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» How does corporate ownership of mainstream journalism serve the goals and interests of the big players within public relations industry? How might it work against the interests of smaller public relations efforts?NG

1. Who are the Toxic Sludge experts? What is their agenda? (See Appendix for bios on each of the peopleinterviewed for Toxic Sludge.)

2. Debate: The foundation of professional ethics lies in each individual’s personal ethical beliefs. Differentschools of thought exist amongst practitioners about the most ethical approach to practicing public relations.

Here are a couple positions. Divide students up and have them debate these perspectives. (source: DianeSamples, Media Knowledge.)a. Some PR professionals see themselves as lawyers in the court of public opinion and believe that all parties have a right to tell their side of the story and to be represented by public relations counsel. These professionals have no ethical dilemma in representing all entities who seek counsel, including governments accused of human rights violations (Kuwait, Argentina, etc.), a racist hate group, or a cigarette company.

b. Other PR professionals dispute this legal metaphor, citing that a courtroom is a highly controlled environment where one legal counsel battles it out with another under the supervision of an expert judge who enforces ground rules. These ground rules include severe penalties for lying, fair representation,and equal amounts of time to present information for each point of view. In the arena of public opinion, these ground rules don’t exist. As a result, organizations that cannot afford PR counselhave severe disadvantages in communicating their message and countering false claims.

3. Pick out a company. Go to its website and visit the press page to get a sense of the press releases they’vebeen sending out to journalists. Then do a search of recent news stories about the company. (Lexis-Nexis is a great resource for this kind of search if your school has access to it.) Are there similarities between the company press releases and news stories?

4. Study press kits (you can usually get these by calling the PR department of a corporation and asking for them). Compile a list of all the various pieces in the kit and what you think is its purpose for being there. Then, write a paragraph about the company/product based only on what they have learned from reviewing the kit. Follow up by doing a news search of the company and see what information wasn’t included in the press kit (source: Diane Samples, Media Knowledge).

5. Follow an issue. Study who is interviewed and their organizations. You can do this for any media content– newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and internet content. Carefully read, listen or watch a story and then follow the content back to its source – who did the reporter talk to? What kind of organizations are the interviewees from? Research the topic further. Who didn’t the reporter talk to? Are there people interviewed who aren’t spokespersons for government or industry?

6. Have students study the PR industry’s guidelines for ethical conduct. An updated version of the Public Relations Society of America’s Code of Ethics is available on their website (http://www.prsa.org/_About/ethics/pledge.asp?ident=eth6)or is downloadable in PDF file form. How does the code of ethics contrast with information provided in the video?

Karen Charman is a New York–based investigative journalist specializing in agriculture, the environmen and health. She began reporting on biotechnology in 1988.

Stuart Ewen, social critic and professor of media studies at Hunter College in New York, is the author of numerous books on the media and public relations, most recently PR: A Social History of Spin. Jessica Hayes is the national coordinator for the Genetic Engineering Action Network (www.geaction.org), which is a diverse network of grassroots activists, national and community non-governmental organizations (NGOs),farmer and farm advocacy groups, academics and scientists who have come together to work on the myriadof issues surrounding biotechnology.

Dr.Martha Herbert (DVD) is a pediatric neurologist and brain development researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Herbert has written and taught extensively on the sociology and philosophy of science.

Mark Crispin Miller is a media critic, professor at New York University, and the author of Boxed In: The Cultureof TV and The Bush Dyslexicon.

Arthur Rowse, is a veteran newsman and media critic. He retired from U.S. News & World Report after servingon city desks of The Boston Globe, Boston Herald/Traveler and Washington Post. He is a former prize-winning columnist, newsletter publisher and National Public Radio commentator. He is also the author of numerous books and articles on the news business, including Drive-By Journalism: The Assault on Your Need to Know.

Diane Samples teaches a media literacy course at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut and is the Directorof Media Knowledge, Inc., a media literacy organization which began hosting Media Mania camps for teenagers.

Eric Sparling worked for a short time in public relations. When he left the industry, he wrote an article for theToronto Star entitled Confessions of a Spin Doctor. He now works in journalism, as an editor at a sports magazine.

John Stauber (www.prwatch.org) is the founder and director of the non-profit Center for Media and Democracy.He publishes PR Watch, a quarterly newsletter examining the public relations industry, and co-wrote with

Sheldon Rampton Toxic Sludge Is Good For You: Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry; Mad Cow USA:Could the Nightmare Happen Here? and Trust Us,We're Experts: How Industry Manipulates Science and Gambleswith Your Future.