Rhetoric

McClellan and the Ethics of Spin

by Sheldon Rampton — June 5, 2008 - 10:29am
  • Topics: Journalism, Iraq, Ethics, Propaganda, Public Relations, Rhetoric, U.S. Government

    • John Stodder has written the most interesting commentary I've seen from within the public relations industry about former Bush administration press secretary Scott McClellan's new book. It's interesting in part because Stodder is an interesting figure. For those who remember this sort of thing, he was one of two executives at the Fleishman-Hillard PR firm (the other was Douglas Dowie) who were convicted in May 2006 of multiple counts of conspiracy and fraud in a scheme to overbill the city of Los Angeles for public relations consulting services.

    Notwithstanding the verdict, Stodder continues to maintain his innocence and remains free while he appeals the conviction. Apparently this has left him with some time to contemplate ethical matters, and he disapproves of what he sees in McClellan, whose "disloyalty strikes me as most amoral." Moreover, Stodder worries that McClellan's criticism of his former boss "is undermining whatever remaining credibility the PR industry can claim for itself."

    McCain's Pastor Problems Deepen, Widen

    by Anne Landman — May 23, 2008 - 12:24pm

    Pastor John Hagee endorses John McCain for President in March 2008Pastor John Hagee, the controversial Christian televangelist who la

    Main Source: 
    Huffington Post, May 21, 2008

    How to Swift Boat Barack Obama?

    by Sheldon Rampton — March 19, 2008 - 10:08am

    Republican strategists are salivating over the "inflammatory sermons by Obama's pastor" Jeremiah Wright. They believe that Wright's sermons "offer the party a pathway to victory if Obama emerges as the Democratic nominee.

    Main Source: 
    Politico.com, March 19, 2008

    The Rhetoric Beat

    by Sheldon Rampton — December 28, 2007 - 2:23am

    Language plays a powerful role in shaping political decisions, argues Brent Cunningham. As an example, he points to the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, "when the choice of words -- by the press and government officials -- played a crucial role in setting America on a course that led, ultimately, to our military action in Iraq. ...

    Main Source: 
    Columbia Journalism Review, November/December 2007

    Fine-Tuning the Sell Job for the Next War

    by Diane Farsetta — November 19, 2007 - 4:07pm

    "The basis of the whole thing was, 'we're going to go into Iran and what do we have to do to get you guys to go along with it,'" said Laura Sonnenmark, a participant in a recent focus group apparently funded by the Republican-associated lobbying group Freedo

    Main Source: 
    Mother Jones, November 19, 2007

    Melanie Morgan Still Wants to Kill

    by Sheldon Rampton — July 25, 2007 - 10:36am
    Main Source: 
    Media Matters for America, July 20, 2007

    Bush Approval Hits New Low

    by Sheldon Rampton — July 10, 2007 - 4:27pm

    The latest Gallup poll shows that only 29 percent of Americans approve of President Bush's job performance — the lowest rating that Gallup has measured for Bush, and one of the lowest for any president since Gallup first began conducting surveys.

    Main Source: 
    The Gallup Poll, July 10, 2007

    You Say Iraqi, I Say Al Qaeda

    by Sheldon Rampton — June 29, 2007 - 12:13am

    Glenn Greenwald and Joshua Micah Marshall are calling out the mainstream media for uncritically parroting the Bush administration's new strategy of referring to Iraqi insurgents as "Al Qaeda." Greenwald writes, "What is so amazing about this new rhetorical development — not only from our military, but also from our 'journalists' — is that, for years, it was too shameless and false even for the Bush administration to use.

    Main Source: 
    Salon.com, June 23, 2007
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