--- To: "Declan McCullagh" <declan@private> Subject: Reinventing Lobbying as Journalism From: david.e.young@private Date: Fri, 2 Jan 2004 08:09:37 -0500 Declan, I thought you [and Politech] might enjoy this essay on the blurring line between journalism and lobbying. The title is "Meet the Press", by Nicholas Confessore from the December 2003 Washington Monthly. http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2003/0312.confessore.html <snip> James Glassman and TCS have given birth to something quite new in Washington: journo-lobbying. It's an innovation driven primarily by the influence industry. Lobbying firms that once specialized in gaining person-to-person access to key decision-makers have branched out. The new game is to dominate the entire intellectual environment in which officials make policy decisions, which means funding everything from think tanks to issue ads to phony grassroots pressure groups. <snip> But TCS doesn't just act like a lobbying shop. It's actually published by one--the DCI Group, a prominent Washington "public affairs" firm specializing in P.R., lobbying, and so-called "Astroturf" organizing, generally on behalf of corporations, GOP politicians, and the occasional Third-World despot. The two organizations share most of the same owners, some staff, and even the same suite of offices in downtown Washington, a block off K Street. As it happens, many of DCI's clients are also "sponsors" of the site it houses. TCS not only runs the sponsors' banner ads; its contributors aggressively defend those firms' policy positions, on TCS and elsewhere. <snip> Best regards and Happy New Year, -David -------------------------------- David E. Young Director, Internet & Technology Policy Verizon Communications 1300 I Street NW Washington, DC 20005 +1 202-515-2425 <Office> +1 202-365-4755 <Mobile> +1 202-336-7923 <Fax> david.e.young@private _______________________________________________ Politech mailing list Archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Moderated by Declan McCullagh (http://www.mccullagh.org/)
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