Mindgames
Richard Swift explores the Jekyll and Hyde world of corporate PR and measures the costs of the spin shenanigans to our democratic rights.

The propaganda industry

Peddling miracles and amnesia
A look at the elaborate campaign to wipe the dirt off the face of Chile's military dictatorship by Alejandro Reuss.

Celebrity spin
Adidas sends a basketball superstar to sell shoes and dreams in Manila. Adam Porter is along for the ride.

One-trick pony
An interview with Stuart Ewen on the murky history of professional propaganda.

PROPAGANDA - THE FACTS

The junkyard dogs of science
From global warming to chemical poisoning the corporate mongrels leap to attack. An investigative probe by Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber.

Bandaid bandwagon
Sarah Blackstock argues that the micro-credit love-in is just a way to duck corporate responsibility for world poverty.

Lies and the laptop bombardiers
Richard Swift on NATO evasions and media management in the war with Serbia.

PR World - What they really think

Happy-face politics
Perception management is the name of the game. Joel Bleifuss on the crafted candidate and the triumph of the bland Third Way.

Best coverage money can buy
Sharon Beder sorts through the PR tool kit and finds ample instruments for maintaining a corporate-friendly and docile press.

We got a letter from a Russian subscriber now resident in Britain the other day cancelling his sub and claiming that New Internationalist was 'the worst propaganda he had ever seen'. Even excusing emphasis for dramatic effect, this is going far for somebody who grew up with the wooden words of Pravda and Izvestia. While I demurred from his judgement - at NI editorial meetings we rarely agree enough to be consistent propagandists - it did raise for me the interesting question of what is and what isn't propaganda. Is it just something that is partisan? NI is certainly guilty there. Or is it something that isn't true? Or simply something in the eye of the beholder? Or does it imply a manipulation of us suckers?

All the dictionary definitions of propaganda contain the keyword 'systemic'. I think this is crucial because it implies a certain power and reach. The Marxist-Leninist League for True Communism Now or the Church of a Hundred Celestial Awakenings may be consistently telling manipulative lies but their memberships are simply too small and poor for this to amount to effective 'propaganda'. If we accept 'systemic' only certain groups are really capable of propaganda - major political parties, agglomerations of economic power, large churches and of course the State. It may just be possible for certain mass movements to engage in a systemic propagation of their ideas but only with the important caveat that they have enough agreement to be able to do this. For the notoriously divided Left and environmental movements this is always a problem. For a mass movement to achieve a consistent message it is best that they agree a central authority or doctrine. Thus it is easier for authoritarian movements like fascism to engage in propaganda than it is for diverse and democratic ones.

I've never been given so many ideas for potential subjects I 'had to' cover if I were going to uncover successfully the true nature of propaganda. Everyone seems to have a propagandistic hobbyhorse to ride. But the definition of propaganda, like any definition, blurs at the edges. The new development this century is that propaganda has become a profession. It is now called public relations. This fits in with the 'systemic' part as only those with clout and resources can afford to pay the bills for an expensive PR campaign. So maybe it's best to look at power and goals as I have tried to do in this issue. Who has the power to create large-scale PR campaigns? What are they trying to achieve with them? Through this lens it may just be possible to see through some of the mindgames being played with us - and to cry, laugh or get pissed off depending on your disposition.

Letters
Letter from Mongolia
Update
The NI Interview with Daniel Ortega
Reviews: plus Kraftwerk classic
NI Crossword
Endpiece: by Chris Curnow
Country profile: Ghana

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