Talk:Keep America Beautiful
I don't know much about KAB but but it needs a little work. I'm a little pressed for time to rewrite this one right nowso I'll just add a few sections that can be filled in and do a quick rewrite on a few bits. However as it is written it assumes a greater level of knowledge about the organisation such as a) who are its corporate funders?; b) what was its history on bottle bills and why did it oppose them?; does it still and if not when did it change and why? c) are the cigarette litter reduction programs funded by tobacco companies? does it still get funding from tobacco companies or did it end this practice and if so when? --Bob Burton 02:26, 15 Aug 2005 (EDT)
I agree. For the time being, I've reverted the following changes that were made today to this article by anonymous user 204.17.103.206:
- NOTE: in 2003, Mr. Lamb and his organization "cigarettelitter.org" began working closely with Keep America Beautiful on their Cigarette Litter Prevention Program. He has since retracted the allegations of this article.
This note was added to the citation for Walter Lamb's article, "Keep America Beautiful: Grassroots Non-Profit or Tobacco Front Group?", which was published in PR Watch, 3rd Quarter 2001. However, I've done a Google search and didn't find any references to Lamb "working closely" with KAB or retracting his allegations. If that indeed is the case, we need to see citations and evidence for it. In addition, we need to see citations and evidence for other unsupported claims that have been made in this article. As an example, the following passage is highly problematic:
- Despite multiple allegations to the contrary, the national office of Keep America Beautiful no longer engages in any issues advocacy. Their official position on bottle bills is to have no position at all, and instead to defer to their 500+ local affiliate organizations. If these local Keep "yourtown" Beautiful programs were to support bottle bills, they would still remain within the Keep America Beautiful organization and would not see any change in their funding.
This passage seems to be a bit of apologetics aimed at refuting "multiple allegations," but there is no reference to the "multiple allegations" that are supposedly being refuted. Moreover, I found nothing of significance when I did a Google search for "issues advocacy" and "Keep America Beautiful."
As presently worded, this article reads like a puff piece for KAB, supported solely by the unsourced assertions of an anonymous user. It would help if the individual who is making these assertions would identify him/herself. More importantly, it would help if he/she would provide links or citations to support the claims being made. Otherwise some of these claims will have to come out. --Sheldon Rampton 12:11, 15 Aug 2005 (EDT)
