The American Association of Public Health Physicians, (AAPHP), who opposed the new bill giving the U.S. government regulatory authority over cigarettes and other tobacco products, says the bill was essentially written by Philip Morris for the company's own benefit. In a July 2, 2009 interview on Democracy Now, Dr. Joel Nitzkin, Chair of AAPHP's Tobacco Control Task Force, said the bill was negotiated between Philip Morris and the Tobacco-Free Kids, and that "those appointed from Tobacco-Free Kids to negotiate on behalf of the public health community really had no understanding of tobacco-related science, of how and why kids initiate tobacco use, or the steps that could be taken to stop them." Dr. Nitzkin said "the bill gives the appearance of federal regulation of tobacco products while assuring Philip Morris will be able to continue to market their current cigarette products with little interference from federal authorities. The bill also gives PM protection against future liability and protects the company from competition from other tobacco companies and smokeless tobacco products." Dr. Nitzkin points out that, with the exception of the provision requiring graphic health warning labels on cigarettes, every other provision in the bill that deals with the restriction of marketing tobacco products "falls into one of two categories: either it's already in place as a result of the Master Settlement Agreement, or it has already been thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court."

Key to the Obama administration's proposal for financial industry reform is the establishment of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency. The proposed agency would "have a broad mandate to cover the spectrum of consumer financial products and to fill gaps in current regulations." Not surprisingly, big business is fighting back. "I think when people read this, they will be shocked about the incredibly broad delegation of power," said the American Bankers Association's Edward Yingling. An executive with the Financial Services Roundtable worried, "If you argue against the agency, then you could be incorrectly painted as arguing against consumer protection." Americans for Financial Reform -- a new coalition including AARP, AFL-CIO, ACORN, Consumers Union, MoveOn.org Political Action and Public Citizen -- would presumably agree, except for the word "incorrectly." A coalition statement reads, "Opposition to the Agency from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Wall Street bankers and the financial services industry is a slap in the fact to the millions of Americans who played by the rules and got burned." The Hill reported that the financial industry groups opposing Obama's proposal are considering the services of a number of PR firms including Powell Tate, Vox Global, Goddard Claussen and Direct Impact.

The Obama administration has denied a request made under the Freedom of Information Act for the names of all visitors to the White House visitors between January 20 and May. MSNBC.com investigative journalist Bill Dedman reports that the Obama administration, just like the Bush administration, "is arguing that the White House visitor logs are presidential records -- not Secret Service agency records, which would be subject to the Freedom of Information Act." A spokesman for Obama, Ben LaBolt, said that the administration should be able to hold secret meetings "such as an elected official interviewing for an administration position or an ambassador coming for a discussion on issues that would affect international negotiations." However, Dedman notes that "these same arguments, made by the Bush administration, were rejected twice by a federal judge."

From March 2008 to January 2009, the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) spent $7.6 million on public relations and marketing, to "instill confidence in the stability of the insured banking system" and mark the agency's 75th anniversary. The Weber Shandwick and Porter Novelli firms worked on the FDIC campaign. "Both PR firms are still under contract with the FDIC," reports O'Dwyer's. While "the anniversary campaign wraps up at the end of this month," Porter Novelli "has received an extension to support the FDIC's 'EDIE the Estimator,' an online insurance deposit calculator that has been revamped."

The new Virginia-based group "Citizens for a Safe Alexandria" describes itself as a grassroots group, but its founder works for a public relations firm that specializes in "'grassroots' and 'grasstops' media strategies." Citizens for a Safe Alexandria's Sara Raak has appeared on local television news, urging the Obama administration not to "put those of us in the Alexandria neighborhood at risk" by bringing Guantanamo Bay detainees to the area to stand trial. Raak's day job is with OnPoint Advocacy, which runs Democracy Data & Communications, a member of the Public Affairs Council recently linked to an Astroturf website pushing for continued U.S. military spending on F-22 Raptor fighter jets. Raak's also worked for the DCI Group and Progress for America and managed "grassroots advocacy programs" for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. She said OnPoint / DDC have "nothing to do" with Citizens for a Safe Alexandria, except for helping with the group's website. She added that the new group has "no funding," except "what she, her husband and two associates who are 'other moms' in Alexandria put into the effort." Raak said the group will be "'put[ting] out some pamphlets' against Guantanamo detainees going on trial in Alexandria and distribute them in Old Town and at area flea markets."

According to the The National Archives and Records Administration, Miriam Nisbet will be the first director of the Office of Government Information Services. She was previously legislative counsel for the American Librarian Association. Additionally, "she served as Deputy Director of the Justice Department's Office of Information Privacy, which plays a major role in overseeing government wide FOIA policy, and as a special counsel for information policy at the National Archives. Most recently, she was director of UNESCO’s Information For All Program." While OGIS was created in 2007 by Congress as "monitor and mediator" of FOIA requests, the Bush administration left the office unfunded. "We've been waiting a long time to see this thing get off the ground,” says Rick Blum, coordinator of the Sunshine in Government Initiative, a media coalition that worked closely with congress to push for the office’s creation, “She’s a long-time advocate for open government, and this is a promising start for those who want the FOIA to work better."

President Obama's nominee for Army Secretary has requested $40 million in earmarks to be added to the defense appropriations bill. Rep. John McHugh, a Republican congressman from New York, called for $4.7 million for the Lockheed Martin aviation corporation, which has contributed $35,000 to his congressional campaigns, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. "Rockwell Collins, Inc., a defense contractor with a facility in upstate New York would receive $2 million under the requests. ... Rockwell Collins until this year had been a client of PMA Group lobbying firm, which closed after it was the target of an FBI investigation into campaign finance violations. PMA’s political action committee, its employees and its clients gave $160,250 to McHugh’s congressional campaigns." McHugh is the top Republican serving on the House Armed Services Committee.

U.S. military psychological operations (PSYOP) campaigns continue in Iraq, though many question their effectiveness. "They have a very crude tone and content, and the narrator sounds like Saddam's own propagandist," said political science professor As'ad AbuKhalil. "The Arabic used also is awkward, clearly translated from English texts most likely drafted in some office on K Street." An Iraqi lawyer criticized the money spent on PSYOP: "If those funds had been given to the poor and the widows, Iraq would have been a pioneer in social welfare. Millions of dollars go into the pockets of war profiteers who believe victory in Iraq can be won through the media using underground movies." The head of Iraq's Journalistic Freedom Observatory dismissed the PSYOP newspaper "Baghdad Now," which the U.S. military has published and distributed since at least 2004, saying, "Nobody reads this." Yet "Richard C. Holbrooke, President Obama's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, recently told lawmakers that the administration is working on a strategic communications plan for that region that draws on the lessons of Iraq," reports the Washington Post. "Electronic media, telecom and radio" should be used "to counter the propaganda that is key to the insurgency's terror campaign," Holbrooke said.

The Denver public relations firm MGA Communications boasts that it has won a Silver Anvil Award from the Public Relations Society of America, for its work organizing a special event at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal for Shell Oil. Chemical weapons had been manufactured at the site for for the U.S. Army before it was leased to Shell, which manufactured pesticides there until 1982. In 1987 the site was designated as one of the most polluted Superfund toxic waste cleanup sites in the country. MGA, which has worked for Shell for over 20 years, states on its website that "the task was to ... dispel false claims, and shift focus back to where it should be -- the cleanup and transition of the Superfund site to a national wildlife refuge worthy of the nation's pride." In 1995, Greg Marsh, an environmental chemist with a local watchdog group described the information given to the public by MGA/Thompson as "watered down statements written by slick-talking liars."

"Prescription drug ads have drawn fire for portraying healthy-looking, active and smiling patients while explaining benefits and then rushing through or providing distractions when required risk information is presented," reports Reuters. For example, an ad for a Schering-Plough allergy drug featured "a bee that flew around during a description of side effects but simply hovered while benefits were explained." These and other marketing tricks may "misleadingly minimize the risks" of drugs and medical devices, acknowledges the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA issued new marketing guidelines that say it will consider "the messages conveyed by the promotional piece as a whole" when evaluating whether ads "present risk information adequately." Representatives from two industry groups, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and the Advanced Medical Technology Association, pointed to their voluntary ad guidelines as proof that their marketing is "responsible."