The Piracy of America: Profiteering in the Public Domain

Are there of the wealth of America which should be safeguarded in the public interest -- our waterways, the air we breathe, our forests, wildlife, and mineral resources? This collection of over 20... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0932863280
• ISBN13: 9780932863287
• Release Date: February 1999
• Publisher: Clarity Press
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 0.82 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Very Insightful and On the Mark!

Found it difficult to put this book down once I began reading.. Insightful and on the mark, this was a very enlightening journey into the world of profiteering in the public domain.... A MUST READ for everyone interested in learning about the piracy of America...! Buy it today!

Belongs on every journalist's bookshelf

Learn how corporations completely circumvent the media. Find out more about the "wise use" movement that counteracts the efforts of environmentalists. Read about rent-a-scientists and news pollution. It's all contained in "The Piracy of America: Profiteering in the Public Domain," (Clarity Press, 1999), a collection of searing articles by such authors as David Orr, Conger Beasley Jr., Douglas Trent, Wes Jackson and John Stauber. The piece entitled "News Pollution" by Stauber and co-author Sheldon Rampton is particularly riveting. Both men work for the non-profit Center for Media & Democracy in Madison, Wisconsin, and edit the investigative quarterly PR Watch. They are also co-authors of "Toxic Sludge is Good for You: Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry," and "Mad Cow U.S.A.: Could the Nightmare Happen Here?" The section on video news releases (VNR)produced by PR firms offers a detailed inside look at how these pre-packaged promotions get used as legitimate news by deadline-maddened or budget-strapped TV stations. An excerpt: "VNRs are as much a public relations fixture as the print news release," stated George Glazer, a senior VP at Hill & Knowlton. "In fact, many public relations firms are well into second generation of VNR technology. We use satellite transmissions from our own facilities almost on a daily basis, and wait eagerly for fiber optics systems to allow us to dial into nationwide networks." News Pollution points to databases PR firms keep on environmental journalists. For example, former Wall Stret Journal reporter Dean Rotbart runs a firm called TJFR Products and Service, "which compiles dossiers on his former colleagues so that corporate clients know how to manipulate individual members of the media," according to Stauber. John Passacantando's piece, "How Industry Combats Climate Protection," offers insights into how PR firms are used by the fossil fuel industry to counteract research into alternative energy sources. Tarso Luis Ramos does a fine job explaining the "wise use" movement in his article "Mobilizing Against Environmentalism." This collection, with forward by Thomas Berry, belongs on every journalist's bookshelf.