Discussion Questions from Reading Assignments 3/22/2000

Stauber 9, Silencing Spring
1/ Stauber and Rampton describe crisis management as primarily a deceptive practice.  How could companies practice crisis management in a way that would serve the public rather than deceive the public?

2/ Is greenwashing ethical?  What could a corporation do to communicate its positive environmental record to the public without deception?

3/ How can groups such as the Sierra Club, Nature Conservancy and the Humane Society counteract good cop/bad cop strategies used by some corporations?

4/ How did DOW Chemical, known for manufacture of napalm bombs and agent orange, become one of the top 10 U.S. firms with the best environmental reputation among consumers even though it is still a leading polluter in Michigan and the nation?

5/ Are environmental problems the result of irresponsibility by individuals or corporations and governments?  Who's to blame?
What do you think public opinion on this question would be?

Stauber 10, The Torturer's Lobby
1/ Is it ethical for U.S. PR firms to handle PR, lobbying efforts and issues management for other nations?

2/ Sheldon and Rampton note that sympathetic journalists got qucik access to Columbian officials, while critical journalists were turned away.  How does this relate to an informed American public?

3/ Are PR firms ethically obligated to accept any client who can pay?

4/ Do front groups such as "Citizens for a Free Kuwait" pose a threat to the democratic process?

5/ Should American TV networks and stations have identified the source of the video news releases produced by Hill and Knowlton for the government of Kuwait?

6/ Was the testimony of Nayirah, daughter of Kuwait's ambassador to the U.S., about Iraqi soldiers leaving 312 babies to die on the cold floor of a Kuwati hospital, used to deceive the American public?  What ethical theories or perspectives would support such an action?
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