For a book length treatment of some modern "sneaky" PR stuff, check out Ryan Holiday's book Trust Me I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator.[1] If you currently trust the media, read this book and see how you feel afterwards.

Then go listen to some Queensryche:

    I used to trust the media
    To tell me the truth, tell us the truth
    But now I've seen the payoffs
    Everywhere I look
    Who do you trust when everyone's a crook?

[1]: http://trustmeimlying.com/