One of the interests that Murdoch shares with the Cato Institute is
tobacco. Murdoch sits on the board of directors of Philip Morris. Murdoch
publications such as TV Guide reap enormous profits from cigarette ads. And
Murdoch's Fox Broadcasting is cozy with Philip Morris subsidiary Miller
Brewing Co., which has boosted its advertising account with Fox to about
$75 million per year for sports and prime-time programs.
Although news reports and media commentaries often include the Cato
Institute's assessments of tobacco-related issues, Cato's direct ties to
tobacco rarely get mentioned. For years, the list of Cato's large
contributors has included Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds.
As it happens, Cato is a fierce tiger when it comes to advocating for
oppressed tobacco firms. Early in the summer of 1997, a Cato "Policy
Analysis" by senior fellow Robert A. Levy denounced state lawsuits against
tobacco companies to recover Medicaid costs for treating people with
smoking-related diseases. Levy claimed that anti-tobacco politicians were
"willing to deny due process to a single industry selected for its deep
pockets and public image rather than its legal culpability."
A month later (in July 1997), testifying before the Senate Judiciary
Committee, Levy sounded a similar theme, calling a proposed tobacco
settlement "a shameful document, extorted by public officials who have
perverted the rule of law to tap the deep pockets of a feckless and
friendless industry." Levy excoriated newly proposed restrictions on
tobacco advertising as "draconian." And he went ballistic over the idea
that tobacco firms should provide funds for the health care of children
without insurance: "To hold a single industry financially liable is no more
than a bald transfer of wealth from a disfavored to a favored group."
Such pronouncements from the lips of tobacco company lawyers are likely to
be taken with outsized grains of salt by the public. But Levy, whose title
is "senior fellow in constitutional studies at the Cato Institute," has
consistently received respectful media coverage -- without reference to the
links between the tobacco industry he defends and the think tank that
employs him.
http://accuracy.org/articles/cato.htm
CLEAR Profile: Steven Milloy - Profiles and explores the tobacco industry
connections of lobbyist Steven Milloy. Corporate Lapdog Poses as Citizen
Watchdog - Covers Contributions Watch, a fraud which pretended to expose
special-interest money in elections, was secretly created and controlled by
a lobby shop paid for by special-interest money. Designer front group -
Documents origins of TASSC. FAIR: Media Moguls on Board - Cato Institute
board member Rupert Murdoch is also a Philip Morris board member; Cato has
taken money from Philip Morris and RJR. The Great Tobacco Robbery - Cato
Institute editorial condemns money made by plaintiff lawyers "holding
tobacco companies accountable for Medicaid expenditures allegedly related
to smoking". Not mentioned: the Cato Institute takes tobacco money. 4-H
Yes, Philip Morris No! - Information on the Philip Morris partnership with
4-H. How Big Tobacco Helped Create "the Junkman" - PR Watch article on
Steven Milloy, his "Junk Science" website, and his tobacco connections.
Internal industry memo calls Gov. Pete Wilson "Pro-Tobacco" - Confidential
internal Philip Morris memo describes then-governor Pete Wilson as "still
pro-tobacco" and assures contact that Wilson is keeping the bulk of his
tobacco money. Junk Science and the Art of Spin-doctoring - Sites that
portray research on secondhand smoke as "junk science" turn out to have
tobacco money behind them. The Nicotine Network - Series of articles in
Mother Jones magazine. Particular emphasis on "astoturf": front groups
created by PR firms to look like "grass roots" organizations. An Open-ended
Attack on the Public Interest - PRWatch article on tobacco industry use of
PR firms and front groups to push "tort reform". Opening Pandora's Box -
SFWeekly article covers industry activity in California between 1988 and
1993, primarily diversion of Prop. 99 funds; politicians who helped the
industry; industry use of PR firms, lobbyists, and front groups. Philip
Morris Front Group Exposed - Investigative reporting on Contributions
Watch, a Philip Morris front group. PR Watch: Tobacco Front Group Exposed!
- "Special-interest Watchdogs" exposed as tobacco industry front group.
Public-Interest Pretenders - According to Consumer Reports, "no one plays
the public-interest pretender game better than the tobacco industry"; this
article explains. RJR's Field Force Unravelled - Reports on RJ Reynolds
document that names RJR field operatives in charge of coordinating and
developing the "smoker's rights" movement in various states, and how much
they were paid. Skeptic's Dictionary: The Junk Science Page - Charges that
"The Junk Science Page is not about junk science so much as it is about
anything which does not support a conservative, Rush Limbaugh type,
political agenda." SmokeFree Air Newsletter, Summer, 1995 - Short summary
of front groups used to oppose NYC smokefree ordinance. Smoker Group's
Thick Wallet Raises Questions - LATimes article on the NSA; reports that
dues paid by members accounts for less than 1% of the budget. Smoker
Group's Thick Wallet Raises Questions - LATimes article on the National
Smokers Alliance documents the gap between its claimed membership and dues
members paid. Strange Bedfellows: the Tobacco Industry and the
Massachusetts Restaurant Association - Covers history of the collaboration,
and examines how and why the MRA helped the tobacco industry. Study Shows
Weekly Reader Conveyed Tobacco Industry Message - National Cancer Institute
study finds that the Weekly Reader gave a pro-tobacco message at the time
it was owned by tobacco interests. TASSC and Other Tobacco Industry Ploys -
Journalist Stewart Fist surveys the origins, history, and uses of TASSC,
and the documentation on the above. Those Lovable Tobacco Execs - Column by
money advisor Andrew Tobias examines the National Smokers Alliance. Through
the Smoke Screen: Another Philip Morris Front Exposed - Article on Philip
Morris, the NSA, and Contributions Watch. Ties that Bind: the ACLU and Big
Tobaccco - Transcript of radio program. Guests include Morton Mintz, who
wrote an article on the subject, and Stan Glantz. Timeline: Front Groups -
Internal tobacco industry memos, letters, organized in time provide a look
at the industry's use of front groups. Tobacco industry front groups in
Canada - Documents the origins of several groups through industry memos
regarding them. The Tobacco Industry Funds "Hospitality" Organizations -
Documentation on tobacco industry covert funding and organization of
pro-smoking efforts in the hospitality industry. Tobacco Industry
Organization and Support of Hospitality and Restaurant Coalitions -
Presentation at health conference summarizes tobacco industry use of
restaurant and hospitality organizations. Tobacco Industry Strategies and
Front Groups - Covers the NSA, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Empire
State Restaurant and Tavern Association, and others. The Tobacco
Institute's Center for Indoor Air Research - Uses original industry
documents to show how, when, and why the CIAR was created. Tobacco Ties of
the Cato and Fraser Institutes - Tobacco money taken by those organizations
and its connections to their policy advocacy. Other ties the organizations
have to the tobacco industry. The War in the States - Fund Article explores
tobacco industry use of front groups with no obvious ties to tobacco to
push for state "pre-emption" laws. The War in the States (cont'd) -
continuation of article; covers Citizens Against Tax Abuse, Citizens
Against Government Interferencel, Minnesota Coalition of Responsible
Retailers, Citizens for Fair Taxes, Maine Grocers Association, others.
Writer Exposed as Tobacco Industry Hack - News summary andcollection of
articles covering Roger Scruton's deal with Japan Tobacco to write articles
for them, such as attacking the World Health Organization.
Tobacco Giants Accused of Smokescreen - Nature Science report on how the
tobacco industry manipulates restaurant and bar trade bodies to maintain
smoking in public places. (May 29, 2002) Astro-Turf: Bogus Grass-Roots
Groups and the Tobacco Industry - "How the tobacco industry uses bogus
grass-roots groups to oppose local smoking laws." Thorough look at the
National Smokers Alliance (NSA). Article from the Pacific Sun. (March 13,
1996)
http://dmoz.org/Health/Addictions/Substance_Abuse/Tobacco/Industry/Supporters/
