The 2008 Falsies Awards

by RoryLitwin

If you’re like me, you’re a librarian in part because you have a passion for the right to information, and by information I mean truth rather than lies. One of the books that originally kindled that passion for me in terms of its social meaning was Toxic Sludge is Good for You: Lies, Damn Lies, and the Public Relations Industry, by John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton. The organization they work with, the Center for Media and Democracy, published a regular newsletter for years called PR Watch (it’s now the name of their website).

PR Watch has just come out with the 2008 Falsies Awards, which is their effort to “shine an unflattering light on those responsible for polluting the information environment over the past year.” The awards mention only a few examples of falsification perpetrated by the PR industry in the media sphere, but the PR Watch website has much more if you want to explore it.

If it sounds like I think we have an enemy, yes, you’re right, I think we do have an enemy, and it’s the PR industry.

Thanks to Susan Maret for sending the link to a listserv that I’m on.

2 comments on “The 2008 Falsies Awards”

  1. In relation to this would be the must-watch Adam Curtis documentary called The Century of the Self. All four parts are available on Google Video.

Comments are closed.