From: tcmay@got.net (Timothy C. May)
Date: Thu, 1 Feb 1996 06:08:25 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: The FV Problem = A Press Problem
Message-ID: <ad33b5f134021004e5fb@[205.199.118.202]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


At 6:42 PM 1/30/96, Jonathan Rochkind wrote:

>I'd say _all_ news, not just software news, is P.R. controlled, these days.
>You can largely hold Edward L. Bernays, the "father of public relations"
>(who just died last year) responsible for that--or the societal conditions
>that allowed Bernays to do his thing.  Bernays developed expertise in
>"engineering of consent" turned the news into a commercialized and

Interesting term, similar to Chomsky's "Manufacturing Consent" (which
obviously must've come later...).

>Now, the news you read is manufactured in press releases to sell a product,
>and is there because a well written press release convinced a reporter or
>editor that a marketting ploy was actually a newsworthy event (or, perhaps,
>because the advertising dollars that went along with the press release
>convinced him).  Witness FVs demonstration of key capture becoming a
>newsworthy event.

Maybe I've from the old school, the school that says one should be more
modest, objective, and circumspect. Then, if it's really news, and not just
a PR scam, the journalists will come.

(Understand that I'm not saying I'm sort sort of paragon of modesty. Far
from it. But I try to control myself.)

I think that the view that "all news is hype" is overly harsh. In fact,
corrective forces tend to slow this headlong rush into P.R. For example,
the reaction here to the Nathaniel Borenstein/First Virtual hyperbole, and
the fatuous, credulous article by Simson Garfinkel (sorry, Simson, but I
call 'em as I see 'em), will undermine their credibility for a long time.
Crying wolf, and all that.

The FV "discovery" that insecure machines can cause all sorts of problems
rated at most a brief paragraph in the papers, not the full-page treatment
Garfinkel and his editors gave it in the "San Jose Mercury News" (and maybe
other papers that picked it up, or will in the next few weeks).

Newspapers and magazines that run "fluff" pieces, taken almost directly
from press releases, lose credibility. (Nathaniel B. claims that the Simson
G. piece ran _first_, before his Press Release. Well, how did Simson first
learn of the FV "discovery"? How did the FV President arrange to be
photographed? It seems pretty clear to me that FV was involved in the
development of the story, perhaps even planting the seed for it. Not
necessarily a dishonest thing to do, of course, just a bit tacky given that
the "discovery" is not news.

>If you want to effect what's in the media, maybe you should learn how to
>issue press releases.

Nope. I think it a very poor model for getting information out. With all
due respect to Sameer, who has done many fine things, I gag every time I
see a press release from Community Connection in which Sameer interviews
himself.

Or, put another way:

[Embargoed for release until Jan. 30, noon PST]

Crypto Anarchy Foundation Releases Views on Self-Interview Press Releases

Corralitos, CA. The Crypto Anarchy Foundation, the world's leading think
tank on crypto anarchy, today is announcing its views on press releases.
According to Crypto Anarchy Foundation founder and President, Timothy C.
May," "We think these press releases are a phony means of pumping up a
story." When asked for more details, he added: "The self-interviews are
really tacky. Can't you ask me some better questions?"

The Crypto Anarchy Foundation, the world's foremost provider of information
about crypto-mediated anarcho-capitalism, may be reached at 408-728-0152.
CAF spokesperson Tim May can arrange interviews with CAF founder Tim May.


--Tim May, CAF founder, chief technical officer, and media relations specialist

Boycott espionage-enabled software!
We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, we know that that ain't allowed.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^756839 - 1  | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."