While George W. Bush's domestic poll numbers find a new low, the U.S. image abroad continues to scrape bottom. Addressing the White House's failure to win "hearts and minds," John Brown writes, "Personnel and programs matter in foreign policy, but what counts most is policy itself. ... This policy, no matter how public diplomacy or propaganda 'explains' it, cannot possibly win the world over because of its appalling consequences, shocking and sickening to non-Americans if not to Americans as well ... . Thanks to the mass media and the Internet, the abominations of a terror-obsessed U.S. policy have become the new American 'brand' worldwide, with the administration's calls for planetary democratization -- so selectively implemented -- widely seen as fake packaging, hypocrisy at its worst."

"President Bush and his team have been huddling in closed-door meetings on Iran, summoning scholars for advice, investing in opposition activities, creating an Iran office in Washington and opening listening posts abroad," reports the Washington Post. "Members of the Hoover Institution's board of overseers who met with Bush, Vice President Cheney and national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley two weeks ago emerged with the impression that the administration has shifted to a more robust policy aimed at the Iranian government." The State Department recently created an Iran desk and increased the number of full-time positions on Iran from two to 10. The U.S. Embassy in Dubai, and "other embassies in the vicinity," are also adding staff "to watch Tehran." Voice of America broadcasts into Iran will increase from one to four hours a day by April 2006, with plans to expand to 24 hours.

From a Channel One publication

The controversial in-school television program Channel One "airs 10 minutes of news and public affairs and two minutes of commercials or public service announcements daily." But a new study published by Pediatrics magazine found that students "had a stronger recall of the ads than the programming itself." Moreover, "students reported having purchased during the preceding three months an average of 2.5 items advertised on the program." Channel One is broadcast in some 350,000 U.S. schools. The company provides schools with approximately $30,000 worth of audiovisual equipment in exchange for airing the show.

The Lincoln Group, whose covert Iraq program was recently OK'd by the Pentagon, "is working to boost economic development in Pakistan." Lincoln is working with former U.S. diplomat Carol Fleming to increase "investments in the country's textile, energy, technology and telecom" industries. The firm produced "a documentary" of areas devastated by the October 2005 earthquake, "to remind countries to honor their pledges to support the victims." Lincoln has also "expressed interest" in a contract to help the U.S. Army Reserve communicate its "vision of the future." The contract includes "speech writing, research, development of a comprehensive ... communications plan," support for "national outreach programs," and media outreach for Army Reserve Chief Lt. Gen. James Helmly. Other firms seeking the Army contract include CorpComm Group, MyMic, Polestar Applied Technology and ICOR Partners.

The Project for Excellence in Journalism's "State of the News Media 2006" study claims, "The troubles of 2005, especially in print, dealt a further blow to ... journalism in the public interest." While newspaper circulation, ad income and staff levels decreased, "the industry will still post profit margins of 20%." The study also examined news coverage across numerous print, broadcast and online outlets on one randomly-chosen day, and found "enormous repetition and amplification of just two dozen stories." This means that "while there were more media outlets ... they were covering less news," reported the New York Times. Noting that national broadcast reports repeatedly quoted the same few people, the study cautions that "more coverage ... does not always mean greater diversity of voices." The "shallowest" news media was cable news, according to the study. Bloggers "raised new issues," but "did almost no original reporting."

Paul Thacker reports on "one short-lived 'grassroots' organization" based in Oregon, whose leaders "played a key role in passing President Bush's Healthy Forests legislation and are now promoting changes" to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that would reduce protections and require compensation for landowners. One key figure is Tim Wigley, the director of the PR firm Pac/West Communications. After working for a timber industry trade group and a forest-products company, Wigley led the group Project Protect, which supported the Healthy Forests bill and was run out of the offices of the American Forest Resource Council. Wigley is now the campaign director of the Save Our Species Alliance (SOSA), "which has become a prominent voice in convincing voters that change to ESA is needed." Other SOSA figures include Steve Quarles, a timber industry lobbyist; supporters include the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the National Center for Public Policy Research.