APPENDIX

Recommended Resources

Many of the books and other resources that we have used in researching this book are cited in the footnotes. The suggestions below indicate other resources that we have found particularly important and that we recommend for further reading.

There is one type of resource, however, that we endorse first and foremost: the public library. Librarians are a class of expert for which we have nothing but respect. They are trained not only in how to catalogue information but also in how to help patrons use a wide range of reference sources. Whether you are trying to understand the neurotoxicology of lead or investigate the funding of a Washington think tank, a few minutes spent talking to a librarian can often save hours of wasted time and yield remarkable discoveries. One of the trends during the past decade has been a retreat in public funding for libraries, as money has been shifted toward other information resources such as expensive computer systems. This is unfortunate, because often there is no substitute for talking to a human being with training in information sciences—especially in today’s age of data glut. We might add that we have never met a mean librarian. Free public libraries have been and remain an important resource for the maintenance of an informed public and a democratic society. Use them, and support them!

BOOKS

Sharon Beder, Global Spin: The Corporate Assault on Environmentalism (White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing Co., 1998). This book provides a comprehensive worldwide look at corporate anti-environmental PR campaigns, with chapters focusing on industry front groups, conservative think tanks, media strategies, efforts to target children, and the use of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP suits) to harass corporate critics.

 

Alex Carey, Taking the Risk Out of Democracy: Corporate Propaganda versus Freedom and Liberty (Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1997). This collection of essays by the late Australian academic Alex Carey is both inspiring and disturbing. “The twentieth century,” Carey observed, “has been characterized by three developments of great political importance: the growth of democracy, the growth of corporate power, and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy.”

 

Robert A. Dahl, Democracy and Its Critics (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1989). The concept of “democracy” is frequently invoked but rarely examined in political discussions. Dahl’s book provides both a historic and a theoretical examination of democracy, beginning with the city-states of ancient Greece and concluding with discussion of the directions in which democracy must move if democratic societies are to exist in the future.

 

William Greider, Who Will Tell the People: The Betrayal of American Democracy (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1992). One of the best books we have read on the ways that influence peddling operates in Washington.

 

Theodore Roszak, The Cult of Information: A Neo-Luddite Treatise on High-Tech, Artificial Intelligence, and the True Art of Thinking (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1994). Although this book focuses in particular on debunking the overhyped claims of computer scientists, it offers a wonderful, thoughtful, and in some places even poetic critique of the notion that computers can think for us and that “information” is equivalent to knowledge and wisdom.

 

John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton, Toxic Sludge Is Good for You!: Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry (Monroe, ME: Common Courage Press, 1995). This was our first book together and provided a detailed exposé of the techniques used by today’s multibillion-dollar PR industry, including a number of techniques that are not discussed here, such as “grassroots PR,” surveillance of activists, and corporate “divide and conquer” strategies.

Washington Representatives (Washington, D.C.: Columbia Books). This annual directory is the best single reference work for tracking individuals and organizations with offices in Washington, D.C., working as lobbyists, foreign agents, legal advisers, industry front groups, and public relations representatives. It is superbly researched, cross-referenced, and an excellent first source for examining the backgrounds, interests, and interconnections of those influencing federal policy and the media in the nation’s capital. Make sure your library carries it.

 

Derk Arend Wilcox (ed.), The Right Guide and The Left Guide (Ann Arbor, MI: Economics America, Inc.). These two directories, updated every couple of years, provide excellent brief summaries on organizations, their political and ideological leanings, funding, leadership, tax status, and mission. Make sure your library carries these important reference guides.

PERIODICALS

EXTRA! magazine is published by Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR), a national media watchdog group that focuses awareness on the corporate allegiance of the media and its underrepresentation of points of view from women, minorities, and low-income groups. For information, contact FAIR, 130 W. 25th Street, New York, NY 10001; phone (212) 633-6700.

 

O’Dwyer’s PR Services is a monthly trade publication of the public relations industry. Although unreservedly pro-PR, it offers honest reporting on the activities of PR firms and often better journalism than you’ll find in the mainstream media. For subscription information, contact O’Dwyer’s, 271 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016; phone (212) 679-241.

 

PR Watch, published quarterly by our own Center for Media & Democracy, offers investigative reporting on manipulative and deceptive practices of the public relations industry. For a sample copy, contact the Center for Media & Democracy, 520 University Avenue, Suite 310, Madison, WI 53703; phone (608) 260-9713. Searchable back issues are available at www.prwatch.org.

Rachel’s Environment and Health Weekly is a decade-old, two-page weekly newsletter on the cutting edge of environmental, health, and democracy issues. It is edited by Peter Montague and published by the nonprofit Environmental Research Foundation, P.O. Box 5036, Annapolis, MD 21403. It is unabashedly activist and passionate, but very well written and documented, and it provides a good look at how good science can combine with a precautionary approach. The ERF is also happy to handle written and phone inquiries on issues of environmental and health expertise, referring citizens and reporters to solid sources from the academic and activist communities. Searchable back issues are available at www.rachel.org.

THE INTERNET

Given the speed with which websites come and go, we have elected not to provide a list of recommended sites in this book. However, we maintain a list of recommended links online at the website of the Center for Media and Democracy, at the following address: www.prwatch.org/links/index.html.