The pharmaceutical industry apparently isn’t succeeding in its traditional PR efforts to get reporters and TV shows to say nice things about drug companies, so it’s decided to create its own TV news show to get the word out. The Hill reports that former Louisiana congressman Billy Tauzin will be hosting “Healthcare Campfire” on Sundays in DC to put a positive spin on the industry that created Vioxx and fen-phen. The show, designed to look like any morning talk show, is actually a 30-minute infomercial paid for by Tauzin’s employer, the industry group PhRMA, and will include guests like Montel Williams, a multiple sclerosis sufferer who’s been flacking for PhRMA for a while now, and former White House press secretary Tony Snow. Clearly lots of people will be giving up football to tune in for this one!
