Corporations

Living in Fear of Nuns With Guitars

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on

Nichols/Dezenhall, a "brass-knuckled, Machiavellian" PR firm that specializes in attacking critics of its corporate clients, is profiled in the June 29 National Journal. "Corporations live in mortal terror of being seen as ungentle," says company founder Eric Dezenhall. "They live in fear of a nun with a guitar showing up at their annual meeting to protest something. But that nun isn't always innocent." Clients of Nichols/Dezenhall have included Motel 6, the Foundation for Biomedical Research, the American Chemistry Council, the Meat Industry Council, and Browning-Ferris Industries.

No
Main Source: 
O'Dwyer's PR Daily, July 1, 2002
Topics: 
Activism
Crisis Management
Corporations

Outing ALEC

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on

Behind the scenes of American politics, the powerful American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has been quietly pulling the strings of state legislatures. "The organization's reach is impressive: More than one-third of state legislators are ALEC members, and about 100 hold senior leadership positions," writes Nick Penniman.

No
Main Source: 
The American Prospect, July 1, 2002
Topics: 
Right Wing
Corporations
Environment
Lobbying

Martha Stewart, Reform Mascot

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on

Martha Stewart's involvement in insider trading allegations may finally ring in corporate reforms, according to Kevin McCauley at O'Dwyer's PR Daily. "The names of Dennis Kozlowski (Tyco), Bernie Ebbers (WorldCom), John Rigas (Adelphia Communications), Dave Komansky (Merrill Lynch) and Gary Winnick (Global Crossing) don't ring a bell to those who skip the financial pages when reading their morning papers," McCauley writes. "Martha Stewart. Ding dong. That's a bell-ringer. ...

No
Main Source: 
O'Dwyer's PR Daily, June 26, 2002
Topics: 
Corporations
Ethics

WorldCom's Accounting Errors Too Big For PR

Submitted by Laura Miller on

"We've believed from the start that the perception of these negative items has been overstated," PR Week reports WorldCom CEO John Sidgmore telling shareholders at the company's June 14 annual meeting. "We must convince customers, employees, and investors of that fact." Sidgmore, who took the CEO job in April, was referring to WorldCom's growing debts, stock price plunge, and recent layoffs.

No
Main Source: 
PR Week, June 24, 2002; Wall Street Journal, June 26, 2002
Topics: 
Crisis Management
Corporations
Ethics

ExxonMobil Sues Greenpeace

Submitted by Laura Miller on

"Greenpeace, which is urging a boycott of ExxonMobil because of its anti-global warming treaty stance, has been sued by the energy giant in France for trademark infringement. That has provided a rich PR opportunity for the media savvy environmental group," O'Dwyer's PR reports. Greenpeace altered the Esso logo by replacing the "ss" with dollar signs. ExxonMobil says that the Greenpeace-altered logo resembles the insignia of the elite Nazi SS army and that it is a "repulsion." According to O'Dwyer's, ExxonMobil fears the E$$O logo "will drive consumers away from its brand."

No
Main Source: 
O'Dwyer's PR Daily, June 26, 2002
Topics: 
Corporations
Environment

Canada's Propaganda War for Engineered Foods

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on

The Canadian government, working closely with the biotech industry, is spending millions getting Canadians to accept genetically modified foods. Lyle Stewart describes the "spider's web of influence" that brings together the biotech and agri-food industries, large grocery distributors, the Hill & Knowlton PR firm, and industry-created front groups such as the Food Biotechnology Communications Network, and co-opted NGOs including the Consumers' Association of Canada.

No
Main Source: 
This magazine, May/June 2002
Topics: 
Food Safety
Genetic Engineering
Front Groups
Corporations

System Failure: Ethical Meltdown Burns Wall Street

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on

"Phony earnings, inflated revenues, conflicted Wall Street analysts, directors asleep at the switch--this isn't just a few bad apples we're talking about here," writes Fortune magazine. "This, my friends, is a systemic breakdown. Nearly every known check on corporate behavior--moral, regulatory, you name it--fell by the wayside, replaced by the stupendous greed that marked the end of the bubble. And that has created a crisis of investor confidence the likes of which hasn't been seen since--well, since the Great Depression." And the crisis hasn't even peaked yet.

No
Main Source: 
Fortune, June 24, 2002
Topics: 
Crisis Management
Corporations
Ethics

The Media: White, Male, Republican, Corporate

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on

A new study by Fairness and Accuracy in Media (FAIR) shows that 92 percent of all U.S. sources interviewed on the nightly network news in 2001 were white, 85 percent were male and, where party affiliation was identifiable, 75 percent were Republican. Big business, too, was overrepresented. In a year in which the country lost 2.4 million jobs, corporate representatives appeared about 35 times more frequently than did union representatives.

No
Main Source: 
http://www.fair.org/extra/0205/power_sources.html
Topics: 
Corporations
Media
Race / Ethnic Issues
Women

Gunning for Money

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on

"Despite the colder realities of the business, the gun industry packages firearms in the sepia tint of nostalgia, conjuring up the Western frontier, fathers and sons hunting at the turn of the century, and grand moments of martial history," writes Tom Diaz of the Violence Policy Center. "For decades, the gun industry has portrayed itself in this way as a repository and guardian of fundamental U.S. cultural values.

No
Main Source: 
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5731
Topics: 
Corporations
Marketing

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