'

"

(Via PR WATCH.)

Tuesday

Upselling you - Cheat Sheet Leaked

LEAKS: Enterprise Store's Insurance Upsell Cheat Sheet - Consumerist: "At least one Enterprise rental place has a cheat sheet for manipulating buyers into buying what is sometimes unnecessary car insurance. Here's a transcript of the document one of our readers snagged from an Enterprise in Fort Lee, NJ .

I. Initial Sales Pitches
A. 'I assume you want us to protect you bumper to bumper on the car, right?' (assumption makes the customer feel like everyone takes it)
B. 'You've rented from us before?' (if yes) 'Then, I'm sure you took our coverage last time, right?' (customer will feel silly for having not taken it)
C. 'How long do you need the car?' -three days- 'Three days? That's only $60 and protects you the full value of the car!' '...it's only $19.99/day and protects you of the full value of the car!!!' (make sure the customer feels your excitement)"

(Via Consumerist.)

Recruiting smell for the hard sell

Recruiting smell for the hard sell - New Scientist: "THE AIR in Samsung's flagship electronics store on the upper west side of Manhattan smells like honeydew melon. It is barely perceptible but, together with the soft, constantly morphing light scheme, the scent gives the store a blissfully relaxed, tropical feel. The fragrance I'm sniffing is the company's signature scent and is being pumped out from hidden devices in the ceiling. Consumers roam the showroom unaware that they are being seduced not just via their eyes and ears but also by their noses.

"

(Via Mind Hacks.)

Friday

Global ID a step closer

Asset Protection BLOG - Mark Nestmann: What's Worse than a National ID? How About a Global One?: " the infrastructure for a global identification system is being put in place by a consortium of commercial entities, and government agencies, and non-profit organizations... A nearly-invisible organization called the Federation for Identity and Cross-Credentialing Systems (http://www.fixs.org) has created what it calls the first "worldwide, interoperable identity and cross-credentialing network." Now installed at numerous U.S. military installations and government offices, the FIXS network is now ready for global deployment."

(Via nestmannblog.sovereignsociety.com.)

Tuesday

How Propaganda Works in the West

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Sideline Photographers To Wear "Advertising" Vests

Ad Creep: NFL Says Sideline Photographers Will Have To Wear "Advertising" Vests - Consumerist: "The NFL says that sideline photographers will have to wear branded vests with Canon and Reebok logos this year, according to Editor and Publisher.

The National Press Photographer's Association is having none of it:

After receiving the NFL letter, NPPA Executive Director Jim Straight said, 'We reaffirm our dissension on the vest's logos based on our ethical standards, and we hope that our members - with the consultation of their employers - seek out professional and responsible ways to avoid endorsing a corporate product while acting in a journalistic manner.'

"

Thursday

CNN makes war easy to spin

Amazon.com: War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death: Books: Norman Solomon: "Media critic Solomon (Target Iraq: What the News Media Didn't Tell You) looks at the pro-war propaganda generated by the U.S. government during military interventions, emphasizing the influence of the media upon public opinion. He begins in 1965, when President Johnson crafted public messages as he sent troops to the Dominican Republic. Solomon claims that LBJ's handling of this invasion established the prototype for a media agenda employed by subsequent presidents to create public approval for their actions. He finds several formulaic messages that help persuade the public to support military intervention."

Fake News Daily: Broadcast News in Decline

Library Chronicles: "Here are some excerpts from The Decline of Broadcast News a report issued by the Writers' Guild of America. Most of you will find things you probably already know. Corporate media consolidation and cost-cutting labor practices have led to a gross mismanagement of your 'public airwaves.' I encourage everyone to read the report anyway."

Sunday

Microsoft buys cred from bloggers

How corporations still control the marketing conversation: "A group of prominent technology bloggers last month found themselves in hot water after they agreed to lend their words and names to Microsoft's 'People Ready' marketing campaign. The bloggers, all associated with the Federated Media advertising network, wrote brief statements describing how their own businesses became 'people ready'. The statements appeared in Microsoft ads on their blogs and were also collected on a site promoting the software company."

(Via .)

Wednesday

The Spin Doctor Will See You Now

The Spin Doctor Will See You Now: ""

"If I had to do it all over again, I don't think I would use the Ontario system," said Canadian cancer patient Lindsay McGreith. "I would get my wife to drive me to Buffalo, because I know in Buffalo you'd get looked after, whereas here you'd just sit for seven and a half hours. ... Our system is lousy." McGreith's comments are in a soundbite and B-roll video package (basically, an unassembled video news release) distributed by the PR firm MultiVu and funded by Health Care America, which is funded in part by pharmaceutical and hospital companies. It's part of an organized industry response to the Michael Moore movie "Sicko." Another MultiVu fake news video, which was funded by America's Health Insurance Plans, promotes a "public-private" health care system and decries Moore's single-payer proposal as an unpopular, "simplistic" and unrealistic "public takeover of the healthcare system."

(Via .)

Tuesday

Persuasive Casino Design

Ten things 2007 - a class with Michael Shanks about design: Analysis of Casino Design: "A prodigious amount of thought goes into the design and layout of a casino’s gambling floor. The layout of slot machines and card tables is carefully designed in order to maximize the casino’s profits and lure customers into the games. Casinos are generally designed so that patrons must walk through or at least around the periphery of several slot machine blocks to move around the casino, to maximize the customers’ exposure to the exciting sights and sounds of the slot machines, and especially of others winning on the machines.

"

Book: Product Placement Everywhere

Amazon.com: Branded Entertainment: Product Placement & Brand Strategy in the Entertainment Business: Books: Jean-Marc Lehu: "Branded Entertainment explains how product placement, a long-time phenomenon in films, has gone beyond this to now embrace all media. Citing examples from film, music videos, and computer games, the author explains the history and development of product placement, advantages of this form of brand advertising, and methods employed by different brands. Most importantly, Branded Entertainment discusses the future possibilities for using this form of promotion to recreate an emotional connection with customers and to spread the message across multimedia channels."

Monday

The hidden hybrid PR coup

The hidden hybrid PR coup - Agenda Inc. LiveFeed: "There's a reason you may be considering buying a gas-electric hybrid vehicle - besides wanting to help the environment or visit the gas station less frequently. Your hybrid awareness is a direct result of what is arguably the most audacious and impressive marketing/product-placement coup in memory.Toyota/Lexus has consistently, cleverly, and tirelessly spent an estimated $100,000,000 to make 'hybrid' a household word. The Japanese juggernaut (which just surpassed GM in global sales to grab the No. 1 spot) has a secret weapon: a small but powerful nonprofit organization, the Environmental Media Association.Based in Los Angeles, EMA is single-handedly responsible for getting droves of celebrities into Toyota hybrids. (FORTUNE)
"

(Via agendainc.com.)

Thursday

Concentration in media ownership continues

Concentration in media ownership continues: "Over the last few decades, the number of media companies dominating mainstream media has dwindled. This concentration in ownership has reduced the diversity of information and range of mainstream discourse. In some countries even though the number of media outlets may be high and varied, that ownership is still small. The internet shows signs of shaking up traditional media, but for the moment most people still get a lot of their news from television and other sources."
(Via Global Issues.)

Tuesday

Doctors Pushing Anemia Drugs

What Would Mother Say?: "In case you missed it this week, one of the biggest stories to surface on the ethics front (at least to my mind), is on payments made to doctors to push anemia drugs. According to the International Herald Tribune (May 9), Amgen and Johnson and Johnson have paid hundreds of millions of dollars to doctors to prescribe potentially harmful doses of these drugs to patients."

(Via ethicaloptimist.com Blog.)

Friday

PR Tricks for a Dictator

Putting Lipstick On A Dictator: "Putting Lipstick On A Dictator
News: Rogue states hire PR firms to change public perception and win audiences with American leaders. Whatever happened to old fashioned diplomacy?...last spring, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stood before a pack of reporters for a briefing, one of Africa's most notorious dictators at her side. ... The man with her—Teodoro Obiang, president of the tiny, oil-rich nation of Equatorial Guinea—seemed less comfortable. As the journalists peppered Rice with questions, he clenched his hands against his suit coat and stared at her with a tight, puzzled grin. During his two-decade reign of torture and terror, Obiang has never faced such meddlesome media; Equatoguinean radio has declared that Obiang has 'permanent contact with the Almighty' and therefore can 'kill anyone without being called to account.' Rice turned to Obiang. 'Thank you very much for your presence here,' she cooed. 'You are a good friend, and we welcome you.'"

(Via PR Watch.)

Book: The Chilling Truth About State Surveillance

Amazon.com: Who's Watching You?: The Chilling Truth About the State, Surveillance, and Personal Freedom (Conspiracy Books): Books: Mick Farren,John Gibb: "The threat of terrorism and the corresponding climate of fear encouraged by the government have together eroded our freedom to live our lives in peace and quiet away from the prying eyes of hidden cameras. The government is tightening its grip on us by watching and recording what we do. They are doing this because they know they can and because knowledge is power. But exactly who are 'they' and why do they want to know so much about us? This book includes chilling, accurate, and up-to-date descriptions of the methods the government (and private company proxies) use to watch us."

(Via Disinfo.)

Tuesday

Recruiting Young Smokers with Buzz Marketing

Quit Smoking Support > Tobacco Giant's 'School Of Cool' Recruits Young Smokers: "British American Tobacco executives gather to celebrate a 'good year' at their annual shareholders' meeting in London. But health charity Action on Smoking and Health believes the company is profiting from a new generation of young smokers, recruited by global use of radical 'buzz marketing' techniques... According to BAT's own publicists, BAT has promoted its 'Lucky Strike' brand through a strategy 'to re-launch and grow the brand by targeting the underground youth community – a community that is left of centre, which sets the trends rather than follows them.'"

(Via Agenda Inc.)

Monday

Focus: Concentration of Media Ownership

Media Conglomerates, Mergers, Concentration of Ownership - Global Issues: "The idea of corporate media itself may not be a bad thing, for it can foster healthy competition and provide a check against governments. However, the concern is when there is a concentration of ownership due to the risk of increased economic and political influence that can itself be unaccountable.
Table of contents for this page

This web page has the following sub-sections:

* Media Conglomerates, Mega Mergers, Concentration of Ownership
* Vertical Integration
* Interlocking Directorates
* Disney
* Concentration of ownership is where the problem largely lies
* The Quest for the Public Airwaves
* The Quest for the Internet?
* More Information on Ownership issue"

Sunday

The marketers have your ear - Agenda Inc. LiveFeed

The marketers have your ear - Agenda Inc. LiveFeed: "Advertisers have a new way to get into your head. Marketers around the world are using innovative audio technology that sends sound in a narrow beam, just like light, making it possible to direct messages right into consumers' ears while they shop or sit in waiting rooms. The audio spotlight device, created by Watertown firm Holosonic Research Labs Inc., has been used to hawk everything from cereals in supermarket aisles to glasses at doctor's offices. The messages are often quick and targeted -- and a little creepy to the uninitiated."

(Via Agenda Inc .)

Saturday

15 ways stores trick you into spending - MSN Money

15 ways stores trick you into spending - MSN Money: "Ever notice how you can go to a store to pick up just one thing and then, by the time you get to the check stand, you have five or six things in your cart and a bigger bill than you had anticipated?

This happens over and over because department stores use an array of techniques (grocery stores use many of the same tactics) to get you to pick up these items. By itself, each technique isn't very strong -- it's the use of them in combination that is powerful."

Wednesday

Army Propaganda Investigation Hearings

Army Propoganda Hearings: Threatening the Troops:

"The last soldier to see Army Ranger Pat Tillman alive, Spc. Bryan O'Neal, told lawmakers that he was warned by superiors not to divulge -- especially to the Tillman family -- that a fellow soldier killed Tillman... The military instead released a 'manufactured narrative' detailing how Pat Tillman died leading a courageous counterattack in an Afghan mountain pass, Kevin Tillman told the committee. (Watch Kevin Tillman accuse the military of lying Video)

Also Tuesday, former Pfc. Jessica Lynch told the House panel that the military lied about her capture... 'It was not true,' she said before gently chiding the military. 'The truth is always more heroic than the hype.'...Waxman, D-California, said the military 'invented' tales about Tillman and Lynch. (Watch Lynch describe her bond with the Tillman family Video)

Monday

A video about an Orwellian Shopping Mall

"The Catalogue" CHRIS OAKLEY - VIDEO ARTIST: "Crystallising a vision of ‘us seen by them’, The Catalogue explores the codification of humanity on behalf of corporate entities. Through the manipulation of footage captured from life in the retail environment, it places the viewer into the position of a remote and dispassionate agency, observing humanity as a series of units whose value is defined by their spending capacity and future needs."

"The Catalogue" .

YouTube - David Lynch on Product Placement

David Lynch on Product Placement:

(Via .)

Wednesday

Iraq: Why the media failed | Salon

Iraq: Why the media failed | Salon: "It's no secret that the period of time between 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq represents one of the greatest collapses in the history of the American media. Every branch of the media failed, from daily newspapers, magazines and Web sites to television networks, cable channels and radio. "

(Via Salon.)

Video: "Augmented Cognition"

Augmented Cognition: "Applications of Augmented Cognition

The applications of Augmented Cognition research are numerous, and although initial investments in systems that explicitly monitor cognitive state have been sponsored by military and defense agencies, there is an interest from the commercial sector to develop augmented cognition systems for non-military applications. As mentioned earlier, closely related work on methods and architectures for detecting and reasoning about a user’s workload based on such information as activity with computing systems and gaze have been studied for non-military applications such as commercial notification systems [ie advertising] and communication. "

(watch the video here .)

Tuesday

U.S. News Organizations Failing: Global Issues Report

Media in the United States - Global Issues: "Media omissions, distortion, inaccuracy and bias in the US is something acknowledged by many outside the USA, and is slowly realized more and more inside the US. However, due to those very same omissions, distortion, inaccuracy and bias in the US mainstream media, it is difficult for the average American citizen to obtain an open, objective view of many of the issues that involve the United States (and since the United States is the largest economic and military power in the world, they are naturally involved in many issues!)."

(Via Global Issues .)

Wednesday

Commercial News Items Still Going Strong

The ongoing controversy over video news releases has not stopped television stations from airing the fake news segments without attribution. Over six months, the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) documented 46 stations in 22 states airing at least one VNR in their newscast. Of the 54 total VNR broadcasts described in this report, 48 provided no disclosure of the nature or source of the sponsored video. In the six other cases, disclosure was fleeting and often ambiguous. Ten of the TV stations named in this study were also cited in CMD's April 2006 "Fake TV News" report, for undisclosed VNR broadcasts. These findings suggest that station and industry codes of conduct—not to mention an ongoing investigation by the Federal Communications Commission—are not sufficient to ensure the public's right to know who seeks to persuade them via television news, the most widely used information source in the United States. Read More

The report includes:

Video footage of 33 video news releases (VNRs), plus the television news segments that incorporated them;
A list of the 46 television stations, by state; and
Sections on frequently asked questions about VNR disclosure and policy issues, and on research methodology.

Thursday

Review: Paul Lappen "a first-rate gem of a book

We Know What You Want: How They Change Your Mind .: BookPleasures.com: "This is a first-rate gem of a book. It is really easy to read. While some mightconsider the information in this book common knowledge, it is still a rather spooky look at how well They have gotten inside our heads. It is very muchrecommended."

(Via Book Pleasures.)

Tuesday

Product placement you can't escape it

USATODAY.com - Product placement you can't escape it: "To hype the fall TV season, CBS plastered pictures of its shows' stars on postage stamps and across the insides of elevator doors. It laser-coated its eye logo on more than 35 million eggs, and carved the name of a new program, Jericho, into a 40-acre Kansas cornfield.
CBS (CBS) added those blips to the marketing storm sweeping the nation. Advertising is intruding on more previously untouched corners of life, including novels, hotel shower curtains, school buses and the bellies of pregnant women. Golfer Fred Couples is often followed around the course by a gaggle of woman paid to wear the name Bridgestone Golf, his sponsor.
It's advertising ad nauseam. And it's getting worse."

Saturday

KidScreen Magazine

KidScreen Magazine: "KidScreen is a monthly business magazine serving the information needs and interests of all those involved in reaching children through entertainment. What makes KidScreen unique is its cross-media and cross-disciplinary approach combined with its exclusive focus upon the kids%u2019 market. In a single publication, this gives readers top-line information about all aspects of the increasingly inter-related aspects of their industry."

Wednesday

Disease Mongering

Scary Evidence - Center for Media and Democracy: "British Columbia's Deputy Minister of Health, Gordon Macatee, ordered a lunchtime presentation on disease mongering cancelled until a drug industry speaker could be added. University of Victoria health researcher Alan Cassels was surprised that the ministry was so sensitive about a discussion on the book he co-authored, Selling Sickness: How the World's Biggest Pharmaceutical Companies Are Turning Us All Into Patients."

(Via PR Watch.)

Friday

Architecural Tricks To Control Users

Architecural Tricks To Control Users: "Ever wandered into a shop looking to buy a few things on your list, only to find yourself coming out with twice as much? You may not be aware, but the reason for this is not sheer chance, or that you were just feeling frivolous. The retail industry spends hard time and money into creating all sorts of devious little means to make you shop that bit extra. Every penny you spend in their shop is not being spent at their rivals, and in the high stakes of today%u2019s competitive market, every penny counts.... an A-Z of retail tricks that we have compiled to empower you before you go out shopping, so that you can buy what you need and collapse our economy!"

(Via Consumerist.)

Architectures of Control

Increasingly, many products are being designed with features that intentionally restrict the way the user can behave, or enforce certain modes of behaviour. The same intentions are also evident in the design of many systems and environments. This site aims—with readers’ input—to examine and analyse the ideas and techniques of these architectures of control in design, through examples and anecdotes, and by keeping up-to-date with relevant developments. Link.

Saturday

MediaCart Shopping-Cart Ad System

Advertising Age - Research Team Develops Shopping-Cart Ad System: " Each video screen is embedded with an RFID chip that interacts with chips installed on store shelves about every two feet. Without it, there would be no way to create point-of-decision advertising -- so a shopper strolling in the soda aisle would get an offer for Pepsi, for example -- a capability that could radically upend conventional in-store marketing practices... Beyond advertising, the system also promises to offer data insights long sought by consumer-product marketers. 'This will give you second-by-second data on shopping habits, dwell times, what aisles shoppers go down,' Mr. Kramer said. 'That's information that has never before been available.' "

(Via Ad Age.)

Tuesday

Product Placement in Superman Returns

Product Placement in Superman Returns: "As Superman returns from a five-year sabbatical to find himself, Metropolis is buzzing with Samsung devices. The consumer electronics brand reportedly provided the film with a record 274 digital products. From LCD television screens in the Daily Planet office to computer monitors and printers to cell phones to fax machines, it seems Samsung is the real conqueror of Metropolis. Even with all the products in the film, Samsung had a rather seamless integration. Logos weren%u2019t always apparent and in your face, although Budweiser stood out like crystals laced with radioactive kryptonite. Apparently, %u201Ctruth, justice and all that stuff%u201D doesn%u2019t include abstinence. After finding out that the love of his life, Lois, is engaged and has a 5-year-old son, %u201CThe Man of Steel%u201D heads to the local bar and gets tipsy from drinking a Budweiser. Other honorable brandcameo mentions: Belstaff jackets for the bad guys and Virgin Galactic premiering its aircraft in one of the crucial action scenes.
Featured Brands: Featured Brands: Audi, Avaya, Belstaff, Bose, Budweiser, Graco, Grey Goose, Mountain Dew, Nikon, Oakland A's, Plantronics, Samsung, Scrabble, Steinway & Sons, Virgin "

(Via Brand Cameo.)

Bloggers paid to push products.

Bloggers are getting paid to push products. : "Murphy is launching PayPerPost.com, which will automate such hookups between advertisers and bloggers and thus codify a new frontier of product placement. Advertisers pay to post details about their 'opportunity,' specifying, among other things, how they want bloggers to write about, say, a new shoe, if they want photos to be included, and whether they'll pay only for positive mentions. Bloggers who abide by the rules get paid; heavily trafficked blogs may command premium rates. Those seeking to subvert PayPerPost from within can't: No pornographic or 'illicit' content is accepted."

(Via PR Watch) .)

Saturday

Media Manipulation - Global Issues

Media Manipulation - Global Issues: "The media is manipulated in all manners, for example through professional public relations (PR), and covert and overt government propaganda which disseminates propaganda as news. What are often deemed as credible news sources can often knowingly or unknowingly be pushing political agendas and propaganda."

Street Level Product Placement

'Reality-based product placement' is here. The car maker Jaguar's new marketing strategy is to give 'its high-end cars to jet-setters' in major cities, for free. In Manhattan, Nico Bossi and his Jaguar XK 'show up at all the right places, such as ... hangouts in New York's trendy meatpacking district.' According to the Wall Street Journal, 'Many people ask about the car, but Mr. Bossi doesn't reveal his Jaguar deal. ... Sometimes, he takes people who are really interested for a spin.' The deal was brokered by the PR firm Brandman Agency. Firm owner Melanie Brandman said the arrangement 'makes the advertisements come to life.' Bossi gives the firm 'updates on where he goes each week.' In similar but smaller programs, General Motors 'chauffeured VIPs around the Super Bowl in Detroit earlier this year' and DaimlerChrysler 'lent out the new Mercedes-Benz R Class SUVs to selected consumers for a week.'

Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), June 29, 2006
(Link Via PR Watch's Spin of the Day.)

Friday

The Tangled Web of Doctors, Drug Companies and Charities

The Tangled Web of Doctors, Drug Companies and Charities: "

'Around the country, doctors in private practice have set up tax-exempt charities into which drug companies and medical device makers are, with little fanfare, pouring donations — money that adds up to millions of dollars a year,' Reed Abelson reports in the New York Times. Concern has been raised that the funding can bias medical decisions, create conflicts of interest which aren't disclosed to patients and potentially skew research results in favour of the funder. 'There's undoubtedly corruption in the system,' Dr. Cherf said. 'We need healthy relationships between physicians and industry. Both parties have been too aggressive.'

Website: New York Times, June 28, 2006

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/28/business/28foundation.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1151553743-sljrvFovoMv7eiGnYP9hDw

(Via PR Watch's Spin of the Day.)

Thursday

White House News Forgeries Widespread

"White House News Forgeries Widespread": "To a viewer, each report looked like any other 90-second segment on the local news. In fact, the federal government produced all three. The report from Kansas City was made by the State Department. The 'reporter' covering airport safety was actually a public relations professional working under a false name for the Transportation Security Administration. The farming segment was done by the Agriculture Department's office of communications."

(Via truthout.org .)

Tuesday

Comic books the next frontier for product placement

Comic books the next frontier for product placement - AdJab: "Comic books the next frontier for product placementPosted Apr 19th 2006 9:19AM by Chris ThilkFiled under: Product PlacementBoth Marvel and DC, the two largest comic book
publishers, have signed deals that will integrate product placement in the issues of some of their titles. DC will have a new hero called The Rush drive a Pontiac that the publisher says is just as important to that character as the Aston Martin is to James Bond. Marvel is jumping in whole hog by putting the Nike swoosh logo in a variety of places such as car doors and character
t-shirts."

Bush 'planted fake news stories on American TV'

Independent Online Edition > Americas: "Federal authorities are actively investigating dozens of American television stations for broadcasting items produced by the Bush administration and major corporations, and passing them off as normal news. Some of the fake news segments talked up success in the war in Iraq, or promoted the companies' products."

Sunday

Fake TV News Report Now in PDF Form

"Fake TV News" Report Now in PDF Form: "

With the U.S. Federal Communications Commission investigating the television stations that CMD documented airing corporate video news releases, you might want to read through the report that started it all. Luckily, 'Fake TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed' is now available in PDF format! Download it from our website, print it out and take it along on your summer holiday. It's 114 pages long -- chock full of important information, harrowing tales of media deception, and some great puns. The URL to download the report is: www.prwatch.org/pdfs/NFNPDFExt6.pdf

Website: Center for Media and Democracy, May 26, 2006

URL: http://www.prwatch.org/pdfs/NFNPDFExt6.pdf

(Via PR Watch's Spin of the Day.)

I Sold It Through The Grapevine

I Sold It Through The Grapevine: "Not even small talk is sacred anymore. P&G has enlisted a stealth army of 600,000 moms who chat up its products... The program is a state-of-the-art method for reaching the most influential group of shoppers in America: moms. At a time when companies need to find creative ways to get their message across to consumers, it's likely to be widely studied. But Vocalpoint also raises a serious ethical issue: Should the person spreading the product message disclose her affiliation? P&G says it's up to such "connectors" to make that decision on their own. But this puts the company at odds with the recently formed Word of Mouth Marketing Assn. (WOMMA), which mandates full disclosure.

(Via Adrants.)

Thursday

Creepy McDonald's ad from India

Link
(Via Boing Boing.)

Wednesday

Astroturf site from telcos' PR company against Net Neutrality

Astroturf site from telcos' PR company against Net Neutrality: "Cory Doctorow:
Astroturf site from telcos' PR company against Net Neutrality: "Cory Doctorow:
Neil found a site called 'HandsOff.org' that seems to be a grass-roots campaign from 'a nationwide coalition of Internet users' against Internet regulation. On closer inspection, though: 'it's nothing more than a front for business interests that was set up by a PR company called the Mercury Group. If you've ever wondered why government seems so far removed from the will of the people, the existence of 'astroturf' campaigns like this go some way to explaining why.'

Friday

MaxedOutBuzz.com - Home

MaxedOutBuzz.com - Home:

"Maxed Out shows how the modern financial industry really works, explains the true definition of "preferred customer" and tells us why the poor are getting poorer and the rich getting richer. By turns hilarious and profoundly disturbing, Maxed Out paints a picture of a national nightmare which is all too real for most of us."

(Via www.maxedoutmovie.com .)

Tuesday

Covert Recruiting Video in Schools, on Planes and TV

Covert Recruiting Video in Schools, on Planes and TV: "

One Navy officer profiled in 'Today's Military,' who's a liaison to TV and movie studios

United Airlines' new in-flight video 'was produced and funded by the Department of Defense -- a fact passengers do not learn from watching it,' reports Jason George. The 13-minute segment, 'Today's Military,' profiles five 'military glamor jobs.' It shows only 'one soldier beyond U.S. borders,' who's 'doing humanitarian work in Thailand' -- a remarkable focus at a time of war. The Defense Department paid United $36,000 to run the video for one month. A United spokesperson said 'between 7 to 15 minutes' of their two-hour programming is sponsored video. The military video was excerpted from a 48-minute feature, produced by the Mullen firm, that's aired on at least two Illinois TV stations: Springfield's ABC and Peoria's UPN affiliates. The feature 'does not say who produced it until the final credits roll' and the Defense Human Resources Activity is listed. The goal is to educate 'influencers,' including parents and teachers. 'This fall, 40,000 copies' of the feature 'will be shipped to high school guidance counselors for distribution to students.'

Website: Chicago Tribune, May 6, 2006

URL: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0605060077may06,1,212661.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed

(Via PR Watch's Spin of the Day.)

Friday

Review by Mike Gange

An Island in the Media Stream:

"Most of these releases are aimed at adult readers, and while they contain ideas that may be useful in the classroom, they are more likely to end up as a library selection than a day-to-day classroom resource. We Know What You Want: How They Change Your Mind by Martin Howard would be one of the few surprising exceptions. Not only does it stand out from the others in the flood by proving to be enlightening for adults and students, it contains items that could be used alone or as part of a unit on media education... Part of the beauty of We Know What You Want: How They Change Your Mind is that it will teach both leaders and learners in the classroom and serve parents and kids in the home... Another appealing aspect of this book is the use of graphics that will help get the point across. Maybe the best part of the book, however, is its tone: it teaches us what to think about, without preaching to us about what to think. In that regard then, We Know What You Want: How They Change Your Mind is a stand out."

Wednesday

Military Plays Up Role of Zarqawi

Military Plays Up Role of Zarqawi: "The U.S. military is conducting a propaganda campaign to magnify the role of the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, according to internal military documents and officers familiar with the program. The effort has raised his profile in a way that some military intelligence officials believe may have overstated his importance and helped the Bush administration tie the war to the organization responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks."

(Via Washington Post.)

Pentagon fabricating Zarqawi Legend

Who is behind "Al Qaeda in Iraq"? Pentagon acknowledges fabricating a "Zarqawi Legend": "Pentagon PSYOP Zarqawi Program

In an unusual twist, the Washington Post in a recent article, has acknowledged that the role of Zarqawi had been deliberately "magnified" by the Pentagon with a view to galvanizing public support for the US-UK led "war on terrorism":

"The Zarqawi campaign is discussed in several of the internal military documents. "Villainize Zarqawi/leverage xenophobia response," one U.S. military briefing from 2004 stated. It listed three methods: "Media operations," "Special Ops (626)" (a reference to Task Force 626, an elite U.S. military unit assigned primarily to hunt in Iraq for senior officials in Hussein's government) and "PSYOP," the U.S. military term for propaganda work..." (WP. 10 April 2006)
"

(Via Global Research.)

Tuesday

Monitoring Health Care Journalism

Web Site Rates Health Care Journalism - Yahoo! News: "Newspaper and magazine health coverage will be reviewed online at a new Web site beginning Monday. Access to the site and its findings, http://www.HealthNewsReview.org, is free and open to consumers. It was created by University of Minnesota journalism professor Gary Schwitzer, who fashioned the site after similar efforts in Australia and Canada."

Thursday

Examples of actual VNRs

Video Downloads: Video News Releases Examples of actual VNRs. While these 36 examples represent less than one percent of VNRs offered to newsrooms each year, this report provides the most comprehensive survey of fake TV news to date."

(Via PR Watch.)

Fake TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed - Center for Media and Democracy

Fake TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed - Center for Media and Democracy: "Fake TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed
A multimedia report on television newsrooms' use of material provided by PR firms on behalf of paying clients"

Over a ten-month period, the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) documented television newsrooms' use of 36 video news releases (VNRs)—a small sample of the thousands produced each year. CMD identified 77 television stations, from those in the largest to the smallest markets, that aired these VNRs or related satellite media tours (SMTs) in 98 separate instances, without disclosure to viewers.

Saturday

Mass Media Cover-ups

Mass Media: "a 10-page summary of revealing accounts by 20 award-winning journalists from the book Into the Buzzsaw, compiled Kristina Borjesson. All of these courageous writers were prevented by corporate mass media ownership from reporting major news stories. Some were even fired or laid off. These journalists have won numerous awards, including several Emmys and a Pulitzer."

(Via Want To Know.)

On TV News, the Ads Never End (Part Two)

On TV News, the Ads Never End (Part Two): "

'With TV stations facing increased competition and pressure on advertising revenue ... product placement, media and branded entertainment agencies say they are increasingly being pitched opportunities from local stations to integrate their clients' products into news programing in exchange for buying commercial time or paying integration fees,' reports Gail Schiller. KRON-TV in San Francisco, KMEX-TV in Los Angeles, and KPTV-TV in Portland 'confirmed that they have integrated advertisers into their newscasts.' KCAL-TV in Los Angeles and Gannett NBC affiliates in Denver, Minneapolis, Atlanta and Cleveland 'are experimenting with integration into newsmagazine-type shows that they describe as entertainment rather than news.' Recently, ABC's 'Good Morning America' broadcast from a cruise ship. The cruise company 'did not pay integration fees,' but 'did foot the bill for airfare, room and board to send nearly 300 women,' who won an ABC contest, on the cruise. Radio-Television News Directors Association president Barbara Cochran warned, 'If viewers start thinking your news is for sale, then the credibility of your news is lost and your audience is lost.'

Website: Reuters, March 15, 2006

URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060316/tv_nm/newscasts_dc_1

(Via PR Watch's Spin of the Day.)

Wednesday

The Catalogue

The Catalogue: "This is great! This excellent independent video production looks like the not too distant future of tagged humans and a society without privacy.Requires Apple Quicktime… The Catalogue

(Via Freedom Is Slavery.)

Friday

Bush's State of Propaganda Speech

Bush's State of Propaganda Speech: "r. Bush threw out a dizzying array of misleading analogies, propaganda slogans and false choices. Congress authorized the president to spy on Americans and knew all about it ... 9/11 could have been prevented by warrantless spying ... you can't fight terrorism and also obey the law ... and Democrats are not just soft on national defense, they actually don't want to beat Al Qaeda. "(Via Propaganda&Media edstrong.)

Wednesday

Subservient Donald

MIT Brand Culture Convergence: Blog: "Writers Guild of America that pushes for limits on product placement has launched a Subservient Donald website as part of a larger campaign. The Donald dances, shows off pantyhose he's wearing, and sells paper towels."

(Via .)

Think Tanks Compassionate Conservativism

Think Tanks Compassionate Conservativism: "

As the toll mounts from U.S. political scandals, think tanks have provided new homes to some of the fallen. The Hudson Institute has appointed
I. Lewis Scooter Libby as 'a senior adviser'. In October 2005 Libby resigned from his position as Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney after being indicted on five counts including obstruction of justice. 'Libby will focus on issues relating to the War on Terror and the future of Asia. He also will offer research guidance and will advise the institute in strategic planning,' the think tank stated. In mid-December Doug Bandow resigned from both his role at the Cato Institute and as syndicated columnist with Copley News Service after revelations that he had accepted payments from lobbyist Jack Abramoff. On January 1 Bandow started as vice president of policy at Citizen Outreach, a group that favours 'limited-government public policies'.

Website: Hudson Institute Media Release, January 6, 2006.

URL: http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=58926

(Via PR Watch's Spin of the Day.)

Sunday

Pentagon OK's Online Propaganda - Center for Media...

Pentagon OK's Online Propaganda - Center for Media and Democracy: "'U.S. military websites that pay journalists to write articles and commentary supporting military activities in Europe and Africa do not violate U.S. law or Pentagon policies,' concluded the Pentagon's inspector general. The websites, the Southeast European Times (launched in 1999 by President Clinton) and Magharebia (launched in 2004 by President Bush), often use 'freelance reporters hired by Anteon Corp.' The U.S. military's Pacific Command in Asia and Central Command in the Middle East are also developing 'regional information websites.' The Pentagon inspector general's report did not address the fact that U.S. audiences, which the government is forbidden from propagandizing, can access the websites. A related investigation into Pentagon-planted stories in Iraqi newspapers, headed by Navy Rear Adm. Scott R. Van Buskirk, is expected to be completed soon."

Featured Articles

Wednesday

Tuesday

Thursday

Tuesday

Friday

Tuesday

Thursday

Sunday

Wednesday

Tuesday

Monday

Thursday

Tuesday

Friday

Tuesday

Monday

Sunday

Saturday

Wednesday

Monday

Wednesday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Tuesday

Saturday

Wednesday

Friday

Saturday

Tuesday

Saturday

Friday

Thursday

Tuesday

Sunday

Thursday

Wednesday

Friday

Tuesday

Friday

Wednesday

Tuesday

Thursday

Saturday

Wednesday

Friday

Wednesday

Sunday

Friday

Wednesday

Sunday

Wednesday

Friday

Wednesday

Saturday

Friday

Wednesday

Thursday

Wednesday

Thursday

Monday

Saturday