Thinker, Faker, Spinner, Spy

The public relations industry is not just about celebrity gossip. This book shows how, whenever big business is threatened, spin doctors, lobbyists, think tanks and front groups are on hand to push the corporate interest, often at the public's expense. Written by leading activists and writers, this book reveals the secrets of the PR trade including deception, the use of fake 'institutes', spying and dirty tricks. The impact can be devastating -- when the public is denied access to the truth, the results are rising inequality and environmental catastrophe. Exposing the misdeeds of famous companies including Coca Cola, British Aerospace, Exxon and Monsanto, and revealing information about the covert funding of various apparently independent thinks tanks and institutes, the authors offer a guide to campaigns that can help us roll back corporate power and resist deceptive PR.

Introduction: Unearthing Corporate Spin William Dinan and David Miller - Strathclyde University Department of Geography and Sociology Part 1: Global Corporate Power and Corporate Spin 1. Public Relations and the Subversion of Democracy David Miller and William Dinan - Strathclyde University Department of Geography and Sociology 2. Achilles Has Two Heels: Crises of Capitalist Globalisation Leslie Sklair - London School of Economics and Political Science (Sociology) 3. A Tour of the United Kingdom's Public Relations Industry Chris Grimshaw - Corporate Watch Part 2: How Corporations Use Spin to Undermine Democracy 4. Powers Behind the Throne: Washington's Top Political Strategists Laura Miller - Center for Media and Democracy 5. Spinning Farmed Salmon David Miller - Strathclyde University Department of Geography and Sociology 6. Exxon's Foot Soldiers: The Case of the International Policy Network Andy Rowell - Freelance writer and investigative journalist 7. Biotech's Fake Persuaders Jonathan Matthews - Founder of GM Watch and Lobbywatch 8. Fighting Dirty Wars: Spying for the Arms Trade Eveline Lubbers - Investigative Reporter, Amsterdam 9. Manufacturing a Neoliberal Climate: Recent Reform Initiatives in Germany Ulrich Mueller - LobbyControl, Germany Part 3: The Subterranean World of the Power Brokers 10. Globalising Politics: Spinning US 'Democracy Assistance' Programmes Gerald Sussman - Portland State University 11. Behind the Screens: Corporate Lobbying and EU Audiovisual Policy Granville Williams - Media and Journalism, University of Huddesfield 12. Spinning Money: Corporate Public Relations and the London Stock Exchange Aeron Davis 13. The Atlantic Semantic: New Labour's US Connections William Clark - Strathclyde University Department of Geography and Sociology Part 4: Fighting Back: Campaigning Against Spin and Rolling Back Corporate Power 14. Unmasking Public Relations Bob Burton - Freelance Journalist, Canberra, Australia 15. Corporate Power in Europe: The Brussels 'Lobbycracy' Olivier Hoedeman - Corporate Europe Observatory, Amsterdam 16. Killer Coke Andy Higginbottom - Kingston University in London Conclusion: Countering Corporate Spin David Miller and William Dinan Contributors Index