Dirt Diggers Digest and Earlier Corporate Research Project Online Publications
The Dirt Diggers Digest is a blog written by Corporate Research Project Director Phil Mattera about current controversies over corporate behavior along with tips on corporate research sources and techniques. The latest posts can be seen at the right side of this page; the full site is at dirtdiggersdigest.org. The Digest is also available via its Facebook page.
Prior to the launch of the blog in March 2008, the Corporate Research Project issued two separate online publications: the bimonthly Corporate Research E-Letter (essays on corporate misbehavior) and the old Dirt Diggers Digest (covering trends in disclosure and new info sources for corporate researchers). These were replaced by the blog, but their archives are preserved on this site:
Archive of the Corporate Research E-Letter.
Archive of the pre-blog Dirt Diggers Digest
Alphabetical index of info sources discussed in the pre-blog Dirt Diggers Digest
Archive of the Corporate Research E-Letter
No. 69, January-February 2008
Is Corporate Greenwashing Headed for a Fall?
No. 68, November-December 2007
The New Business Watergate: Prosecution of International Corporate Bribery is On The Rise
No. 67, September-October 2007
Rolling Back Property Tax Payments: How Wal-Mart Short-Changes Schools and other Public Services by Challenging Its Property Assessments
No. 66, July-August 2007
Avoiding the Wal-Martization of Healthcare
No. 65, May-June 2007
Is Big Business Buying Out the Environmental Movement?
No. 64, March-April 2007
Private Inequity: How Mammoth Buyouts are Changing Business for the Worse
No. 63, January-February 2007
Saving Private Insurance:The Dubious Mission of Healthcare Reform
No. 62, November-December 2006
Taking a Bite Out of Enforcement:The Drive to Weaken Federal Oversight of Big Business
No. 61, September-October 2006
Uncharitable Charities: Non-Profit Hospitals Under Fire for Mistreating the Uninsured
No. 60, July-August 2006
Is Wal-Mart Going Soft? The Giant Retailer Embraces Style and Social Responsibility--Up to a Point
No. 59, May-June 2006
Selective Business Ethics: How Wal-Mart and Other Large Corporations Pick and Choose When to Behave Properly
No. 58, March-April 2006
Gone South: Decline & Renewal in the U.S. Auto Industry
No. 57, January-February 2006
The New Raiders: Hedge Funds Take On Corporate America
No. 56, November-December 2005
Broadband Socialism? The Rise of Local Government-Sponsored Wireless Internet Access
No. 55, September-October 2005
Disaster As Relief: How Wal-Mart Used Hurricane Katrina to Repair Its Image
No. 54, July-August 2005
Fighting Chains Stores Past and Present: The Roots of the Campaign Against Wal-Mart
No. 53, May-June 2005
Broken Promises: The Business Assault on "Legacy Costs"
No. 52, March-April 2005
"All we want to do is grow": Wal-Mart Looks for New Worlds to Conquer
No. 51, January-February 2005
The Board Seat Becomes a Hot Seat: New Liability Risks for Corporate Directors
No. 50, November-December 2004
Modern-Day Snake Oil?The Vioxx Scandal and the Crisis of Drug Safety
No. 49, September-October 2004
A Kleptocrat in the Boardroom? Conrad Black and the Looting of Hollinger International
No. 48, August 2004
Farewell to the Good Jobs: Offshore Outsourcing Goes Upscale
No. 47, May-June-July 2004
Monsanto and Genetically Engineered Crops: The Battle Continues
No. 46, April 2004
Capital Flight: How U.S. Investment Funds are Bankrolling Offshore Outsourcing
No. 45, March 2004
What's the Beef? Consolidation and Market Manipulation in the Beef Packing Industry
No. 44, February 2004
Cable is King: Behind Comcast's Bid for Disney
No. 43, January 2004
The Scandal in Home Mortgage Financing: A Look at Freddie Mac
No. 42, December 2003
Cost Cutters or Con Artists? Pharmacy Benefit Managers Under Fire
No. 41, November 2003
Lack of Mutual Interest: The Betrayal of Shareholder Trust by the Mutual Funds Industry
No. 40, October 2003
Offshore Drilling for Cheap Labor: Foreign Outsourcing Hits the U.S. White-Collar Workforce
No. 39, September 2003
Who Let the Lights Go Out? A Look at the U.S. Electric Power System
No. 38, August 2003
Retirement Rip-Off: Corporate America's Campaign to Reduce its Pension Costs
No. 37, July 2003
Running Out of Options: Which Way for Corporate America?
No. 36, June 2003
Confronting Company Policy: The Growing Power of Shareholder Activism
No. 35, May 2003
Media Diversity At Risk: The FCC's Plan to Weaken Ownership Rules
No. 34, April 2003
Presenting Arms: The Iraqi War & the U.S. Weapons Industry
EXTRA - April 3, 2003
Postwar Iraq: A Showcase for Privatization?
EXTRA - March 25, 2003
The Next Wave of Invaders: U.S. Hires Anti-Union Company to Run Port in Iraq
No. 33, March 2003
Privatizing the Spoils of War: Paying Companies to Rebuild Post-Invasion Iraq
No. 32, February 2003
Problematic Protection: The Controversy Over the Anthrax Vaccine and Its Producer
No. 31, January 2003
Corporate Code Blue? The Crisis of the For-Profit Hospital Industry
No. 30, December 2002
Business on the Battlefield: The Role of Private Military Companies
No. 29, November 2002
Strategic Errors: The Crisis in Management Consulting
No. 28, October 2002
Corporate Governance Reform After Enron: The Good, The Bad And The Ineffectual
No. 27, September 2002
The Buck Doesn't Stop Here:The Spread of Limited Liability Companies
No. 26, July-August 2002
Debt Trap: The Credit Industry's Campaign to "Reform" the Personal Bankruptcy Laws
No. 25, June 2002
Duty Free: U.S. Corporations Move Their Legal Headquarters to Bermuda to Avoid Paying Federal Taxes
No. 24, May 2002
Profits, Profits Everywhere ? And Soon Not a Drop to Drink: Privatization of Water
No. 23, April 2002
Rigged Research: Wall Street Stock Analysts Under Fire
No. 22, March 2002
Bidding for Economic Development: The Role of Site Location Consultants
No. 21, February 2002
Lack of Accountability: The Enron/Arthur Andersen Scandal and the Future of the Accounting Business
No. 20, January 2002
Barriers to Accountability: Lessons from the Enron Meltdown
No. 19, December 2001
Big Steel on Steroids: An Industry Pushes for Federal Aid and Permission to Create a Mega-Producer
No. 18, November 2001
You're In Good Hands With Uncle Sam: Federal Intervention In The Insurance Industry
No. 17, October 2001
Economic Development for the People: Making Corporations and Governments Accountable
No. 16, September 2001
The Big Bailout: Questions About Federal Aid for the Airline Industry and the Takeover of Airport Security
No. 15, August 2001
Footprints of the Rich and Famous: A Guide to Backgrounding Individual Executives and Directors
No. 14, July 2001
Black Sludge and Blackouts: The Coal Industry Takes Center Stage
No. 13, June 2001
Back from the Dead: The Resurgence of the Nuclear Power Industry
No. 12, May 2001
Energy Crisis: From the Golden State to the Region
No. 11, April 2001
Energy Deregulation: Lessons from the Golden State
No. 10, March 2001
The Return of Windfall Profits: An Overview of the Oil Industry
No. 9, February 2001
The Free-for-All in Financial Services: An Overview of The Banking Industry
No.8, January 2001
A Lot to Swallow: An Overview of the Food Industry
No.7, December 2000
Monitoring the Pill Pushers: An Overview of the Global Pharmaceutical Industry
No.6, November 2000
Piercing the Veil: How to Gather Information About Privately Held Companies
No.5, October 2000
Investigating the Non-Profit Sector
No.4, September 2000
Uncovering the Corporate Rap Sheet: How to Learn About a Company's Brushes with the Law
No.3, August 2000
Corporate Boards of Directors: Waking Up the "Watchdogs"
No.2, July 2000
Institutional Investors: Why They're Important and How to Find Information About Their Holdings
No.1, June 2000
Introducing the Project
Pre-blog Dirt Diggers Digest Archive