PR Watch, Fourth Quarter 2000, Volume 7, No. 4

Download PR Watch, Fourth Quarter 2000, Volume 7, No. 4

Flack Attack

In our Second Quarter 1998 issue, PR Watch wrote about TV investigative reporters Jane Akre and Steve Wilson, who were fired after refusing to go along with misleading alterations to their story about Monsanto's genetically-engineered bovine growth hormone.

The Cost of Taking a Stand

Fired Fox TV reporters Jane Akre and Steve Wilson: "Today, few people recognize our faces."

 

We Win; Fox Spins

by Jane Akre

It's perfect. A television news organization, just found guilty of distorting the news, slants the news regarding the ruling.

The jury rendered its verdict just after five o'clock on the Friday evening of August 18. Fox WTVT ran the first story near the top of its 6 p.m. broadcast.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell: The Story We Weren't Allowed to Air

by Jane Akre

The truth is, only Monsanto really knows how many U.S. farmers are presently using their recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH). The company persistently refuses to release sales figures but claims it has now become the largest-selling dairy animal drug in America. The chemical giant's secretive operations were part of what made the story of rBGH such a compelling one for me to explore as an investigative reporter.

Who Is the Dairy Coalition?

by Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber

Created by the PR and lobby firm of Capitoline/ MS&L with funding from the National Milk Producers Federation, the Dairy Coalition is composed of business, government and non-profit groups, including university researchers funded by Monsanto as well as other carefully selected "third party" experts.

An Uphill Battle: Our Lawsuit Against Fox

by Jane Akre

Going to court against a powerful conglomerate like the Fox network is a daunting experience, and Fox knows how to intimidate people. Prior to our dismissal, Dave Boylan had flaunted the company's wealth in an attempt to make us back down. "We paid three billion for these stations," he told us on one occasion. "We'll tell you what the news is. The news is what we say it is!"

Who Is That Masked Client?

by Jane Akre

Liquid Truth: Advice from the Spinmeisters

 

An Excerpt from the New Book by Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber: Trust Us, We're Experts: How Industry Manipulates Science and Gambles With Your Future

 

In 1992, the food industry's International Food Information Council (IFIC) retained Dr. G. Clotaire Rapaille, "an international market research expert," to research "how Americans relate to food biotechnology and genetic engineering." IFIC, an ardent enthusiast for the use of biotechnology in agriculture, wanted to know how it could overcome consumer apprehensions about the new technology.