Spin doctors tell tales

Dickie Arbiter (DA for the purposes of this article) is a world-renowned broadcaster, journalist, royal spokesperson, royal commentator and regular contributor to news and documentaries on channels and programmes such as CNN's Larry King Live, BBC, Sky News, NBC, CBS and ABC. Malcolm Russell (MR) is a broadcasting veteran who has trained many of the broadcasters and interviewers you hear and see today.

What is SPIN – and is it serious – what are the possible consequences?

DA: Political spin is about testing the waters with a policy proposal. When the public don't fall for it the politicians pull back claiming it wasn't a serious idea.

Who is doing the Spinning – the companies, the communications people or the media?

DA: Politicians and the media. The former feeds the latter – not sure which one is the parasite.

MR: Everyone spins. It's what I term ‘selective truth telling'.

How do the SA media fare regarding the practice of SPIN?

MR: The proliferation of media has led to a shortage of skilled journalists in SA and as a consequence many of those get spun silly.

How do SA corporates fare regarding the practice of SPIN?

MR: Not very well. Government (and particularly SARS) are better at it but more by accident than design. SARS has a Minister of Finance who knows the full value, and how to extract it, of both preemptive media coverage and spin.

How does the local SPIN scenario compare to the international arena?

MR: America and Britain lead the field. Africa (and particularly South Africa) often finds themselves with the wrong end of the stick.

Paint a picture of an example of SPIN – a local case study and international one of typical SPIN from, say, a corporate perspective. Just a basic example so that it brings SPIN alive.

DA: An international case study was the OUTING of Camilla. In order the get the maximum coverage, Clarence House let it be known she was attending a birthday party at the London's Ritz Hotel with the result that more than dozens of photographers and several TV crews crowded into a narrow street. So severe was the popping of flashes that TV companies had to warn viewers with photo sensitive eyes to look away from their TV screens. The whole exercise backfired in that newspaper polls unanimously agreed it was a rotten idea.

MR: A local case study? You ask for simple examples and the simplest way to do that is to give a few of the phrases used which illustrate SPIN. They don't need to be attributed…

• ‘Power cuts and black outs' now its load-shedding
  
• Anti-abortion lobby – now its pro-life lobby (If you aren't pro-life then you must be pro-death…)
  
• Gambling? Now is gaming
  
• Liquor? Now is spirits
  
• Even ‘light cigarettes'… which offer ‘reduced harm benefits' (isn't no harm a benefit – reduced harms just means it takes longer to kill you…)

Are corporate reputations really damaged by SPIN?

MR: Certainly. Microsoft's image, for example, has taken a serious hammering from spin – putting Apple and Linux into the ‘White Knight' role. (If you respond to that statement “Damn right, Microsoft exploit their position unfairly”, then perhaps you are a victim of spin… or at least been swayed by it).

What tips would you give the person in charge of managing SPIN in an organisation with regard to SPIN preparedness?

MR: Avoid the mistake made by many South African companies. Do NOT remain silent. Rebut and defend vigorously and aggressively. Remaining quiet and hoping it will go away is interpreted by both the media and the public as ‘having something to hide' or ‘guilty by inference'. Don't expect to be able to ‘Manage the Crisis' spin can cause. You may be able to manage your response but ‘managing the crisis'? That's like saying you are going to manage a hurricane. The best you can hope for is to limit damage. There are no magic bullets and anyone who says he has one is spinning you…

What can delegates hope to get out of attending the conference?

DA: An insight into the communications for one of the world's unique and oldest institutions.

Who should attend the conference?

DA: Anyone in the communications industry who thinks they know it all.