What are these links for?

Below is a list of the best websites, books, and articles on biases and conflicts of interest. It's a big problem, so this is a long list. The ones with stars are the best, but all are worth checking out. (At the very least, watch the Jon Stewart video!)

Web Sites on Bias and Conflicts of Interest

**PR Watch.org: books, weekly newsletter, and articles on the covert tactics of the worst of the PR industry. See particularly its "Nonprofit Hustlers," an article on PR firm Berman & Co. creation of "fake" nonprofits.

MediaTransparency.org: website devoted to tracking the funding of conservative (although often only covertly) thinktanks and institutes.

*"Notes on Nationalism": an essay by George Orwell. The best paper on bias, reason, and politics I've ever read. Not too sup rising, coming from the author of 1984 and Animal Farm. Also see his "Politics and English Language."

** Jon Stewart on "Crossfire": a video of Jon Stewart explaining to the anchors of Crossfire his views (and I share them) on the destructiveness of the political "punditry" class.

Books on Bias

Bagdikian, Ben H. (2000). The Media Monopoly (6th Edition). Beacon Press. The classic warning against society's movement towards concentrated media sources.

**Cialdini, Robert (2000). Influence: Science and Practice (4th Edition). Allyn & Bacon. The classic introduction to the social psychology of influence in everyday life.

Ewen, Stuart (1996) PR! The Social History of Spin. Basic Books. An interesting introduction to the history and world of public relations and spin.

Marlin, Randal (2002) Propaganda and the Ethics of Persuasion. Broadview Press. One of the few books on the ethics of propaganda and other forms of persuasion. Very good.

*Mill, John Stuart (1859) On Liberty. In The Basic Writings of John Stuart Mill: On Liberty, The Subjection of Women, & Utilitarianism. Modern Library, 2002. Still doesn't get any better than John Stuart Mill. "On Liberty" is a classic.

Nestle, Marion (2003). Food Politics: How the food industry influences nutrition and health. University of California Press. A respected researcher argues that food companies covertly influence the governmental suggested nutrition standards.

*Postman, Neil (1985) Amusing Ourselves to Death. Methuen. Postman's book is awesome anachronistic with the advent of the 24-hour news cycle and the internet, yet his message has only become truer.

Pratkanis, Anthony & Elliot Aronson (2000) Age of Propaganda. W. H. Freeman & Co. An overview of propaganda from the psychologists point of view.

**Rampton, Sheldon & Stauber, John and (2001) Trust Us, We’re Experts! Tarcher/Putnam. The best investigative journalism on public relations and expertise in America.

Stauber, John and Sheldon Rampton (1995) Toxic Sludge is Good For You! Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry. Common Courage Press.

Walton, Douglas (1999). One-Sided Arguments: A dialectical analysis of bias. State University of New York. A level-headed philosophical analysis of the notion of bias in everyday life. An excellent thesis.

Academic Papers on Bias and Conflict of Interests

*"Biases in the interpretation and the use of research results" by Robert J. MacCoun (1998), Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 49. An excellent article on the use and abuse of scientific research in education and advocacy.

"Bushwhacking the ethical high road: conflict of interest in law and real life” by Susan Shapiro (2003). Law and Social Inquiry, Chicago: Winter 2003, Vol. 28, Issue 1. An excellent, excellent article on conflict of interests in many spheres. Very academic.

*“Uneasy alliance: Clinical investigators and the pharmaceutical industry.” Bodenheimer, Thomas (2000). New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 342 (20). Another excellent survey of bias in medicine, from a physician's point of view.

Politics and Science in the Bush Administration. Waxman, Henry A. (2003). Prepared by the United States House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform—Minority Staff Special Investigations Division for Rep. Henry Waxman. Representative Waxman has been at the forefront of warning against the influence of politics (focuses mainly on conservative politics) on academic research.

The wooing of our judges. Mikva, Abner (2000, August 28th). The New York Times, pg. A17. A fairly shocking article on federal judges accepting "free" weekends of entertainment and "education" by industry groups.

Letters between "Consumers Union" and "American Council for Science and Health" (industry funded). Excellent attack and response between a consumer-funded organization (CU), and an industry-funded organization. A bit too rhetorical, but very interesting.

Thought Control. Clemons, Steve C. (2003). TomPaine.Com, published November 19th, 2003. Accessed at: http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/9454

Meet the Press: How James Glassman reinvented journalism--as lobbying.
Confessore, Nicholas (2003). Washington Monthly, December 2003.

Conflict of Interest in Clinical Drug Trials: A risk factor for scientific misconduct.
Bodenheimer, Thomas (2000b). Paper presented to Human Subject Protection and Financial Conflicts of Interest Conference, sponsored by Department of Health and Human Services.

*Cargo Cult Science: Some remarks on science, pseudoscience, and learning how to not fool yourself. Feynman, Richard (1974) In The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, 1999, Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books.

*ConsumerFreedom.org: Tobacco Money Takes on Activist Cash. Rampton, Sheldon & John Stauber (2002). PR Watch, Vol. 9, No. 1. Important background information on a prominent nonprofit called ConsumerFreedom.org.