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<span style="font-size:140%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#000;">Welcome to [[About SourceWatch|SourceWatch]]&mdash;your guide to the names behind the news.</span> SourceWatch is a collaborative project of the [http://www.prwatch.org Center for Media and Democracy] to produce a directory of the people, organizations and issues shaping the public agenda. A primary purpose of SourceWatch is documenting the PR and propaganda  activities of [[public relations firms]] and [[public relations professionals]] engaged in managing and manipulating public perception, opinion and policy. SourceWatch also includes profiles on [[think tanks]], [[industry-funded organizations]] and [[industry-friendly experts]] that work to influence public opinion and public policy on behalf of [[w:corporation|corporations]], governments and [[w:special interest|special interests]]. Over time, SourceWatch has broadened to include others involved in public debates including media outlets, journalists, government agencies, activists and nongovernmental organizations. Unlike some other wikis, SourceWatch has a policy of [[SourceWatch:References|strict referencing]], and is overseen by a [[User:Bob Burton|paid editor]]. SourceWatch has {{NUMBEROFARTICLES}} articles.
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-------------------------In the news------------------------>
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[[Image:AngryMermaid.jpg|left|120px]]*[http://www.prwatch.org/node/8693 A None-Too-Happy Mermaid] A coalition of groups has unveiled a short list of nominees for [http://www.angrymermaid.org/ The Angry Mermaid Award] for the "company or lobby group is doing the most to sabotage effective action on climate change." (A [http://www.copenhagenpictures.dk/mermaid.html waterside statue] of a mermaid is a local Copenhagen landmark.) Groups short-listed include the U.S. coal industry front group, the [[American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity]]; the [[International Air Transport Association]], which has lobbied against climate legislation binding airlines to reduce emissions; [[Shell]], which is investing in developing highly polluting [[Alberta's tar sands|tar sands]]; and the South African company, [[Sasol]], which is promoting [[Carbon Capture and Storage]] as a &quot;clean solution to the dirty business of producing liquid fuels from coal and gas.&quot; [http://www.angrymermaid.org/vote Voting] is open until Sunday December 13, 2009.

* [http://www.prwatch.org/node/8689 UnitedHealth Presses its Employees to Oppose Public Option][[UnitedHealth Group]] urged its 75,000 employees to phone their senators and write letters-to-the-editor to protest including a public health insurance option in health reform legislation. The California-based consumer advocacy group [http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/ Consumer Watchdog] obtained a copy of an email that [[United for Health Reform]], UnitedHealth Group's lobbying arm, sent to company employees. It contained form letters employees could use to contact newspapers and senators. According to Consumer Watchdog, the email offered misleading talking points the same as those advanced by the [[Republican Party]], like the claim that health insurance reform will cause [http://www.prwatch.org/node/8482 millions to lose their coverage].

* [http://www.prwatch.org/node/8694 Berman's Serious Secrecy] Veteran [[astroturf]] lobbyist [[Richard Berman]], through his [[front group]] the [[Employment Policies Institute]], is planning an advertising blitz claiming that healthcare reform is too costly. The ads will run in Nebraska, North Dakota, Arkansas, Louisiana, Connecticut and Maine. “We’re putting some serious money behind it,” said Berman. As to whose money it is, Berman was less forthcoming. "These are people we do business with and have an interest in the issue,” was all Berman would disclose. 

[[Image:Pillsmoney.jpg|90px|right]] * [http://www.prwatch.org/node/8677 Planners of Scandal-Plagued Medicare Part D Legislation Now Fighting Health Insurance Reform] Former federal officials and legislative aides who helped draft the 2003 [[Part D Medicare Drugs Price bill|Medicare Part D]] drug benefit are now lobbying for [[Pharmaceutical industry|pharmaceutical interests]] trying and protect the lucrative drug payment system in health care reform negotiations. In 2008, the [[House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform|House Committee on Oversight]] found that Medicare Part D has delivered a bonanza to pharmaceutical companies by allowing them to charge the government 30 percent more for drugs through Part D than for drugs for people in the Medicaid system. Pharmaceutical industry lobbyists are working against the House version of the health care reform bill, which requires drug companies give up some of their Medicare Part D windfall. The list of public officials-turned-health care-lobbyists includes former Senator [[John Breaux]] (D-Louisiana), who fought against allowing the government to negotiate drug prices for Medicare Part D, former Senator [[Don Nickles]] (R-Oklahoma) who helped negotiate the final version of Part D and then left to form his own lobbying firm, and [[Thomas A. Scully]], the former head of Medicare, who also helped design Part D. 


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* [[Lisa Graves]] writes about [[Genentech]]'s success in getting U.S. House Representatives to mouth the company's spin in the health reform debate in her blog [http://www.prwatch.org/Genentech+Ghostwriting+in+Health+Reform+Debate Genentech's Ghostwriting Animates Congressional Speeches on Health Reform]

* [http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/bios.php/Bob_Burton Bob Burton] discusses the massive cost of Carbon Capture and Storage technology for power stations, and how the coal industry hopes to get everyone else to foot the bill. See [http://www.prwatch.org/node/8696 The Coal Industry Wants Your Cash to Save Them].

* [http://www.banksterusa.org/ BanksterUSA] presents its Golden Throne Award to [[Scott E. Talbott|Scott Talbott]] of the [[Financial Services Roundtable]], who has done his utmost to hold off any meaningful financial reforms, even after the industry collapsed the global economy and sent U.S. unemployment above 10%. [[Mary Bottari]] fills us in in her blog, [http://www.prwatch.org/node/8673 "Golden Throne" Award Presented to Scott Talbott of the Financial Services Roundtable]

* Bob Burton writes about Australian geologist [[Ian Plimer]]'s connections to the mining industry. Plimer's  book, "Heaven and Earth: Global Warming - The Missing Science," has made him the darling of [http://connorcourtpublishing.blogspot.com/search?q=Plimer conservative media commentators] and the global network of [[Global warming skeptics|climate change skeptics]].


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-------------------------Editors's pick of the week------------------------>
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SourceWatch contributor '''Lisa G. Leming''' has created a comprehensive article on the issues surrounding '''[[Puppy Mills]]''', pet stores, dog clubs, breeder and veterinary associations, incorporating YouTube videos of Human Society surveillance footage into puppy mill operations. 
<youtube size="small" align="center" border="red" caption="[[HSUS]] & Wayne County, NC Animal Control rescue 300 dogs in puppy mill raid. - February 2009">Wav9SUmhdlg&</youtube>



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[[Image:Superman2 noline.png|130px|right]] [http://www.prwatch.org/node/8675 Drilling Through the Appalachian Shale Gas Hype] While the U.S. economy continues to reel from the fallout from the global [[Summary of Origins of Financial Crisis 2008|financial crisis]], there's a boom on in the gas industry wanting access to Appalachian areas underlain by [[Marcellus Shale]] deposits. The prospect of massive drilling has environmentalists and many residents worried about the environmental impacts. To make gas production profitable, the industry employs a practice called [[fracking]], pumping large volumes of water, sand and a mix of chemicals down drill holes to fracture the rock formations and increase the volume of accessible gas.  The Safe Drinking Water Act protects water supplies, but the gas industry is the only industry excluded from the legislation, and many state governments fail to regulate fracking practices. You can help out by adding information about the health and environmental effects being seen from fracking to the SourceWatch article on [[fracking]].

If this is your first time editing on SourceWatch, you can [http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Special:Userlogin&type=signup register here], and learn more about adding information to the site [[SourceWatch:Contributing|here]], [[SourceWatch:About|here]], [[SourceWatch:References|here]] and [[Help:Adding to Articles in the Climate Change Portal|here]]. <b>Hold onto your hat, have fun, and thanks for your help!</b>

And if you would like to work on something else, take a look at some of our [[SourceWatch/Archived Citizen Editor Projects|earlier citizen journalism projects here]].
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The most popular pages over the last week have included the article on [[Fox News]], the cable channel owned by news magnate [[Rupert Murdoch]]. Other popular pages include the article on [[Propaganda techniques]], which describes common strategic and rhetorical techniques often used to influence opinions and avoid the truth. [[Swift Boat Veterans for Truth]], [[think tanks]], [[Xe]] (the company formerly known as Blackwater) have also been popular this week. 

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-------------------------What they're saying about SourceWatch------------------------>
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<blockquote>"The folks at the Center for Media and Democracy have done incredible work documenting [[Portal:Front groups|fake grassroots ("astroturf") groups]]. [[Portal:Election Protection Wiki|Here]], they're helping protects the rights of all Americans to exercise their right to vote. They are completely non-partisan.  These guys are the real deal." [[Craig Newmark]], Craig's List</blockquote>

<blockquote> "A truly impressive project based on cutting edge web technology." [http://www.davidkorten.org/index.htm David Korten], author of ''When Corporations Rule the World'' and ''The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community''.</blockquote>

<blockquote>"The troublemakers at the Center for Media and Democracy, for example, point to dozens of examples of "[[greenwashing]]," which they defined as the "unjustified appropriation of environmental virtue by a company, an industry, a government or even a non-government organization to sell a product, a policy" or rehabilitate an image. In the center's view, many enterprises labeled green don't deserve the name.&mdash;Jack Shafer, "[http://www.slate.com/id/2169863/ Green Is the New Yellow: On the excesses of 'green' journalism]", ''Slate'', July 6, 2007.</blockquote>

<blockquote>"As a journalist frequently on the receiving end of various PR campaigns, some of them based on disinformation, others front groups for undisclosed interests, [CMD's SourceWatch] is an invaluable resource."&mdash;[[Michael Pollan]] author of ''The Botany of Desire''</blockquote>

<blockquote>"Thanks for all your help. There's no way I could have done my piece on big PR and global warming without the CMD [Center for Media and Democracy] and your fabulous websites."&mdash;Zoe Cormier, journalist, Canada</blockquote>

<blockquote>"The dearth of information on the [U.S.] government [lobbying] disclosure forms about the other business-backed coalitions comes in stark contrast to the data about them culled from media reports, websites, press releases and Internal Revenue Service documents and posted by SourceWatch, a website that tracks advocacy groups." Jeanne Cummings, [http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0408/9929.html 'New disclosure reports lack clarity"], ''Politico'', April 29, 2008.</blockquote>
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! <h2 style="margin:0; background:#ddcef2; font-size:120%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #afa3bf; text-align:left; color:#000; padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Getting Started</h2>
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<h4>Looking for somewhere to start?</h4>
To learn how ''you'' can edit any article right now, visit [[SourceWatch:About]], [[SourceWatch:Welcome, newcomers]], our [[SourceWatch:Help|Help page]], [[SourceWatch:FAQ|Frequently Asked Questions]], or experiment in the [[SourceWatch:sandbox|sandbox]].

If you are unsure where to start, you could expand some of the recently created but currently very brief articles. (If you look at the [[Special:Recentchanges|recent changes page]] you will see some noted as being 'stubs' - articles that may just be a line or two and needing to be fleshed out). So if you would like to add to some of those you would be most welcome.
Or if you would like some other suggestions closer to your interests you could  drop SourceWatch editor, Bob Burton an email. His address is bob AT sourcewatch.org
<h4>SourceWatch content</h4>
SourceWatch also includes specific [[case studies]] of deceptive PR campaigns, the activities of [[Front groups|front groups]], [[industry-funded organizations]] and [[industry-friendly experts]]. We are also building profiles on [[public relations associations]], specific [[criticisms of PR]], common [[propaganda techniques]], [[war propaganda]] and [[list of lists|much, much more]].
<h4>Research and Writing Tips</h4>
*[[SourceWatch:Article guidelines|Article guidelines]]
*[[How to research front groups]]
*[[Resources for studying propaganda]]
*[[Research using the web]]
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! <h2 style="margin:0; background:#fffacd; font-size:120%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #dad26d; text-align:left; color:#000; padding:0.2em 0.4em;">SourceWatch history</h2>
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SourceWatch began as the "[http://www.prwatch.org/node/3205 Disinfopedia]" in February 2003. In January 2005, the name was changed to SourceWatch. Contributors are now working on {{NUMBEROFARTICLES}} [[w:Wikipedia:What is an article|articles]]. In the last twelve months SourceWatch has served over 97 million pages to users.
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'''Disclaimer:''' SourceWatch is an encyclopedia of people, issues and groups shaping the public agenda. It is a project of the [http://www.prwatch.org Center for Media &amp; Democracy]&mdash;email bob AT sourcewatch.org.

'''Antispam note:''' To avoid attracting spam email robots, email addresses on SourceWatch are written with AT in place of the usual symbol, and we have removed "mail to" links. Replace AT with the correct symbol to get a valid address. We regret the inconvenience this entails. Lobby your government for more effective antispam regulations. 

<div style="font-weight:bold;text-align:right;margin-right:10px;margin-bottom:4px;">[[SourceWatch:General disclaimer|Read the full disclaimer]]</div>
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