PR Watch, Fourth Quarter 2005, Volume 12, No. 4

Flack Attack

World perceptions of the United States are at an all time low. For the past four years, the Center for Media and Democracy has been tracking Bush administration efforts to address poor international opinion.

There has been a disturbing trend, however, for U.S. "hearts and minds" campaigns to do more harm than good. Part of the reason is U.S. officials have little credibility in the eyes of the world. No stockpiled weapons of mass destruction have been found. Iraq is more dangerous than ever. The possiblity for a stable, democratic Iraqi government appears to be years down the road.

USAID in Indonesia: Expecting Waves of Gratitude

by Diane Farsetta

In September 2005, long-time Bush confidante Karen Hughes started her new job as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Her first official week of work was admittedly ambitious - a "listening tour" of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

The Victory of Spin

by Laura Miller

Battle Tanks: How Think Tanks Shape the Public Agenda

by Bob Burton

If you were the least bit nervous about all the worrying reports - from leading scientists, insurance companies and even the Pentagon - about human-induced climate change, don't worry: the Frontiers of Freedom (FF), a right-leaning think tank, is here to reassure you.

CMD in the News

The Center for Media and Democracy is at the forefront of identifying manipulative PR and propaganda. Here are just a few examples of recent media appearances of the Center and its staff:

Benjamin Duncan talked to the Center's Laura Miller for his September 23 article "Marketing America, take two," for Aljazeera.Net. "[Under Secretary Karen Hughes] has no credibility in the eyes of the world because she was so key to selling the war in Iraq," Miller said. "It signals that they're seeing [the war on terrorism] not just as a military conflict. . . . At this point everyone seems to agree that anti-American sentiment is something we need to address."