Luntz Gets His Lumps
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
Pollster Frank Luntz "is crying foul after MSNBC canceled his long-scheduled focus group two days before the debate. ...
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Scenes from Spin Alley
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
Notwithstanding efforts to put a Bush spin on Thursday's presidential debate, several opinion polls agree that John Kerry beat George Bush in Thursday's presidential debate.
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The John Kerry Attack Matrix
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
In some respects, the real presidential debate will take place in cyberspace, reports Wired magazine. "The Bush campaign has launched a massive rapid-response effort called Debate Facts to rebut challenger John Kerry's assertions during the debates," writes Louise Witt. "The campaign will provide a live feed to about 5,000 conservative blogs that subscribe to its news alerts.
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Venezuela Promotes Lefty Image
Submitted by Laura Miller on
Venezuela has launched an advertising campaign "pitching itself as an egalitarian nirvana where petro-dollars are funneled straight to the poor," reports the New York Times. "The idea, say Venezuelan officials, is to show American business executives and policy makers that a happy country is a stable one, even if many in Venezuela would disagree." The ads were created by Underground Advertising, a small San Francisco firm that does work for non-profit and progressive organizations.
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Poll Dance
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
After MoveOn.org accused the Gallup polling firm of using a survey methodology that stacks the deck in favor of Republicans, CNN (which uses Gallup) responded with a news segment that "implicitly confirmed a criticism of itself that was leveled in the MoveOn ad: the charge that CNN winds up 'acting as unquestioning promotional partners [with Gallup], rather than as critical journalists.'" Gallup's polls have shown a substantial lead for Bush, but other recent
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Gearing Up for the Post-Debate Debate
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
"If 2000 was any indication," writes Joshua Micah Marshall, the winner of this week's presidential campaign debate "won't be determined during the 90 minute encounter itself but during the spin war that will follow it. And with the advantage the Republicans have on the cable nets, talk radio and chat TV shows, the odds are stacked in their favor." In 2000, the initial public reactions to the first Bush/Gore debate had Gore coming out on top. "It was only after several days of pundit churn that Bush became the winner," Marshall notes.
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Is There an Echo in Here?
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"The Kerry campaign has enlisted congressional Democrats to play down expectations of the challenger's performance in the first presidential debate this Thursday, and then flood the airwaves with jubilant analysis that he has won it." Kerry campaign officials asked press secretaries of Democratic members of Congress "to schedule their bosses on television and
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Ballot Boxing in Iraq and Afghanistan
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
U.S. lawmakers blocked a proposed "covert CIA operation to aid [Iraqi] candidates favored by Washington" - suggested because their opponents might have "covert backing from other countries, like Iran." Leading up to Afghanistan's October 9 elections, U.S.
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Telling the Media to MoveOn
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
U.S. media "gives inordinate attention to fly-by-night groups with little evidence of real support. Why? Because these groups' sensational claims make for entertaining and easily produced news stories. The result is that a Swift Boats Veterans for Truth has greater impact on the national debate than long-established activist organizations," writes the Center for Media and Democracy's Diane Farsetta.
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Angry Seniors, Paid Doctors and the Lobbyists Who Love Them
Submitted by Diane Farsetta on
"Seniors' anger and confusion as the Bush administration phases in the ambitious Medicare overhaul" may help Democratic candidates in November - unless an astroturf PR campaign succeeds.
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