Lobbyist of the year

Ann-Therése Enarsson, secretary-general for A Non Smoking Generation was named Lobbyist of the Year 2004 at an award ceremony on Wednesday night for her passionate work that resulted in a new law which bans smoking in Swedish restaurants. The new law will come into effect on June 1, 2005.

On Thursday, the Swedish journalist awards were presented. Winners were:

Story teller of the year:

Susen Schultz, Svenska Dagbladet, News and feature graphics

Innovator of the year:

Marcos Hellberg, Jonas Franksson and Olle Palmlöf, SVT Väst, “CP-Magasinet”

Revelation of the year:

Katarina Karlsson, Norrbottens-Kuriren, About how Slovakian workers were used by SSAB, forcing them to work under dangerous conditions and for low wages.

Lukas Bonnier’s Grand Journalist Prize:

Kerstin Brunnberg, Swedish Radio

…and now that bloggers more or less officially have gotten the status as influcencers of public opinion, who will take the initiative to name “Blogger of the Year”?

When lobbyists become regulators

President Bush has installed more than 100 top officials who were once lobbyists, attorneys or spokespeople for the industries they oversee, according to an article in the Denver Post.

In at least 20 cases, those former industry advocates have helped their agencies write, shape or push for policy shifts that benefit their former industries. They knew which changes to make because they had pushed for them as industry advocates.

Health care industry top spenders on lobbying

Politicalmoneyline.com has compiled a list of the industries that spent most on federal lobbying in the US the second half of 2003. The top three sectors are:

1. Health Care $138,280,126

2. Finance, Insurance $124,222,095

3. Communication, Technology $111,600,286

According to Wired, the RIAA is behind many of the lobbying efforts for the technology and communications industry due to new legislation on copyright of digital content.