It was the word ‘unbendable’ — the main word, in the name of the PR firm — that stood out.
The firm had emailed to make sure I’d seen “the latest from Media Matters for America, a nonprofit media watchdog on how right wing media outlets… have been covering” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “
“And how they actively laid the groundwork for Russia’s disinformation campaigns in the United States…”
There were links to articles, in which pundits and reporters with conservative media were blaming Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on pride flags, for example, and criticizing US military wokeness.
In the PR lingo of my past profession, I was getting pitched, with the PR firm hoping their pitch would encourage me to write about the right wing media’s behavior and objectives.
For the first time, since I began writing guest articles and commentary, I was on the receiving end of a PR pitch, rather than pitching the media, as I had done frequently when I was in the PR business.
What kick! With the shoe, this time around, being on the other foot.
And since I’ve written in the Daily Post about Russia’s attack on Ukraine, and about autocrats and autocracy, and right wingers, the emailed pitch did what PR pitches are supposed to do. It got my attention.
Some online research I did, on my own, confirmed what was pointed out in the email. And hearing commentary by various pundits, on the far right, recently, further confirmed the nonprofit media watchdog’s concerns about the state of various far-right-leaning media.
So, I’ve got all that in mind, when, several days later, I happen to hear someone on TV recalling words, attributed to the Greek writer and poet, Aeschylus, about the first casualty of war being the truth.
To be fair, whether there’s a war, or whatever, going on, there’s bound to be disinformation or misinformation, or spin, from folks on all sides… conservatives, progressives, independents, and so on.
But it does seem, right now, that the far right is spinning communication quite a bit, quite frequently.
What Aeschylus had to say about truth, for some reason got me thinking about eternal vigilance being the price of liberty, something I was thinking Thomas Jefferson said, but searching online, I found out those words often are attributed to the American abolitionist and liberal activist, Wendell Phillips, in a speech he delivered, in 1852.
So, as all this is swirling around in my mind, there’s that pitch, by the PR firm with ‘unbendable’ in its name, in my email mailbox. An evocative word… ‘unbendable,’ considering everything.
And that’s when I start thinking: This PR firm’s pitch just might be pitch perfect.
Harvey Radin is former senior vice president in charge of corporate communications and media relations, Bank of America Western Region. He makes his home in Redwood City, CA.