Spin (politics and public relations)

In public relations (WP), spin is a form of propaganda (WP), achieved through providing an interpretation of an event or campaign to persuade public opinion in favor or against a certain organization or public figure. Because ethics requires that all the facts of a situation be revealed in order that an informed decision can be made, while traditional public relations may also rely on "creative" presentation of the facts, "spin" often, though not always, implies disingenuous, deceptive and/or highly manipulative tactics.

Politicians are often accused by their opponents of claiming to be honest and seek the truth while using spin tactics to manipulate public opinion. Because of the frequent association between spin and press conferences (especially government (WP) press conferences), the room in which these take place is sometimes described as a spin room. A group of people who develop spin may be referred to as "spin doctors" who engage in "spin doctoring" for the person or group that hired them.

Post-9/11, the US government has expanded its use of spin, not just for minor news cycle manipulation, but larger scale policies, such as the use of torture in interrogating prisoners. As early as the 1990s, it had already moved away from Gerald Ford's prohibition on assassination, by using a Big Lie technique.

The term has added nuance from the identical word used to describe spin on the ball during a delivery in ball sports such as cricket; a spin bowler uses this to make the ball curve through the air or bounce, confusing his opponent.

This article contains content from Wikipedia. Current versions of the GNU FDL article Spin (public relations) on WP may contain information useful to the improvement of this article

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Techniques

In public relations, spin refers to putting events or other facts, especially of those with political or legal significance, into contexts favoring the spin user or spin user's client or cause, at least in comparison to opponents, and leaving out, ignoring, or obfuscating facts that detract from the spin user's position. Success in this is called "spinning the story", ideally by "putting a positive spin on the story".

The techniques of spin include:

• Selectively presenting facts and quotes that support one's position (cherry picking)
• Wikipedia:Non-denial denial
• Phrasing in a way that assumes unproven truths (Wikipedia:Begging the question)
• Euphemisms to disguise or promote one's agenda
• Big Lies (WP) simply repeat a lie often, with the intention that it, the effort taken to oppose it, and those who believe it, together squelch dissent (trivial, but an example: US 'shock jock' Bill O'Reilly calling his show the "No Spin Zone", which is only true inasmuch as he is not clever enough to spin very often, instead relying more on browbeating and bludgeoning his 'opponents')
• "Burying bad news": announcing one popular thing at the same time as several unpopular things, hoping that the media will focus on the popular one.
• "Burying" stories by releasing information at times when more important events dominate the news; see news management

Wikipedia:Edward Bernays has been called the "Father of Spin". Larry Tye describes in his book, "The Father of Spin: Edward L. Bernays & The Birth of PR", some situations in twentieth-century America where tobacco and alcohol companies used techniques to make certain behaviors more socially acceptable. Bernays was proud of his work as a propagandist.

For years businesses have used fake or misleading "customer testimonials" by editing/spinning a customers clients to reflect a much more satisfied experience than was actually the case. In 2009 the FTC updated their laws to include measures to prohibit this type of 'spinning' and have been enforcing these laws as of late. Additionally, over the past 5–6 years several companies have arisen that verify the authenticity of the testimonials businesses present on the marketing materials in an effort to convince one to become a customer.

Another spin technique involves the delay in the release of bad news so it can be hidden in the "shadow" of more important or favorable news or events. A famous reference to this practice occurred when UK government press officer Jo Moore used the phrase It's now a very good day to get out anything we want to bury in an email sent on September 11, 2001, following the attacks on the World Trade Center. When this email was reported in the press it caused widespread outrage for which Moore was forced to apologize. She was later made to resign when it was claimed she had sent a similar email following the death of Princess Margaret.

In the United States public affairs dealing with military contacts during the beginning of the War in Iraq used a spin tactic. Several parts of U.S. military wanted to hire public relations firms to send out fabricated or misleading information to get a rise in the public approval of the war. Some officials did not want to join information officers with public affairs officers for the fear of undermining the military's credibility. This form of spin uses the tactic of blowing small circumstances out of proportion to get a certain reaction from the public.

State or corporate run media in many countries also engage in spin by only allowing news stories that favorable to the government and encouraging vigorous debate of trivial criticisms, while serious criticisms remain unmentionable (for example, by requiring Patriotic Correctness).

Euphemisms / Big Lies

• Assassination (WP)  : Wikipedia:Executive Order 12333 bypassed by claiming that assassinating terrorists is not assassination
• Due process (WP) came under attack in early 2012 by the claim that "due process" did not necessarily mean "judicial process", although of course it always had previously
• Torture (WP) becomes Enhanced interrogation techniques (WP)
• Unlawful enemy combatant: In order to bypass the Geneva Convention (which document Alberto Gonzales, U.S. Attorney General under the Bush adminstration, had smeared as "quaint"), the categories of combatants or non-combatants (regular army, irregular army, civilian) it protected were ignored by the Bush administration, and a whole new, thusly ironic, category created by the Military Commissions Act of 2006. The definition is composed entirely of circular arguments; e.g. Al Qaeda members are unlawful combatants because they are Al Qaeda, and military tribunals have the right to try combatants as unlawful combatants that are categorized as such by military tribunals.

Spin doctors

Skilled practitioners of spin began to be called "spin doctors" during the 1980s. True or not, it once had the equivalent PR effect of calling a writer a "hack"; however, as so often happens, use of the term diluted its power, and it can even be a complimentary term, among less ethical political allies.

Edward Bernays was one of the earliest spin doctors.

Alastair Campbell, was involved with Tony Blair's public relations between 1994 and 2003 as his spin doctor (and also played a controversial role as press relations officer to the British and Irish Lions rugby union side during their 2005 tour of New Zealand). More recently Peter Mandelson & Alastair Campbell, have become widely regarded as the previous Government's "spin doctors". Peter Mandelson was one of the first people in Britain to whom the term "spin doctor" was applied; he was thus called 'the Prince of Darkness' and, after his ennoblement, 'the Dark Lord', nicknames he apparently enjoys having.

Karl Rove, in the United States, has been working with the republicans and more exclusively the Bush family and is considered a spin doctor within the United States.

As an example of spin, when US President Wikipedia:George W. Bush was running for his first term, the American public initially interpreted his stumbling and inarticulate way of speaking as a sign of low intellect. In response, Bush's team "spun" his awkward speech patterns as evidence of his "Aw, shucks," man-of-the-people personality. They were able to spin this trait in this way because then-President Wikipedia:Bill Clinton had built up a reputation as an articulate intellectual who was himself quite talented at spin. His nickname was "Slick Willie," referring to the fact that he could talk his way out of almost any problem, even if it was his fault.

By the time Bush was a candidate for the presidency, he cultivated an image of being a good-hearted Wikipedia:everyman whose sense of morality made up for any deficiencies in intellectual sparkle. So the Bush team contrasted their rough-around-the-edges candidate with the smart but "slick" Democratic Party by making their candidate's inarticulateness a distinguishing virtue.

In the UK, Prime Minister Wikipedia:Tony Blair is a past master at the deceptive techniques which are an inherent part of spin. He employed intelligent, skilled spin doctors: Wikipedia:Peter Mandelson and later Wikipedia:Alastair Campbell, to mastermind his presentations. Both 'left office' however, coincident with the public understanding of their workings; though Mandelson was redeployed and sent to the European Commission.

Dick Morris was less often thought of as a spin doctor while he was a Clinton aide than when he changed sides to become a right wing pundit on Fox News47,000 hits, currently, for '"Dick Morris" spin'

Fictional spin doctors

• Conrad Brean – hired to save a presidential election in Wikipedia:Wag the Dog.
• Charles Prentiss and Martin McCabe in the BBC comedy Absolute Power.
• In the game Wikipedia:Toontown Online, one of the Lawbot Cogs has been named a Spin Doctor.
• Dick Harper – Protagonist in Fun With Dick and Jane.
• Eliza Cassan in Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
• Jamie McDonald – Senior Press Officer from Number 10 in the BBC comedy Wikipedia:The Thick of It and the film In the Loop.
• Jeremy Slank in Fat
• Kasper Juul in Wikipedia:Borgen (Danish TV series).
• Malcolm Tucker – Number 10 Downing Street Director of Communications and Strategy in the BBC comedy Wikipedia:The Thick of It and the film In the Loop.
• Deputy Mayor Wikipedia:Mike Flaherty in the American Wikipedia:sitcom Wikipedia:Spin City.
• Wikipedia:Nick Naylor – Protagonist of Christopher Buckley's bestseller Thank You for Smoking.

See also

Disinformation (WP) Weasel word (WP) Wikipedia:Apophasis Wikipedia:Astroturfing Wikipedia:Bullshit Wikipedia:Charm offensive Wikipedia:Code word (figure of speech) Wikipedia:Cognitive distortion Wikipedia:Corporate propaganda Wikipedia:Disinfopedia Wikipedia:Doublespeak Wikipedia:Exaggeration Wikipedia:Focus group Wikipedia:Framing (social sciences)

Wikipedia:Grey propaganda Wikipedia:Information subsidy Wikipedia:Lie Wikipedia:Managing the news Wikipedia:Media manipulation Minimisation Wikipedia:Past exonerative Wikipedia:Rationalization (making excuses) Wikipedia:Sexed up Wikipedia:Sound bite Wikipedia:SourceWatch Wikipedia:Spin (1995 film) Wikipedia:Spin room Wikipedia:SpinSpotter Wikipedia:spintronics

Bibliography

• Roberts, Alasdair S., (2005). "Spin Control and Freedom of Information: Lessons for the United Kingdom from Canada," Public Administration, 83, 1–23.

External links

• Christian Science Monitor: The spin room – oily engine of the political meat grinder
• Outfoxed: OUTFOXED: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism
• Spin of the Day – Center for Media and Democracy
• Spinwatch monitors spin and propaganda
• SPIN (documentary): [1]
• Booknotes interview with Bill Press on Spin This! All The Ways We Don’t Tell the Truth, January 6, 2002.

Template:Propaganda Template:Psychological manipulationscn:Spindoctor

External links

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• BBC news story: "We've too many spin doctors"