See also: "War On Truth - The Secret Battle for the American Mind", An Interview with John Stauber, Published in "The Sun", March 1999 http://www.mediaisland.org/thewarontruth.html
"The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society," Bernays argued. "Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. . . . In almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons . . . who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind." This definition of "democratic society" is itself a contradiction in terms--a theoretical attempt to reconcile rule by the few with the democratic system which threatened (and still threatens) the privileges and powers of the governing elite. From: The Father of Spin: Edward L. Bernays & The Birth of PR by Larry Tye book review by John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/1999Q2/bernays.html The explosive ideals of democracy challenged ancient customs that had long upheld social inequality. A public claiming the birthright of democratic citizenship and social justice increasingly called upon institutions and people of power to justify themselves and their privileges. In the crucible of these changes, aristocracy began to give way to technocracy as a strategy of rule. Bernays came to maturity in a society where the exigencies of power were-by necessity-increasingly exercised from behind the pretext of the "common good." Bernays, the child of aristocratic pretense who fashioned himself into a technician of mass persuasion, was the product of a "social conscience" that had grasped the fact that a once submissive Dumb Jack, in the contemporary world, would no longer be willing to quietly place his tired head in his folded hands at the end of each day, only to awaken and serve again the next morning. Born into privilege, developing into a technocrat, Bernays' biography illustrates the onus that the twentieth century has placed on social and economic elites; they have had to justify themselves continually to a public whose hearts and minds now bear the ideals of democracy. From: http://www.bway.net/~drstu/chapter.html PR! A Social History Of Spin By Stuart Ewen Chapter 1 Visiting Edward Bernays http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/9437 The Anti-Disinformation Society Founded in 1977, Consumer Alert looks like a soccer mom's best friend. It's friendly Web site promotes a good solid meal and is against anything that might invade consumers' privacy. This sounds well and good, until you dig a little deeper to discover that, not only is Consumer Alert against almost any government regulation of the marketplace-in other words, they agitate against consumer safety standards on issues like flame-retardent clothing-the group is funded by the likes of Anheuser-Busch, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Philip Morris, Eli Lilly, Exxon and Monsanto, to name just a few. Indeed, on almost every product or issue area, Consumer Alert seems to sit on the opposite side of the table from actual grass-roots groups such as Consumers Union. Keeping tabs on front groups like these is the main baileywick of PRWatch.org, an actual non-profit group which watches the spinmeisters of the PR world. PRWatch is a project of the Center for Media & Democracy, which is an organization aiming to "serve citizens, journalists and researchers seeking to recognize and combat manipulative and misleading PR practices" and does not take corporate or government money. Among PRWatch's projects are a number of resources that allow the public to dig underneath the too shiney surface of groups that may or may not be funded by people aiming to get into your pocket, or get out of government regulation. What Is Impropaganda? Edward Bernays, who is generally regarded as the "father of public relations," liked to tell people, "What I do is propaganda, and I just hope it's not impropaganda." In his later years, he became a vocal critic of some of the deceptive techniques used within the PR industry. And yet it is Bernays himself who invented the quintessential tool of deceptive propaganda-the "front group." Bernays stumbled on this strategy almost by accident. In 1913, while working as editor of the Medical Review of Reviews, a monthly magazine owned by a college acquaintance, he discovered that the then-famous actor Richard Bennett was interested in producing a play titled "Damaged Goods," which Bernays described as "a propaganda play that fought for sex education." It discussed sexual topics, such as prostitution, that were considered unusually frank for their day. Bennett was afraid that the play would be raided by police, and he hired Bernays to prevent this from happening. Rather than arguing for the play on its merits, Bernays cleverly organized a group that he called the "Medical Review of Reviews Sociological Fund," inviting prominent doctors and members of the social elite to join. The organization's avowed mission was to fight venereal disease through education. Its real purpose was to endorse "Damaged Goods," and apparently the plan worked. The show went on as scheduled, with no interference from police. "This was a pioneering move that is common today in the promotion of public causes--a prestigious sponsoring committee," notes PR industry historian Scott Cutlip. "In retrospect, given the history of public relations, it might be termed the first effort to use the front or third party technique." It was a technique that Bernays would return to time and again, calling it "the most useful method in a multiple society like ours to indicate the support of an idea of the many varied elements that make up our society. Opinion leaders and group leaders have an effect in a democracy and stand as symbols to their constituency." Bernays helped jump-start sales of bacon, a breakfast rarity until the 1920s, by enlisting a prominent doctor to solicit fellow doctors' opinions on the salutary benefits of a hearty breakfast and by arranging to have famous figures photographed eating breakfasts of bacon and eggs. To sell bananas on behalf of the United Fruit Company, he launched the "celiac project," republishing and disseminating a 20-year-old medical paper which found that eating bananas cured children with celiac disease, a disorder of the digestive system. Click here for more. http://www.prwatch.org/improp/impropaganda.html How to Research Front Groups There are many avenues for getting at the behind-the-scenes aspects of your story. When talking about PR, there are always two things you want to look at: (1) the behind-the-scenes stage management and orchestration that the audience isn't intended to see, and (2) the onstage stuff that is intended for public consumption. When you're looking at the onstage stuff, ask yourself, "Is this information accurate? Is this spokesperson who claims to be independent actually someone who was recruited by an industry with vested interests in the topic at hand?" If you find questionable statements or practices, try going in through the front door, asking some probing questions, and trying to trace the statement up the ladder to its source. If the PR topic you are studying involves coverups of environmental and public health risks, there may be trial lawyers who have gone after these companies with toxic tort litigation. Depending on the nature of the litigation, these attorneys may even have internal company documents that they are free to disclose. For more information on how to research a front group, as well as a many other resources for finding background information, please click here. http://www.prwatch.org/improp/research_faq.html Published: Nov 18 2003 ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at MyInks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511 http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/index.php?list=biofuel Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
