Spin

PR industry kicks the WTO when it's down

by Ben Geman

Seems like everyone is dumping on the World Trade Organization these days -- anarchists, greens, unions, even trade-happy President Clinton, who suggested amid the recent Seattle protests that the group consider labor standards.

Well, add another attacker: the public-relations industry. According to PRWeek, the multibillion-dollar industry's trade magazine, the WTO's real problem is not, as Seattle protesters argued, its disdain for labor rights and the environment. No, says the magazine, the real problem is inept spin.

The December 13 issue whacks the WTO for losing the PR war to activists, who link the secretive trade council's agenda with environmental degradation, worker abuse, and creeping corporatization of the planet.

"Guerrilla PR completely seized the initiative in Seattle," scolds PRWeek's editorial page, "and the WTO needs a butt-kicking for its lame response and lack of preparedness."

The editorial also hits the WTO's failure to use the tried-and-true "third party" technique, which means channeling a desired message through a seemingly impartial observer -- i.e., letting journalists and the public get the party line from someone outside the party.

And, adding insult to injury, the same issue ran a piece highlighting the effective "grassroots" PR effort launched by activists in preparation for the WTO conference in Seattle three weeks ago, when thousands of protesters took to the streets to fight the WTO agenda (see "Seattle Was a Riot," News and Features, December 10).

In other words, the WTO is like a top -- it falls over when it's not spinning.