Section 13.7 of the text features a discussion of Marshall McLuhan's claim that 'the medium is the message' (p. 394). The idea speaks to the increasingly savvy use of electronic media by governments to manipulate perceptions of international events. One recent example was the Russian / Georgian conflict. The government of Russia has not been renown for its sophisticated use of public relations in the past, so I listened with interest to radio interviews with various officials during the recent conflict.
Some of the things I noted were; Russian military personell and officials, regardless of rank, role, or position were remarkably consistent in their vocabulary and characterization of events. Russian troops were described as "peace keepers" defending citizens against "genocide" by Georgian troops. All interviewees spoke at least spoke English at least moderately well - none used translators. Although the overall effect was much less sophisticated than Western media "events" it was an obvious attempt to demonstrate that Russia is a force to be reckoned with on and off the battlefield.
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Censorship and propaganda are not new concepts. Throughout the cold war, the former Soviet Union was known as a propaganda machine. Likewise, Russia has been known for all its domestic and international public relations manipulation. Here's a good article that outlines some of this distortion history:
http://tinyurl.com/6l4lvb
To be honest, I'd be more surprised if Russia didn't employed such PR tactics. Having a family entrenched in military service, I can say that the United States does the same...
My favorite public relations joke:
An interoffice softball game was held every year between the marketing and support staff of one company.
The support staff whipped the marketing department soundly.
To show just how the marketing department earns their keep, they posted this memo on the bulletin board after the game:
"The Marketing Department is pleased to announce that for this year's softball season, we came in 2nd place, having lost but one game all year. The Support Department, however, had a rather dismal season, as they won only one game."
On the topic of government, it plays a part in framing domestic events as well. I am referring to the current economic puddle we find ourselves in, due in large part to the gallant efforts of Wall Street and Regulatory and Legislative entities. The ways in which this "crisis" is framed in the media, what press reports are issued, and what "actions" are promised to fix and prevent these types of problems. And yet depsite all the available technology, there are still moments where government officials were unable to get a message out, or were "uninformed" about certain developments at earlier stages of negotiations. I find these lapses strategic at least, and a bit shabby considering all the communicative and analytical tools at their disposal (not the least of which is the ability to compel cooperation).
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