Search results for ""Author William Dinan""
Edinburgh University Press Open Scotland?: Journalists, Spin Doctors and Lobbyists
Scottish devolution brought high hopes for an open political culture. But how far have these been fulfilled? Open Scotland? argues that in the field of political communication the old, established ways of the British state still remain firmly in place. Westminster and Whitehall still cast long shadows over Edinburgh. This book offers the first full-scale coverage of how media, politicians and lobbyists interact in the new Scotland. Based on their exceptional first-hand access to the key players, Philip Schlesinger, David Miller and William Dinan have written an inside account of the struggles to establish the rules of the game for covering politics. They have talked to the journalists of Scotland's political media pack who are at the heart of the new political system and who have a decisive impact on the image of the Scottish Parliament and government. They have observed and interviewed the professional lobbyists and reveal their strategies for achieving a respectable image in Scottish public life. And they have analysed some of the key rows and the failures of news management inside Scotland's government. Open Scotland? offers an insight to the world of lobbyists, journalists and spin doctors, revealing the motivations behind the news stories in Scottish politics today.
£29.99
Pluto Press A Century of Spin: How Public Relations Became the Cutting Edge of Corporate Power
This book charts the relentless rise of the public relations industry and how it has transformed our society. Revealing the roots of the PR movement in the years leading up to the First World War, it shows how it became a key tool in the struggle to subordinate democracy to corporate rule. It is the first book to offer a history of the emergence of corporate propaganda on both sides of the Atlantic during the 20th century. The authors show how the origins of PR were always covertly political. Spin has been around for a long time and its anti-democratic potential is well known to all those who have made use of it. Based on extensive use of original archival material, the book presents a clear chronology of PR's development, culminating with a detailed examination of Gordon Brown and David Cameron's use of spin and how it relates to their connections with big business.
£24.99
Pluto Press Thinker, Faker, Spinner, Spy: Corporate PR and the Assault on Democracy
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.
£24.99