Spin is not just a technique. It is not just a political phenomenon. It permeates our culture and our daily life. And it's an industry almost a sector of the economy. One day's front page articles quoted lobbyists, public relations specialists, professional "damage control" experts. If computers and communications go by the acronym IT, for information technology, the perceptual industry might be MT, for misinformation technology. The business of MT isn't lying. It's shaping perceptions irrespective of the truth. Reality is a consideration, of course. But if reality were sufficient, we wouldn't need spin would we? |
