Last fall, PETA announced a partnership with Helium.com, a site that promotes the open exchange of ideas—something we're all for.

Now we're taking it to a new level. Announcing—drum roll please—the PETA Citizen Journalism Award! Each month, we'll name a title. All you have to do is write an article based on that title. If we think yours makes the best case, not only will you win a customized award plus a $50 gift certificate that you can use to snag swag from the PETA catalog but we'll also feature your article right here on The PETA Files. That's a pretty big deal, right? (Please say yes—those of us who post here have such fragile egos!)

To give you a head start, this month's title is "Would you eat animal-stem-cell–grown 'clean meat' to protect animals and the environment?" If you don't quite get what that's about, be sure to read about our $1 million challenge first. If you need more information to help you write your article, there's a ton of useful, fascinating stuff on GoVeg.com.

-Jeff Mackey

One of our most popular anti-fur slogans here at PETA is “Fur is worn by beautiful animals and ugly people”. And we’ve got some great ads to back it up. But the pictures that have been circulating of Aretha Franklin at the Grammy awards last week don’t even really need the tagline to drive that point home. She looks like a walrus in a cat costume. Except, like, nowhere near as cute as that sounds.

Here’s the note that PETA VP Dan Mathews sent to Aretha, who got all in a tizzy yesterday about the fact that Beyonce called Tina Turner “the Queen” and not her.

Dear Aretha-

Music lovers may think of you as a "queen," but to animal lovers, you are a court jester. I'm sorry, Aretha, but your furs make you look like a clown. Why not shed the old-fashioned look that adds pounds to your frame and detracts from your beautiful voice? Won't you donate your furs to the poor as "queen of compassion," Mariah Carey, did? You'll get a tax credit for the donation, and we at PETA will all sing your praises.

Dan Mathews
VP, PETA

Ron Jeremy has been, um, a really big supporter of PETA's work to help cats and dogs for a long time, and this Friday he took some time out of what I can only imagine was a ridiculously busy night at the Adult Entertainment Awards in Las Vegas to unveil his "Too Much Sex Can Be a Bad Thing" ad, aimed at reducing cat and dog overpopulation by promoting spaying and neutering.

Here are a few pics from the event, followed by Ron's awesome PSA for us. Admittedly, this may not be the first time that Ron Jeremy has posed naked for the cameras, but it's a hell of an ad nonetheless. Oh yeah, and the shirt he's wearing in these pics is priceless ...

According to its website, the Telly Awards “ . . . is the premiere award honoring outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs, as well as the finest video and film productions” so we are thrilled to have won three “Tellies” this year.

Each of the following spots took the bronze in the Public Service category:

Country music icon Loretta Lynn donated her classic song “I Wanna Be Free” for this PSA reminding everyone that "Life on a chain is no life at all."

John McEnroe—winner of three Wimbledon singles victories and four U.S. Open singles championships—offered his famous voice to push spaying and neutering in a humorous play on his famous temper.

The third winner takes a decidedly more somber tack. This ad is shot from the point of view of a dog stranded in flood waters in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and pleads “Have a plan. Save your pet."

A big shout out goes to PETA’s Communications and A/V departments for making these, and the rest of our PSAs, happen. Congrats guys.