Media

ABC's John Stossel attempted to defend himself by describing his critics as "brainwashed." Stossel appeared yesterday on Fox News Channel's "O'Reilly Factor." Responding to criticism by the Environmental Working Group, Stossel said, "I call them the totalitarian left. They want to silence people who criticize them." See earlier postings on Spin of the Day for the complete story on Stossel's media debacle.

The polluter-funded Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is using the upcoming Stossel report to escalate its attack on public funding of environmental education. CEI notes that "ABC News is airing a John Stossel special this Friday, June 29, exposing some of the liberal indoctrination children receive in the classroom under the guise of environmental education."

As interactive television becomes a reality, cable companies and marketers will be able to monitor the viewing habits of millions of Americans, often without clear disclosure, according to a report by the Center for Digital Democracy, a new Washington-based advocacy group. Industry officials said they will use information about customers only to provide better service, but the CDD said the information could lead to manipulation or deceptive advertising.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal is developing a campaign to bring more retailers to Milwaukee. PR Week reports that as a result of declining ad revenue, the daily newspaper has created a business development director position to promote the city and to convince new retailers and potential advertisers to move there. Initially the paper will work with local public and private economic development and real estate organizations to determine what resources it can provide them such as demographic and purchasing-power data.