If you were to ask the owner of Lincoln, Nebraska ABC affiliate KLKN-TV (which Journal-Star reporter Jeff Korbelik did) whether the station had received negative feedback about its airing of the controversial "Path to 9/11", the answer was not only "no," but also that the docudrama was "compelling TV." Citadel Communications president Ray Cole, who also sits on ABC's governing board, neglected to say that KLKN had cut off email responses because, in the words of the station's automated response: "No storage space available in mailbox for news8@klkntv.com." So viewers wrote to the Journal-Star with their criticisms of the station's decision to run the drama - or, like Maribeth Milner, sent PR Watch a copy of her returned email, dated September 9, 2006. Viewer TedK wrote: "I also sent an email ... on Friday. It bounced back. ... Seems to me they got a lot of complaints. I guess Ray Cole feels he must lie to back the ABC corporate position." Two writers to the newspaper said they sent critical emails before KLKN's mailbox overflowed and even got responses from a station representative. No apology or correction was provided by ABC's Cole, suggesting that he had given the Journal-Star not a fact-based interview but what ABC might call a "docudramaview."

Although the pharmaceutical company Merck spent $21 million on a 20-month investigation led by a former U.S. district judge, the report's conclusion that "executives at Merck had not knowingly put Vioxx patients in cardiovascular danger" may not boost the drugmaker's sagging reputation. "Some critics say the report is not credible because of Merck's board's involvement" and point out that Debevoise & Plimpton, the firm whose lawyers carried out the study, has a "pro-corporate" reputation. New York Times reporter Alex Berenson, who has covered the Vioxx deaths and legal fallout, told PR Week that Merck's report "reads like a defense brief; it was paid for by the company. I don't think it will change anyone's attitude one iota. It's clearly intended to impact the litigation." There are 14,000 active lawsuits against Merck related to Vioxx. Merck media relations director Ray Kerins said the company is "pleased" with the report, but Merck's PR staff hasn't yet decided "if this thing is going to be used" in company communications.

"This summer, Matt and Doug Stanbro, two brothers from Chelsea, Ala., traded in their game controllers for M-16 rifles," reports Patrik Jonsson. "They're two of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of American teenagers inspired by a 'shoot'em-up' video game to join the Army." The "America's Army" game, first released in 1992, "is proving a potent way to communicate military values directly to the messy bedrooms where teens hang out. ... In a recent informal survey of recruits at Fort Benning, Ga., which was conducted by the Army's video-game development team, about 60 percent of recruits said they've played 'America's Army' more than five times a week. Four out of 100 said they'd joined the Army specifically because of the game. Nationwide, the game counts some 7.5 milion registered users." While Army officials say "a range of recruitment tweaks - including easing up on the tattoo policy and up to $40,000 signing bonuses - have played a role" in boosting 2006 recruitment numbers, "few other ideas have been as effective in galvanizing potential recruits as 'America's Army.'"