The CATO Institute, a Washington D.C. think tank known for its libertarian bent, last week called for eliminating disclosure requirements for those who contribute funds in support or opposition of ballot measures (referendums). Existing requirements are already much weaker than those for donors to political candidates. Cato’s position could arguably have been heavily influenced by Howie Rich, a real estate investor and Cato board member. Last year, Rich helped to sponsor sixteen different ballot initiatives, including the “Taxpayer Bill of Rights” (TABOR) in eight states. Courts in five of the states ultimately removed TABOR from the ballot for various reasons, including what one Montana judge called a “pervasive and general pattern of fraud” by Rich and others in their campaign to pass the referendum. Kristina Wilfore, executive director of the pro-referendum Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, responded to Cato’s call by stating, “The problem with being a front group for corporate fat cats like Exxon, Enron, and Howie Rich, is that you are always a little out-of-touch with the public... CATO aligning itself with more corruption in political giving is taking the side of the powerful against the people -- and they call themselves libertarian?”

In his paper "Loath to admit: Pressures on ethical disclosure of news release sources," Australian academic Peter Simmons analyzes issues around video news releases (VNRs), or fake TV news. "When the source is not disclosed, news release material acquires the implied endorsement of a more credible and neutral party," he writes, placing ethical responsibility on both newsroom staff and PR practitioners. In response to PR and broadcast industry portrayals of VNRs as important to "the free flow of 'information,'" Simmons questions "the quality of the information flowing freely to the public." Reviewing the May 2005 Congressional testimony of then-Public Relations Society of America president Judith Phair, D S Simon Productions head Doug Simon, and Radio-Television News Directors Association president Barbara Cochran, Simmons notes, "The testimony did not include reference to the journalism profession's known resistance to be seen ... using public relations material. ... The resistance is important in discussions of journalists' disclosure of third party sources and the need for guidelines and regulation." He concludes, "Individual journalists and public relations practitioners perceive their work to be enhanced when news release material is used without disclosure."

Watch out!

"The White House has renominated three people for top jobs affecting the environment who were previously blocked in Congress because of their pro-industry views," reports Judy Pasternak. "According to industry lobbyists and Republican aides in Congress, Bush intends to skirt the Senate approval process if necessary by making recess appointments." The controversial nominees are William Wehrum, nominated to head the Environmental Protection Agency's air office; Alex Beehler, to EPA inspector general; and Susan Dudley, to White House regulations chief. As counsel to the EPA's air office, Wehrum suggested language for power-plant mercury emissions standards "lifted verbatim from a memo by Latham & Watkins, Wehrum's former law firm, which represented utility companies affected by the rule." Beehler is "a Pentagon official and former executive for Koch Industries," a notorious polluter. At the Pentagon, Beehler had "frequent meetings with manufacturers and users of perchlorate," a rocket fuel ingredient that has contaminated water supplies "in at least 25 states." Dudley used to head the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, a "free-market think tank ... supported in part by Koch Industries. ... At Mercatus, Dudley described EPA decisions as unnecessarily stringent."

US News & World Report observes the furious activity among Democratic Party-aligned think tanks. "With the party back in power on Capitol Hill and an open field of presidential candidates to influence, they're racing to get their ideas out in white papers, newspaper op-eds, and conferences. ... The Right is dominated by well-funded organizations such as the American Enterprise Institute, the Heritage Foundation, and the Cato Institute. ... A handful of big-ticket Democratic donors has worked ... to organize the Democracy Alliance, which is financing progressive groups. ... But there are fault lines too in the Democratic idea world, most obviously on trade policy." The article concludes, "Whoever winds up as the Democratic [presidential] nominee will have the biggest role in shaping those outcomes."

A former corporate PR executive has been sentenced to 15 months of periodic detention, after being convicted for insider trading in shares of a company she advised. Between July 2003 and December 2004, Margot McKay, the founder of Margot McKay and Associates, provided PR consultancy advice to the gambling machine company Aristocrat Leisure. After proofreading the company's annual report, McKay urged her son and mother to buy $A148,000 in Aristocrat shares, in August and October 2004. The shares were later sold for a profit of approximately $A70,000. "The offences were committed deliberately and in circumstances where the offender must have known that she was acting contrary to the law," said NSW Supreme Court Justice Anthony Whealy. He also made an order against McKay for the amount of $A77,428.37, under the Proceeds of Crime Act of 2002.