The Wires that Control the Public Mind
June 13, 2009 by admin
Filed under public relations
Google Tech Talks
May, 6 2008
ABSTRACT
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. … 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.” — Edward Bernays, founder of the public relations industry.
Billions of dollars are spent each year in the United States alone on public relations, a little-understood profession that has become a modern propaganda-for-hire industry. “Publicity” was once the work of carnival hawkers and penny-ante hustlers smoking cigars and wearing cheap suits. Today’s PR professionals are recruited from the ranks of former journalists, retired politicians and eager-beaver college graduates eager to rise in the corporate world. They hobnob internationally with corporate CEOs, senators and U.S. presidents. PR wizards concoct and spin the news, organize phony “grassroots” front groups, spy on citizens, and conspire with lobbyists and politicians to thwart democracy. In today’s electronic age, they use 800-numbers and telemarketing, advanced databases, and “video news releases” — entire news stories written, filmed and produced by PR firms and transmitted electronically to thousands of TV stations around the world. Canned news from PR firms is designed to be indistinguishable from real news and is increasingly taking its place, used as “story segments” on TV news shows without any attribution or disclaimer indicating that what viewers are seeing is in fact subtle paid advertisements. On the internet as well, PR firms have created slick websites that promise to inform the public while pushing hidden agendas. Example include:
the Greening Earth Society (funded by the coal industry), which claims that global warming is actually good for the environment
the Foundation for Clean Air Progress (which opposes regulations to control air pollution)
the African American Republican Leadership Council (a conservative organization headed by white Republicans)
Working Families for Wal-Mart (secretly funded, of course, by the Wal-Mart itself)
Project Learning Tree (sponsored by the logging industry)
PR firms create front groups as part of what they call the “third party technique.” The basic idea, as described by one PR executive, is to “Put your words in someone else’s mouth.” They realize that their messages are more likely to persuade the public if they come from seemingly independent “third parties” such as a professor or a pediatrician or someone representing a nonprofit citizens’ group. The problem is, these third parties are usually anything but neutral. They have been handpicked, cultivated, and meticulously packaged to make you believe what they have to say–preferably in an “objective” format like a news show or a letter to the editor. And in some cases, they have been paid handsomely for their opinions.
Speaker: Sheldon Rampton
Sheldon Rampton researches deceptive PR firms for the Center for Media and Democracy and is the co-author, with John Stauber, of books including “Toxic Sludge Is Good For You: Lies, ed Lies and the Public Relations Industry”; “Trust Us, We’re Experts: How Industry Manipulates Science and Gambles With your Future”: and “Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush’s War on Iraq.” He will discuss the Center’s work including its website, Sourcewatch.org, a wiki-powered collaborative research project to document the “names behind the news.”
Duration : 1:8:14
boring
boring
Good obsevation. …
Good obsevation. indeed theres been nothing through out history that can touch the internet as to choices and content. But i have noticed the censoring of people these last 2 years. For the most part all they were doing was speaking the truth. Like Dr Ron Paul in how dureing the election unless you had the internet he was invisible in the mainstream media.What YT is become is a slightly more liberal version of Mainstream (CFR) regs. We can be our own censors and follow or lead in life.
“The Web is an …
“The Web is an extraordinary research tool. In my own experience, research that used to require a half day at the library can now be accomplished typically in a couple of minutes of less. This has enormous and obvious benefits for advancing beneficial technologies, but it can also empower those whose values in inimical to the mainstream of society. So are we in danger? The answer is clearly yes. How much danger, and what to do about it, are subjects of this chapter.” Ray Kurzweil
Great lecture!
…
Great lecture!
Convincing individuals (of how effective public manipulation is by public relations firms) is difficult, however, presenting facts as in this lecture can manage to shake up the individual’s misconceptions.
that was really …
that was really informative,
I’ll try to spread it around.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Yep. I recommend it …
Yep. I recommend it too.
only problem with …
only problem with that line of thinking is that individuals are influenced by social groups and media groups, so individuals are most of the time merely reflecting what that group thinks. Very few think critically and for themselves.
Outstanding talk!
…
Outstanding talk!
thank you
Those who liked …
Those who liked this knowledge into the seedy underbelly of PR should watch the BBC documentaries The Century of Self
very good, it seems …
very good, it seems one google employee was the impetus for this speaker. Smart guy.
pretty cool
pretty cool
Yes, he`s a great …
Yes, he`s a great Amphibian between Mike Yarwood
and Harry Enfield isn`t he?
Just Eat Plain …
Just Eat Plain Bread & Drink Spring Water then you know you`re safe from PR!
If I’m already …
If I’m already living in the matrix, I want to be able to do all the cool stuff too.
50 people at his …
50 people at his seminar for one evening vs. over 3300 in 8 days on youtube pretty much proves his last point.
interesting stuff, thanks for sharing!
The campaign …
The campaign against racism is a manipulated opinion. It is a Marxist subversion.
No one is equal to anyone else. No race is equal to any other race.
But, there are overlaps.
On average, the concept of the best human model leads to a logical discussion if you can stand it.
Individuals prevail.
Very interesting
Very interesting
This video needs to …
This video needs to spread.