The CBS and NBC television networks are refusing to run a 30-second television ad from the United Church of Christ. The ad states that - like Jesus - the church seeks to welcome all people, regardless of ability, age, race, economic circumstance or sexual orientation. According to a written explanation from CBS, the implied acceptance of gay and lesbian worshippers makes the ad "too controversial." According to the Rev. John H. Thomas, the UCC's general minister and president, "It's ironic that after a political season awash in commercials based on fear and deception by both parties seen on all the major networks, an ad with a message of welcome and inclusion would be deemed too controversial."

"In setting limits on chemicals in food and water, the Environmental Protection Agency may rely on industry tests that expose people to poisons," reported Associated Press. The EPA's draft plan suggests that Bush administration political appointees will evaluate studies using "a case-by-case process." EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs' senior policy adviser said human studies would be accepted, "unless they are fundamentally unethical or have significant deficiencies." A pesticide industry lawsuit resulted in a 2003 ruling that EPA "cannot refuse to consider industry tests involving people on a case-by-case basis," until it issues new rules. Widespread criticism recently led the EPA to suspend a study on "how children's bodies absorb pesticides."

"A few individuals in government expressing concern can't equal the marketing power of large companies," said a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency official, regarding stimulants prescribed for children with "attention deficit hyperactivity disorder" (ADHD). Leading ADHD researcher Dr. William Pelham says McNeil Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures the stimulant Concerta, uses "misleading" marketing campaigns and has pressured Pelham to "water down" his writing. An ADHD advocacy group that receives pharmaceutical industry funding, Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD), heavily edited an interview with Pelham in its magazine. Pelham says the incident exposed "major and undisclosed conflicts of interest with the pharmaceutical companies"; CHADD says they only removed "unsubstantiated claims."

"McDonald's had a great story to tell, and we weren't telling it," said Mike Donahue, McDonald's U.S. communications head. In 2002, Donahue "held a summit of the 125 PR firms that work with McDonald's and its various owner-operators," encouraging them to promote company-financed studies on the chain's positive economic impact. Donahue, "an adherent of using third-party endorsers," also influenced McDonald's "exercise and lifestyle" message. "McDonald's aligned itself with Paul Newman as it introduced its new salads," and worked with Oprah Winfrey's personal trainer on the "Go Active! American Challenge with Bob Greene." Go Active! is credited with helping "defuse negative publicity from the film Super Size Me."

Last December, researchers involved with studying the use of antidepressants in children faced questions as federal regulators looked into evidence that the drugs increased suicide risks. The researchers tried "for months to gather all the test data," writes Barry Meier, but "could get only pieces of that information. Some drug companies refused to turn over data to the group, even though these researchers had helped come up with it. ... In other cases, they could not freely share their own data with colleagues who had not worked on a test." The incident highlights the growing problem with corporate-funded research. "Academic institutions and researchers are widely viewed as the impartial, independent heart of the system this country uses to test drugs and medical devices," Meier writes. "But that independence often comes with strings attached, sometimes making those institutions and their researchers obstacles to the exchange and discussion of test results."

Outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is leading the charge against European Union plans to more closely control chemicals, the Independent reports. The EU directive called Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (Reach) would require registration and assessments of risks posed by chemicals to human health and the environment. Some 30,000 substances would have to be registered. Powell "sent a cable to American embassies and consulates in Europe in an effort to combat the programme. The 11-paragraph 'action request' says that Reach could affect virtually all American exports," the Independent writes. The American Chamber of Commerce is also lobbying in Brussels against Reach, saying it "will impose excessive burdens and exaggerated costs on industry and generate an overwhelming bureaucracy. This will stifle innovation."

The Geppetto Group's Chris McKee concerns himself with "the appeal of fictional characters like Harry Potter and, more broadly, how kid culture had saturated consumer society to the extent that it was becoming the central creative marketing force," reports the New York Times. "Unlike most marketing agencies, Geppetto limits itself exclusively to 'kid products' and 'kid campaigns' for the likes of Lego, Little Tykes, Kids Foot Locker and Coca-Cola. ... Rachel Geller's psychological and anthropological field research on children and teenagers ... has helped Geppetto discern the 'eight kinds of fun' and 'six species of kids' and 'nine principles of family branding.'" Critics "maintain that marketing efforts directed at children have grown increasingly manipulative and pervasive."

"Climate change is 'a myth,' sea levels are not rising and Britain's chief scientist is 'an embarrassment' for believing catastrophe is inevitable. These are the controversial views of a new London-based think-tank," the International Policy Network. IPN's latest report claims that "the science warning of an environmental disaster caused by climate change is 'fatally flawed,'" while global warming benefits include "increasing fish stocks in the north Atlantic." IPN has received funding from ExxonMobil, which "list[ed] the donation as part of its 'climate change outreach.'" Stephen Tindale of Greenpeace compared IPN's work to when "tobacco companies blocked action on smoking by sowing doubt about the science."

Hill & Knowlton is hustling for Procter & Gamble's new - but as yet unapproved - testosterone patch for women with claims that it can boost sexual activity by 74 percent, Ray Moynihan reports in the British Medical Journal. The claims - unsupported by peer reviewed data - are disputed by experts. Procter & Gamble have also requested that the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health - whose annual conference it sponsored - "participate" in a public hearing on the patch to be held next week by the Food and Drug Administration.

A new reality show in Israel promises the winner a year's contract at a PR agency in New York where he or she will be responsible for promoting Israel to Americans, the Guardian reports. The show, called The Ambassador, has 14 contestants carrying out a variety of diplomatic tasks. "The winner will be the person who best demonstrates the qualities of a professional advocate and presents Israel in the most positive light," the Guardian writes. "Candidates must strive to spin Israel's story most effectively and need not pay much attention to reality or the Palestinian point of view." Yoram Peri, a professor of politics and media at Tel Aviv University, told the paper, "The major concern in Israeli society is that we do not explain ourselves well. When we discuss the horrible things that happen in the West Bank, we don't talk about the issue but about how it will be seen."

"Ukraine, traditionally passive in its politics, has been mobilised by the young democracy activists," reports the Guardian. But "the campaign is an American creation, a sophisticated and brilliantly conceived exercise in western branding and mass marketing that, in four countries in four years, has been used to try to salvage rigged elections and topple unsavoury regimes." The student groups Otpor in Serbia, Khmara in Georgia, Zubr in Belarus, and Pora in Ukraine have been assisted by the U.S. State Department, National Democratic Institute, International Republican Institute, and U.S. AID. Other players include Freedom House, George Soros' Open Society Institute, and U.S. pollsters Penn, Schoen & Berland.

Al-Qaeda and radical Islamists are winning the propaganda war against the United States, according to a new report by the Defense Science Board, a high-level Pentagon panel. "American direct intervention in the Muslim World has paradoxically elevated the stature of and support for radical Islamists, while diminishing support for the United States to single-digits in some Arab societies," the report states. "Muslims do not 'hate our freedom,' but rather, they hate our policies. ... The critical problem in American public diplomacy directed toward the Muslim world is not one of 'dissemination of information,' or even one of crafting and delivering the 'right' message. Rather, it is a fundamental problem of credibility. Simply, there is none

"Since Sept. 11, 2001, members of Al Qaeda have released an audio- or videotape about once every six weeks," notes Faye Bowers. In addition, terrorists are using the internet with increasing frequency and skill to influence public opinion and recruit followers. "In an era of satellite television and the World Wide Web," Bowers writes, "it is nearly impossible to stop boutique terror groups - small homegrown cells that can reach mass audiences with just a videocamera and a few stylish graphics." According to Michael Scheuer, a former senior intelligence official who studied Al Qaeda for more than a decade, "Their communications systems are light-years more sophisticated than they were on 9/11."

After challenging Food and Drug Administration policies that he claims leave the public "virtually defenseless" against questionable drugs, FDA drug safety official Dr. David Graham contacted the Government Accountability Project, a non-profit organization that protects whistleblowers. Shortly afterwards, anonymous callers to GAP charged Dr. Graham with "scientific misconduct" and being a "bully." After further research, GAP concluded that "the callers were trying to smear [Graham]." In addition, GAP's legal director said he's "certain [the anonymous callers] were supervisors at the FDA because of the details of the arguments they made and the phone numbers from which they called."

Chris LaCivita, formerly a paid political consultant for the anti-Kerry 527 group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, said the group "is pondering its next step" but "will remain a potent force." LaCavita told The Hill that "one possibility is that the Swiftvets will become a full-time public-relations outfit for veterans ... to counter negative impressions." LaCivita, himself a Gulf War veteran, said veterans "do a lot of good things people back home never hear about." Swiftvets founder Roy Hoffman said "members would probably be interested in fighting a future Kerry bid for the White House," although the group's "primary mission has been accomplished."

The Worldwatch Institute has attracted attention for publishing a highly critical article on the World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International and the Nature Conservancy, in its magazine, World Watch. The article "accuses the three groups of cozying up to their corporate donors and governmental partners while ignoring the native peoples whose cause they once championed." Grist Magazine reports that Worldwatch's president "called the printer and told them to destroy all the printed copies" of the magazine, after realizing that one of those criticized "chairs the board at the Ford Foundation, to which Worldwatch had recently submitted a grant proposal." But "the magazine had already gone to press."

The state Russia Information Agency hired James S. Denton Consulting "to improve economic, political and cultural ties between Russia and the U.S." The contract includes organizing "seminars in Moscow and D.C. for American and Russian opinion-leaders," "creating photo exhibits about Russia at American universities, submitting articles to electronic publications, arranging speech opportunities for 'Russian officials and experts at important media-attractive sites,' and organizing a trip for two members of Russia's Federal Assembly to the U.S." The RIA, which "also monitors and analyzes foreign media," was established in 1941 as the Soviet Information Bureau. Denton Consulting has also worked for Hungary and Serbia and Montenegro.

Merck's PR campaign around the Vioxx recall includes "three full-page ads in seven prominent newspapers," "several television appearances," and "testimony before Congress by the company's chief executive." But the president of a New York crisis-management firm says, "They really need some third-party endorsements." In addition, "Merck's strategy of asserting it withdrew Vioxx immediately upon learning there was a risk" could leave the company open to further legal challenges if the opposite is proven in court. Leaked emails suggest "the company knew about the side effects long before the drug was withdrawn," but Merck's media relations director says, "The mantra has been openness, integrity and transparency."

Kevin Sites, the cameraman who filmed a U.S. Marine shooting a wounded prisoner in Fallujah, has written a detailed and powerful account, addressed to the soldiers, of what he saw and his decision to release the footage. "This week I've even been shocked to see myself painted as some kind of anti-war activist," he writes. "Anyone who has seen my reporting on television or has read the dispatches on this website is fully aware of the lengths I've gone to play it straight down the middle. ... . So here, ultimately, is how it all plays out: when the Iraqi man in the mosque posed a threat, he was your enemy; when he was subdued he was your responsibility; when he was killed in front of my eyes and my camera -- the story of his death became my responsibility."

"As American soldiers were dying in Falluja, some Americans back home spent Veteran's Day mocking the very ideal our armed forces are fighting for freedom," writes Frank Rich. "Ludicrous as it sounds, 66 ABC affiliates revolted against their own network and refused to broadcast 'Saving Private Ryan.' The reason: fear. Not fear of terrorism or fear of low ratings but fear that their own government would punish them for exercising freedom of speech." The celebration of World War II heroism was yanked to placate the American Family Association, which feared the corrupting influence of the F-word and the film's graphic depictions of the violence of war. "For anyone who doubts that we are entering a new era, let's flash back just a few years," Rich writes. "'Saving Private Ryan,' with its 'CSI'-style disembowelments and expletives undeleted, was nationally broadcast by ABC on Veteran's Day in both 2001 and 2002 without incident, and despite the protests of family-values groups. What has changed between then and now? A government with the zeal to control both information and culture has received what it calls a mandate. ... If these media outlets are afraid to show a graphic Hollywood treatment of a 60-year-old war starring the beloved Tom Hanks because the feds might fine them, toy with their licenses or deny them permission to expand their empires, might they defensively soften their news divisions' efforts to present the graphic truth of an ongoing war?"

"'Citizen journalism' is one of those buzzwords that's hot in our industry right now," writes Steve Outing. "While some journalists might hope it's a fad that will go away soon, I don't think that's likely. Inviting the public to participate in online news publishing by contributing articles and photographs is likely here to stay -- indeed, it might allow journalism institutions to renew some of the public trust they've lost in recent years by inviting the public in instead of keeping them outside the ropes."

A veteran of the U.S. war in Iraq has created Operation Truth, a weblog for soldiers to share their stories from the front lines with people back home, including government officials. "I felt like the American public was really detached from the soldier's experience," says Paul Rieckhoff. "And I wanted to find a new way to try to utilize technology and utilize the soldier's experience to create a visceral connection, so people could really see soldiers, see what they experience, and get a sense for what they're really going through in Iraq and when they come home," says Rieckhoff. (Although Operation Truth is officially nonpartisan, during the recent U.S. presidential election its message was sharply critical of President George W. Bush.)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that an "animal tested 'inconclusive' for mad cow disease in two rapid screening tests"; the results of further testing will be released next week. The vice-president of BioRad, the company that manufactures the rapid tests, said, "After two inconclusive results, you have a much higher rate of confirming [mad cow disease]." BioRad estimates the chances of getting two false positives are 1 in 240,000. Cattle trading and fast-food chain and meat industry stocks slumped, but "consumer analysts said a second confirmed case probably wouldn't substantially damp domestic beef demand." Marketing executive Harry Balzer said, "You're going to need a widespread outbreak for this to have an impact on consumption."

"While some charge that embedded reporters are often too protective of the military, [U.S. Representative] Sylvestre Reyes (D-Texas) feels they are dangerous loose cannons, and says it's time to consider revoking their privileges," reports Editor and Publisher. During a House Armed Services Committee discussion of the videotaping of a U.S. Marine shooting an injured Fallujah insurgent in a mosque, Reyes said, "We don't want to know everything that's going on in the field. ... We should not be providing the Al-Jazeera the kind of propaganda they've had the last couple of three days."

U.S. Food and Drug Administration reviewer David Graham told Congress that "at least five medications now sold to consumers pose such risks that their sale should be limited or stopped." They are the weight-loss drug Meridia, anti-cholesterol drug Crestor, acne drug Accutane, painkiller Bextra and asthma treatment Serevent. Pfizer just retained Ogilvy PR for its "pain franchise," which includes Bextra and Celebrex. "Pfizer's pain franchise has been subject to the same inquiries as Merck's Vioxx," reports PR Week. "Pfizer has already undertaken an advertising initiative for Celebrex to promote its safety."

The Washington, DC-based Iraqex, "the company that inked a three-year, multi-million dollar deal to handle PR for coalition forces in Iraq," is asking interns to take the "PR challenge of the decade." Iraqex is offering 2- to 3-month internships in Iraq, for U.S. citizens with college degrees. The work includes "monitoring of Iraqi media, development of press releases and media material, interaction with Iraqi media for information requests and to pitch stories, and support for media events." Iraqex acknowledges that Iraq is a "hostile environment," but says its "U.S. personnel have lived in the country since 2003 without injury."

"George W. Bush has been criticized for disdaining fact in favor of faith in his own instincts. But he is savvy about the dangers that information can present to his authority over the government and the American people," writes Robert Parry. "That is why the first priority of his second term has been the elimination of the few government sources of information that could challenge the images he wants to project to the public. Bush doesn't want the State Department or the Central Intelligence Agency portraying his Iraq and other foreign policies as abject failures or reckless adventures. So, by attacking these remaining pockets of analytical resistance, Bush is moving to ensure that his administration can keep much of the U.S. population seeing a near-empty cup as almost entirely full, a concept known in the intelligence world as 'perception management.' ... The end result will almost surely be that Bush will hear even fewer contradictions to his judgments, while Congress and the news media will be cut off from internal government sources of information that could be used to question Bush's decisions."

"From oral contraceptives to estrogen therapy, Barbara Seaman has been exposing pharmaceutical industry cover-ups of drug health risks for 30 years," writes Linda Nathan. In response, pharmaceutical companies have exerted influence to get her fired from three different women's magazines -- Ladies Home Journal, Family Circle, and Hadassah -- where she wrote columns criticizing their products. Now vindicated by new evidence of the dangers of estrogen replacement therapy, she has gotten good reviews for her new book on the topic, titled The Greatest Experiment Ever Performed on Women: Exploding the Estrogen Myth.

"Fleishman-Hillard treated the ratepayers of Los Angeles like a cash cow, milking them for millions," said city controller Laura Chick. Chick's audit of Fleishman-Hillard's work for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power concludes the PR firm overcharged the city $4.2 million over 5 years, through "unsubstantiated, unsupported and questionable" billings. Fleishman-Hillard, whose regional head "acknowledged for the first time in public Tuesday that some of the firm's bills were not supported," contends the overcharging amounts to $652,457. Mayor James Hahn has been criticized for his relationship with Fleishman-Hillard; the firm "provided free public relations advice to the mayor's office worth tens of thousands of dollars."

"The [pro-Arctic National Wildlife Refuge drilling] coalition was industry-driven. That was the exact opposite of how to do it," said Dutko Group lobbyist Stephen Brown. Brown is working with major chemical companies "to create a new coalition aligned with consumer groups to press for a legislative remedy to high prices for natural gas," called the Consumers Alliance for Affordable Natural Gas. Coalition members include the American Chemistry Council, Dow Chemical, and DuPont; the 60 Plus Association, Consumer Federation of America, and AFL-CIO "will become increasingly involved," said Brown. The coalition's goal is "to produce a stand-alone natural-gas bill," likely to include measures "reducing drilling restrictions."

The Center for Media and Democracy's John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton write, "Republican successes have not come quickly or easily. For more than four decades, conservatives have worked to build a network of grassroots organizations and think tanks that formulate and promote their ideas. They are now enjoying the fruits of this long-term investment." The right wing "has simply done a better job than anyone else of organizing from the grassroots up. This isn't because their ideas are more popular or palatable - they aren't - but because the right has been serious and strategic in its commitment to winning and wielding power."

A new European organization, Spinwatch, has been launched to inform "journalists and the general public about the behind-the-scenes interests that influence - and occasionally create - the news." Co-founder David Miller "says the lies of non-existent weapons of mass destruction, and the general lack of questioning in the mainstream media, inspired him to take action," reports the Guardian. "Miller wants to recreate U.S. corporate bugbear PR Watch for a UK and European audience." Spinwatch's launch coincides with "a conference on government spin and corporate deception at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow."

Rising healthcare costs, drug recalls and a low public opinion of the healthcare industry mean that there will be "less money in [direct-to-consumer advertising]" and "more money in PR" in the future, predicts Chandler Chicco's Jeff Nesbit. Nesbit says the pharmaceutical industry is already "putting more resources into building alliances with third-party partners, particularly in the non-profit sector" and promoting "corporate social responsibility programs." APCO Worldwide's Mike Tuffin warns, "Polls show that Americans are increasingly receptive to government in healthcare. ... You've got to help [industry] make a strong push about why the market-based approach is better."

Columnist Gene Weingarten takes a savage cut at a flack who calls himself "Mr. PR" and has written a book that promises to teach people how to become famous. "As an end in itself, this sounded as slimy as squid succotash," Weingarten writes before describing his own "diabolical plan" to "subject Mr. PR to the PR man's Worst Nightmare."

Iraq's Media High Commission, established by the United States "to encourage investment in the media and deter state meddling," warned media organizations in Iraq to "set aside space in your news coverage" of the Fallujah assault "to make the position of the Iraqi government, which expresses the aspirations of most Iraqis, clear." The statement continued, "We hope you comply ... otherwise we regret we will be forced to take all the legal measures to guarantee higher national interests." The commission also urged journalists to "differentiate between the innocent Fallouja residents who are not targeted by military operations and terrorist groups that infiltrated the city."

"A researcher who publicly questioned the safety of Pfizer Inc.'s painkiller Bextra was removed from a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel that will review it and similar products next year," reported the Wall Street Journal. Professor Curt Furberg said the FDA told him his removal was because "he was quoted in the New York Times as saying Bextra appeared similar to Vioxx and that Pfizer sought to suppress that information." Furbert insists his remarks were "evidence-based." Merck recalled its painkiller Vioxx, due an increased risk of heart attacks for users, and the company is under investigation by the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission.

Robert Blackwill, the top White House advisor on Iraq, "has taken a lobbying post at Barbour Griffith & Rogers three months prior to slated elections there," reports O'Dwyer's. Blackwill worked with the State Department foreign service for 22 years, and mentored National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, "when both served on the national security staff of President Bush I." Administration officials had expected Blackwill to be "heavily involved in the preparations for the Iraqi elections," but the White House cautioned that his departure "should not be interpreted as a sign of disarray or disagreement" on Iraq policy.

"With the reelection of George W. Bush, American voters have spoken. Now it is the turn of global consumers," writes Thomas Mucha. According to Simon Anholt, a specialist in international branding, the reelection of Bush is "undoubtedly the worst thing that could have happened. Bush has presided over a period of unparalleled decline in the popularity of the United States. Global disapproval of U.S. foreign policy has become so intense that it is spilling over and contaminating the image of U.S. brands and culture." His advice to companies with international marketing operations: "Run as fast as you can from Brand America. Make your brand culture the culture of your organization, not the culture of your country."

The U.S. political divide "permeates everywhere," writes PR Week, "even amicably at Edelman" PR firm, where Republican strategist Michael Deaver and Democratic adviser Leslie Dach are vice-chairs. Dach said the presidential campaign will impact "the day-to-day business of public relations. ... We'll see new ways to use the internet to engage people and an even greater recognition of the role of these fast-moving cycles to drive news." Deaver said the Bush campaign "controlled the message, knew where they were going, never deviated. ... They responded every time the Kerry campaign went after them within a matter of minutes while the Kerry campaign waited two or three days."

Dan Froomkin asks, "What's the most important thing about White House counsel [and attorney general nominee] Alberto R. Gonzales? ... That he would be the first Hispanic attorney general? That he has been a longtime and deeply loyal friend to the president? That he championed legal arguments that some critics say laid the groundwork for the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison?" While "all three are mentioned in pretty much all of today's major media coverage," only four of 12 outlets highlighted Gonzales' role shaping the "controversial legal strategy in the war on terror." Froomkin wonders, "Is the whole 'torture memo' issue just too complicated?"

Women seeking abortions in Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana and Kansas are told that "abortion can increase their risk of breast cancer," and "legislation to require such notification has been introduced in 14 other states." But "a panel of scientists convened by the National Cancer Institute reviewed available data and concluded there is no link. A scientific review in the Lancet, a British medical journal, came to the same conclusion, questioning the methodology in a few studies that have suggested a link." A Kansas Health Department spokesperson defended their practice, saying that women "can do further research on their own" to sort out opposing claims.

"Blackwater USA, one of the government's top private [military] contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, leads its 'Blackwater Tactical Weekly' email newsletter this week with an all-caps, all-bold exultation: 'Bush Wins, Four More Years!! Hooyah!!'" reports The Hill. Democratic Representative Jan Schakowsky remarked that Blackwater "looks forward to four more years of war-time contracts." A Blackwater spokesperson at their PR firm, Alexander Strategy Group, responded that Schakowsky is "so desperate to attack the Bush administration that she is smearing civilians who are putting their lives on the line in Iraq so that others may know the freedom we take for granted here at home."

"As long as we become uncritical consumers who trust our irrational, visceral gut feeling over intellect, [marketers and advertisers] will be able to reach us through all the din of messages, and get us to do what they want us to do," said Barak Goodman, one of the producers of the new public television documentary "The Persuaders." The documentary "examines the advertising arms race that's left the American landscape carpet-bombed with marketing and promotional clutter," including guerrilla marketing, branding and product placement. One advertising executive interviewed in the film "found that devotion to brands and membership in cults inspired similar feelings of belonging and zeal."

"According to exit polls, one-fifth of voters cited 'moral values' as the factor that most influenced their vote. ... These findings hold deep significance for anyone in issues management," wrote PR Week. PR firm Weber Shandwick's chair said, "Anyone who's trying to understand consumer behavior ought to understand the cultural issues at work now." History professor John Robert Greene agreed, stating, "The influence industry has to recognize that this country is a conservative nation." But a Fleishman-Hillard senior vice-president asked, "What does it mean? That Bush is seen as moral and Kerry is seen as immoral? I'm hesitant to make that jump."

The United Food and Commercial Workers Union is trying to unionize employees at seven Canadian Wal-Mart stores. In response, the completely union-free giant retailer "is targeting current employees with an internal communication program that seeks to discredit common criticisms." The program, called "Setting the Record Straight," uses "statistics and independent studies to dispute assertions made by critics, such as 'Wal-Mart will provide "dead-end," poor quality jobs' and 'Wal-Mart is an American company that does nothing to support Canada.'" Wal-Mart's official position on unions is that they are unnecessary, "because we believe in maintaining an environment of open communications."

As the U.S. escalated its attack on Fallujah, "the Pentagon-run embedded-journalist program has surged," and Iraqi insurgents "invited journalists to 'embed' with them to report their side of the war." The Falluja Mujahideen Shura group of insurgents, tribal chiefs and Sunni clerics said of their embed program, "All media will be allowed into Fallujah to witness the crusade against Islam and see the real face of America. U.S. media will not be excluded. ... We will protect them and transport them to the location of the events." Reuters reported that "the few journalists remaining in Fallujah ... are mainly Iraqis."

"More than 20 chemical companies," including Monsanto and Dow Chemical, "have taken the unusual step of issuing subpoenas to five peer reviewers of a scholarly book." The book, "Deceit and Denial: The Deadly Politics of Industrial Pollution," presents evidence that, "in the late 1960s and early '70s, chemical-industry leaders failed to inform the government about a link that had been found in experiments with rats between exposure to a chemical called vinyl chloride monomer and cancer." The director of the University of California Press, which published the book, called the companies' actions "really pretty sleazy. ... They're trying to discredit the peer-review process."

Several groups are investigating how electronic voting machines performed during the U.S. elections. Three Democratic Representatives asked the General Accountability Office for "an investigation into irregularities with voting machines," including a memory card reader in Ohio that gave Bush "3,893 more votes than he should have received"; North Carolina e-voting machines that lost 4,500 votes; and Florida machines from ES&S that counted absentee ballots improperly. Although the Information Technology Association of America's president said, "The machines performed beautifully," computer scientist Avi Rubin commented, "We'll never really know if [this election] was actually successful."

"After convincing Election Day wins ... Republican leaders can continue to try to repopulate Washington's famous lobbying corridor," K Street, "with their brethren," reports The Hill. Top lobbying slots are open at the American Chemistry Council, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Visa and Freddie Mac. K Street Project co-founder Grover Norquist called hiring Democratic lobbyists "stupid," pointing to "the movie industry's loss of a key tax break" after the Motion Picture Association of America hired Democrat Dan Glickman as its chief lobbyist.

While voters in Colorado backed George W. Bush for president, a ballot initiative requiring the state's power utilities to source 3% of their electricity from renewable energy resources by 2007 and 10% by 2015 was successful. Despite opposition from Citizens for Sensible Energy Choices, the utilities front group, the proposition gained over 52% of the vote. Citizens for Sensible Energy Choices hired Denver-based marketing and PR company Walt Klein & Associates and the Texas-based opinion polling company Hill Research Consultants to assist with the campaign.

The Sinclair Broadcast Group is "the poster child for abuse of the public airwaves," said the director of the media issues organization Free Press. Free Press is challenging the license renewal applications for four Sinclair stations in North and South Carolina, in a petition before the Federal Communications Commission. The petition, the first move in what's expected to be "a series of such actions involving Sinclair-held licenses," charges that "Sinclair has violated the FCC's so-called duopoly rule, which limits the number of licenses one company can hold in a single market," through local marketing agreements. Sinclair was recently criticized over pre-election plans to air the anti-John Kerry film "Stolen Honor."

One group isn't too happy about the predicted high voter turnout: retailers. "Election Day is a lousy shopping day," notes USA Today. But "retailers are searching for ways to nudge folks out. ... Shoppers at any of 2,620 Wal-Marts tonight will see live election coverage via a link with Fox News." In doing so, "Wal-Mart may be showing a Republican point of view to shoppers," said the president of WSL Strategic Retail. "Most retailers tend to keep political affiliations to themselves."

"A media environment of round-the-clock news shows and a seemingly insatiable demand for talking heads is creating new opportunities for media trainers," writes the New York Times. "Traditionally, media training was offered by large public relations firms like Burson-Marsteller and Hill & Knowlton," but now there's competition from "midsize firms" like Qorvis Communications and independent shops. The Center for Media & Democracy's Sheldon Rampton "said the problem with media training - especially in crisis management - is that it's more about presentation than facts. ... 'You're getting canned talking points rather than something genuinely informative,'" he told the Times.

When PBS's "Frontline" airs "The Persuaders," a new documentary exploring the marketing and advertising industry, you won't be seeing public relations executives explaining their work on camera. The program, which airs November 9, "intended to have a PR focus, but PR executives refused to 'go public' about what they do, Justin Vogt, a producer at 'Frontline,'" told the trade publication O'Dwyer's PR Daily. O'Dwyer's reports that its staff "met with three 'Frontline' producers earlier this year, and provided a list of top executives for the program to contact. 'They were very informative, but would only speak off-the-record,'" Vogt told O'Dwyer's.

"Overseas, our troops are being mauled in the long dark night of Iraq," writes Bob Herbert. "At home, the party of the sitting president is systematically stomping on the right of black Americans to vote, a vile and racist practice that makes a mockery of the president's claim to favor real democracy anywhere." In response, the Dkosopedia has created a "Voter Registration Fraud Clearinghouse" to track efforts at voter fraud and vote suppression throughout the United States. And Vidvote.org is inviting people to submit videotaped or photographic evidence of disturbances at polling locations.

Two recent studies of international opinion have found a drop in williness to buy products from American companies. "People felt exploited by global expansion, inundated by our entertainment products, and put off by our arrogance," reports Kristina Sacci. Within the past two years, she notes, "the number of consumers who use U.S. products from companies such as Microsoft and McDonald's had dropped to 27% from 30%. Non-U.S. brands held their ground in the same period." To fight back an organization has been formed called Business for Diplomatic Action: "a task force of high-voltage professionals from marketing, political science, research, and media. Its goal: to educate companies about the rise of anti-Americanism and enlist their help in addressing the issue."