wake up! wake up! It's yer moderate voice of anarchic reason SchNEWS Published in Brighton by Justice? - Brighton's Direct Action collective ISSUE 337, January 11th, 2002 FULL OF MELCHETT "The majority of NGOs and activists do not understand how public relations firms are helping corporations manipulate them. This is a fundamental strategic mistake." - Andy Rowell author of Green Backlash. This week Peter Melchett the former head of Greenpeace UK made famous for helping to trash genetic crops in Norfolk has turned coats and become a consultant for Burson-Marsteller - the biggest public relations (PR) company in the world. Ironically Burson-Marsteller (B-M) are the PR Company for the genetic engineering company Monsanto. They specialise in 'greenwashing' - making corporations look like they're being nice to the environment when in fact they're doing the complete opposite. B-M have done PR makeovers for such nice companies as Union Carbide after the Bhopal gas leak killed up to 15,000 people in India, and Exxon after the Exxon-Valdez oil tanker ran aground in Alaska causing the worst oil spill in history. They even defended the 1980's military dictatorship in Argentina that saw 35,000 civilians 'disappear'. Melchett says he isn't compromising his principles as he will choose which companies to work with (but with the likes of Monsanto, BP, Nestle, Shell, Unilever, Sainsbury's and British Nuclear Fuels on their books that's some choice!). But talking to environmentalists is standard a tactic used by PR companies to green a company's image. Managing Activism, published by the UK Institute of Public Relations, describes this process, in typical PR speak, as "two-way symmetrical communications" which "offer a way forward where the company does not have to give in to activists or persuade them to give in." And the hiring of activists is described by PR Watch as "a crude but effective way to derail potentially meddlesome activists." It seems that Melchett is being led up the genetically modified garden path. CON MERCHANTS "It is easier and less costly to change the way people think about reality than it is to change reality." - PR adviser Morris Wolfe. The modern PR industry dates back to the 1930s when companies realised they could use World War I style propaganda to deal with social movements and unions. PR companies are not interested in facts only images. B-M advise clients to concentrate on 'stories - not issues' and 'symbols - not logic', because "...symbols are central to politics because they connect to emotions, not logic." And these 'symbols' end up being reported in the media as crap lifestyle stories with the real issues not discussed. This is especially unsurprising since B-M is in partnership with ITN (Independent Television News) running the Corporate Television Networks (CTN) - which use ITN staff and facilities to make promotional videos for business clients - CTN videos have ended up in ITN broadcasts. When the likes of Melchett give endorsements it makes the stories and symbols gain credibility with a cynical public. When cash strapped environmental charities take a few quid from companies, they do little to further their causes, yet greatly benefit the image of the companies involved. The WorldWide Fund for Nature accepted $1 million from oil firms Chevron and BP for a conservation project in Papua New Guinea (between them BP and Chevron make over $20,000 million profit per year). In return, leaked documents from Chevron revealed, "WWF will act as a buffer for the joint venture against ... international environmental criticism." In 2000 WWF held back publication of a damning report on tropical forest destruction, for fear of upsetting the companies it named. It is not just charities and activists that are used by the PR companies. There are a whole load of front groups set up to present a different picture to what environmentalists are saying. In 1989 B-M set up the Global Climate Coalition to discredit warnings about climate change; people involved in the Coalition include most of the big oil companies, motor manufacturers and chemical companies. PR companies also specialise in creating their own grass roots groups. In North America and Australia this has led to the rise of the Wise Use Movement. Using campaigning tactics similar to environmental groups they scare farmers, forestry workers, miners, etc. into thinking that the environmental movement is out to destroy jobs and ways of life. Thousands of timber jobs in North America have been lost to automation, economic rationalisation and export of raw logs, but environmental protection is used as an easy scapegoat. Behind these groups which present a front of concerned citizens and workers, are big businesses. For example People For the West! who claim a membership of 18,000 is funded by 200 companies and 12 of its 13 directors are mining company executives! So how do PR companies deal with yer uncompromising activists? Well it is that age-old tactic, divide and rule - exploit differences in the movement by co-opting the more conservative elements and ridiculing the radicals. PR companies divide activists up into categories such as radicals, opportunists, idealists and realists. 'Idealists' are educated and altruistic and should be changed into 'realists' who are willing to work within the system for change and 'opportunists' are simply careerists who want jobs and power. So Melchett seems to have migrated from an idealist to an opportunist. The most problematic group are the 'radicals' who want to change the system or have underlying political motives, the tactic of the PR gurus is to isolate the radicals from the support of the realists and idealists. Labels like extremists and terrorists are attached to anyone who refuses to compromise or takes effective action. But since PR companies are not interested in issues, only stories then this sort of doublespeak is unsurprising. SchNEWS thinks maybe a leaf should be taken out of the PR experts' book and we should start describing radical capitalists as uncompromising extremists using terror tactics to destroy the environment and wreck people's lives in the pursuit of profit. * Further Info: PR Watch produces a regular bulletins: www.prwatch.org, read 'Global Spin' by Sharon Beder (Green Books) or 'Green Backlash' by Andy Rowell (Routledge). WORLD POWER PROPAGANDA Burson-Marsteller is the biggest PR company in the world, with offices in 32 countries and 1,700 employees. B-M is owned by the WPP group, who own 17 other PR companies. Believe it or not but WPP began life as Wire & Plastic Products a small British company making shopping baskets! In 1985 it was bought up by Martin Sorrell, financial director of Saatchi & Saatchi, he then acquired lots of marketing and PR companies and is now the world's largest communications group with a massive ability to influence the way people think. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ REBEL ALLIANCE Get together of Brighton's direct action groups (7-8pm), followed by Life Before Profit - a rally to stop the corporate killers (8-9.30pm), then DJ's (till 12.30 am). Monday 21st January at the Komedia, Gardner Street, Brighton. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ POSITIVE SchNEWS We know that reading SchNEWS can sometimes be a bit of a wrist slashing experience, so we thought we'd dedicate a page of the first issue of 2002 to positive news stories. - Stories of people getting together in their communities to come up with grass-roots solutions to some of the world's problems... enjoy it while you can because it'll be back to the depressing stuff next week. END Excerpt. That's not me obviously so unless you wanna http://www.ainfos.ca/A-Infos/ainfos08034.html