From the Jul 6 – Jul 12, 2000 issue

News

Lefty List

Public Relations Company Keeps Tabs on WTO Activists

by Pat Kearney

IN A MEMO acquired by The Stranger, powerhouse Washington, D.C. public relations company Black, Kelly, Scruggs & Healey warns that activists--thanks to their "perceived success" during the WTO conference--are now in a position to threaten corporate interests. What did the cautionary memo say? Read on activists, the public relations industry is watching you.

Black, Kelly, Scruggs & Healey (BKSH) is a division of Burson Marsteller, one of the biggest P.R. companies in the world. (Burson Marsteller reported 1999 revenues of $274 million.) BKSH lobbies Congress on aerospace and pharmaceutical issues, helps foreign governments clean up their image, and tries to shape public perception on behalf of corporate clients. Evidently, one of the ways BKSH assists corporate clients is by tracking their enemies.

The memo, written by BKSH consultant Gardner Peckham, gives a complete list of WTO activist groups, their leaders, their agenda, and the contact information of each. The list ranges from the radical to the democratic mainstream. The Ruckus Society, Anarchist Action Collective, AFL-CIO, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters are all dangerous groups in Peckham's eyes. "Intelligence gathering for corporate clients" is nothing new for the P.R. industry, says John Stauber of the public relations watchdog group PR Watch.

In addition to the list, Peckham warns companies that activists have increased fundraising capacity, forged stronger group bonds, and have chances to gain further recognition and media attention with the upcoming presidential election. The "smell of victory" is in the air for activists, and corporations must realize the ability of "these groups to seriously impact broader, longer-term corporate interests," says Peckham.

Corporations targeted by WTO activists like Starbucks, Microsoft, Nike, and Washington Mutual all denied seeing the January 14 memo, or wouldn't comment on it. Peckham did not return The Stranger's calls.

To read the memo with the complete list of activists, and to learn more about BKSH and Peckham, go to www.thestranger.com/current/city10.html.