DOCSLIB.ORG

The Dual Pandemics Lead to a Breakout Year for the Volume of Communication Measurement

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Dual Pandemics Lead to a Breakout Year for the Volume of Communication Measurement November 2020 Issue 11 prnewsonline.com CONTENTS Measurement ........... 1-2, 15 Awareness ......................3-4 Measurement ........... 4-5, 16 Organization....................6-8 Marketing ..........................9 Diversity & Inclusion .........10 Marketing ........................11 Social ................... 12-13, 16 3 10 12 History .......................14-15 MEASUREMENT The Dual Pandemics Lead to a Breakout Year for the Volume of Communication Measurement Here’s a topic you won’t have a chance to discuss around the munication to measure as brands are communicating far table during your cancelled Thanksgiving dinner: the state of more than they did previously with employees. communication measurement. It would have been a discus- Like Burke, Paine reasons that economic uncertainty is a sion worth holding. main driver in communication measurement’s rise this year. As PR marks Communication Measurement Month in No- “We’re in a permanent state of anxiety,” Paine says, and vember, measurement seems to be continuing its upswing when there’s uncertainty “people want certainty and data. of recent years. Ironically, the global pandemic, is partially They want answers. Measurement provides those answers.” responsible. As Paine said early in the pandemic, ‘Data is your PPE.’ As Katie Paine, the self-proclaimed There’s another cost factor. “Measurement of PR and Queen of Measurement, says, “Everything communication is so cheap compared to measuring other [communicators do] is being measured things,” Paine says. Since communication measurement is more now and measured better.” not a huge drain on budgets, “I don’t see anybody cutting it.” That’s because the economic down- Paine describes the communicator’s lament at this time. turn has left businesses with little room “’I don’t know if what I’m doing is working or not. And I can’t for error. “Since everyone is being more afford to make a mistake because I’ll get fired, lose my job Katie Paine resource-conscious, you have to get things Founder or mess things up. So, I need more data.’” As a result, com- right fast. And you have to measure,” says Paine Publishing municators are doing “way more surveys and asking their Johna Burke, global MD at AMEC, the com- stakeholders more…they’re doing much more measurement munication measurement organization. because it’s an uncertain time.” In addition, boardrooms, she Equally vexed, the C-suite is demanding says, are seeking more data. “They want to know if things are more data from communicators to under- working and if not, how can we make them work?” stand what messaging is working. Commu- She cites the example of Georgia-Pacific, whose paper nication measurement, she says, used to products were in great demand early in the pandemic. Its ex- be a nice-to-have. It’s a must-have “in this ternal message, Paine says, was not to panic. The company crisis,” she adds. could track message pickup, message amplification and how 2020, Burke believes, may show a its message were playing on social. “It wasn’t a question of Johna Burke Global Managing steeper incline in measurement “than we making more sales. Instead, the concern was people being Director otherwise would have projected.” In part, able to find toilet paper, posting pictures of themselves find- AMEC this is a quantity issue. There’s more com- ing it and feeling happy about it,” she says. Continued on page 2 ©2020 Access Intelligence LLC. Federal copyright law prohibits unauthorized reproduction by any means and imposes fines of up to $100,000 for violations. Continued from page 1 Vol. 76 ISSN 1546-0193 For measurement advocate Mark Stouse, cators report to marketers, he says. Moreover, the high-volatility environment of the pandemic communicators lack access to data from other Editorial Director, Erika Bradbury, [email protected] means you need to measure more often. Ow- parts of the company that they’d need to deliver Editor, Seth Arenstein, ing to the “swirling, changing environment,” more meaningful analysis. [email protected] you need to run data more regularly through re- On the agency side, most firms measure, Director, Marketing Production: Tracey Lilly, [email protected] gression analytics to capture but “very few have made data and analytics a changes in relationships be- routine, non-negotiable part” of their culture, he Senior Content Manager, Sophie Maerowitz, [email protected] tween causes and effects. says. When measurement-focused clients ask Content Manager, Nicole Schuman, The coronavirus pandemic PR firms for data, they receive it, he says, but [email protected] is one reason companies com- those are “rare exceptions.” About 2-3 percent SVP, Marketing Group, Dan Hanover, municated internally more in of communicators are analyzing communication [email protected] 2020 and are measuring its data with an eye toward aligning it with business Divisional President, Kerry Smith, Mark Stouse [email protected] effectiveness. In the US, com- CEO outcomes, he says. Chief Operating Officer, Heather Farley panies also needed to gauge Proof Analytics A simple way to take Stouse’s route, he says, employees’ attitudes on social is to begin with an hypothesis. Then you cre- President & CEO, Don Pazour and racial issues. ate a regression model and look at “what we’re Group Subscriptions — “Internal communication measurement is doing, what other people [in the company] are [email protected] Additional Copies & Article Reprints — probably the number one most-important thing doing who we don’t control, audience data and Contact Wright’s Media, 877-652-5295; [email protected] [companies are measuring] these days,” Paine business data.” That’s how you understand what says. In this environment, “You need to under- you should be doing and how it’s impacting your stand what’s moving your employees.” business, but it will tell you need to measure. On the business side, “You have to measure Stouse contends marketing, not communica- whether or not they are getting the material they tion, “has made strides in the right direction” need to do their jobs well,” Paine argues. In ad- on measurement. As a result, C-suites are “not dition, employers need to know if “employees asking communicators for data or analytics.” In- Published monthly by Access Intelligence, LLC 9211 Corporate Blvd, 4th Floor are feeling disconnected or looking around for stead they are “simply subordinating communi- Rockville, MD 20850 another company to work for because they’re so cation to the marketing department, and stream- Client Services: mad at how you responded to [the murder of lining their communication investment.” Phone: 888.707.5814 • Fax: 301.309.3847 e-mail: [email protected] George Floyd, for example].” In Stouse’s view, communication’s continued New York Editorial Office: Moreover, surveying employees and other lack of measurement progress is ironic since 40 Wall Street, 50th floor, New York, NY 10005 Phone: 212.621.4890 • Fax: 212.621.4879 stakeholders is relatively inexpensive. “And peo- “nothing is as powerful with business audi- ple are home, so they’re responding” at higher ences” as earned material. “Press, analysts, For subscribers only: full access to PR News article archives at rates, especially when there’s an incentive, Paine peer-to-peer, customers all exert a more power- www.prnewsonline.com says. When asked what small PR teams can do ful influence on decision-making than paid and quickly to begin measuring, Paine doesn’t hesi- owned, which dominate the top of the funnel, but UPCOMING tate: “Do a survey,” she says. whose influence diminishes greatly in the back- EVENTS AND For Stouse, another incentive to analyze sur- half of the customer journey,” he says. DEADLINES* vey and other data transcends the dual pandem- ics. “Too many marketers and communicators OTHER AREAS OF IMPRovement WEBINAR: know so little about their audiences and their A cultural bias against being evaluated in terms COMMUNICATING sentiments about their brand, their products, of business and commercial value continues to DE&I TO EXTERNAL why they buy, their sense of risk,” he says. exist in communication, Stouse contends. STAKEHOLDERS In addition, there’s a lack of knowledge and NovembeR 17, 2020 IMPRovements understanding “about things mathematic.” PR 1:00-2:00PM ET While Stouse agrees with Paine and Burke that pros, he says, still talk about how they hated COVID-19 “has ignited a massive measurement math. Many chose marketing or communication, MEDIA RELATIONS and analytics fire,” his view is that communica- in part, because of the perception that they in- VIRTUAL EVENT tors are not measuring well. volved little understanding of math or business. DECEMBER 8-9, 2020 “The communication industry is dead-last “The failure of the profession to adhere to DIVERSITY AWARDS when it comes to the use of meaningful metrics a scientific standard of evaluation and proof is CALL FOR ENTRIES and analytics to demonstrate impact and value,” costing it dearly in terms of credibility,” Stouse DEADLINE he says. Part of this is because brand communi- believes. DECEMBER 10, 2020 cators lack “the competence or incentive to grab He would like to see data and analytics as the bull by the horns.” non-negotiables. And it takes initiative. Too many communi- Continued on page 15 *For subscribers only: You are entitled to discounts on all PRN events and webinars. Contact: [email protected] 2 prnewsonline.com • November 2020 awaRENESS Is Your Brand Accessible to the Disabled? If Not, You’re Missing a Significant Opportunity [Editor’s Note: October marked the 75th PRNEWS: Do you feel PR pros who are blind bring some- anniversary of National Disability Employ- thing to the table that others do not? In addition to what ment Awareness Month. To celebrate, we you said earlier, what are some incentives for PR leaders to spoke with Rachel Carver, a senior PR hire employees who are blind? specialist at Outlook Business Solutions, which is affiliated with National Industries Carver: Blind PR pros have similar skills to others in the for the Blind.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • American Health Care: Justice, Policy, Reform Carolyn Conti
    Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations Fall 2010 American Health Care: Justice, Policy, Reform Carolyn Conti Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Recommended Citation Conti, C. (2010). American Health Care: Justice, Policy, Reform (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/432 This Immediate Access is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AMERICAN HEALTH CARE: JUSTICE, POLICY, REFORM A Dissertation Submitted to the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts Duquesne University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Carolyn Ann Conti December 2010 Copyright by Carolyn Ann Conti 2010 AMERICAN HEALTH CARE: JUSTICE, POLICY, REFORM By Carolyn Ann Conti Approved October 4, 2010 _________________________________ _________________________________ Aaron L. Mackler, Ph.D. Gerard Magill, Ph.D. Associate Professor Professor Department of Theology Healthcare Ethics Program (Dissertation Director) (Committee Member) _________________________________ Charles J. Dougherty, Ph.D. President Duquesne University (Committee Member) _________________________________ __________________________________ Christopher M. Duncan, Ph.D. Henk Ten Have, M.D., Ph.D Dean, McAnulty College and Graduate Director, Center for Healthcare Ethics School of Liberal Arts Professor, Healthcare Ethics iii ABSTRACT AMERICAN HEALTH CARE: JUSTICE, POLICY, REFORM By Carolyn Ann Conti December 2010 Dissertation supervised by Professor Aaron L. Mackler The American health care system is seriously flawed and in need of reform. American health care is expensive and rationed by the ability to pay.
    [Show full text]
  • PACKAGING POLITICS by Catherine Suzanne Galloway a Dissertation
    PACKAGING POLITICS by Catherine Suzanne Galloway A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science in the Graduate Division of the University of California at Berkeley Committee in charge Professor Jack Citrin, Chair Professor Eric Schickler Professor Taeku Lee Professor Tom Goldstein Fall 2012 Abstract Packaging Politics by Catherine Suzanne Galloway Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science University of California, Berkeley Professor Jack Citrin, Chair The United States, with its early consumerist orientation, has a lengthy history of drawing on similar techniques to influence popular opinion about political issues and candidates as are used by businesses to market their wares to consumers. Packaging Politics looks at how the rise of consumer culture over the past 60 years has influenced presidential campaigning and political culture more broadly. Drawing on interviews with political consultants, political reporters, marketing experts and communications scholars, Packaging Politics explores the formal and informal ways that commercial marketing methods – specifically emotional and open source branding and micro and behavioral targeting – have migrated to the political realm, and how they play out in campaigns, specifically in presidential races. Heading into the 2012 elections, how much truth is there to the notion that selling politicians is like “selling soap”? What is the difference today between citizens and consumers? And how is the political process being transformed, for better or for worse, by the use of increasingly sophisticated marketing techniques? 1 Packaging Politics is dedicated to my parents, Russell & Nancy Galloway & to my professor and friend Jack Citrin i CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Politics, after all, is about marketing – about projecting and selling an image, stoking aspirations, moving people to identify, evangelize, and consume.
    [Show full text]
  • Oral History Interview with Clement Sherman Whitaker
    California State Archives State Government Oral History Program Oral History Interview with CLEMENT SHERMAN WHITAKER, JR. Political Campaign and Public Relations Specialist, 1944- September 15,27, October 21, November 17, December 7, 1988; January 18,1989 San Francisco, California By Gabrielle Morris Regional Oral History Office University of California, Berkeley RESTRICTIONS ON THIS INTERVIEW None. LITERARY RIGHTS AND QUOTATIONS This manuscript is hereby made available for research purposes only. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the California State Archivist or RegIOnal Oral History Office, University of California at Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to: California State Archives 1020 0 Street, Room 130 Sacramento, California 95814 or Regional Oral History Office 486 Library University of California Berkeley, California 94720 The request should include information of the specific passages and identification of the user. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Clement Sherman Whitaker, Jr. Oral History Interview, Conducted 1989 by Gabrielle Morris, Regional Oral History Office, University of California at Berkeley, for the California State Archives State Government Oral History Program. California State Archives Information (916) 445-4293 March Fong Eu Document Restoration (916) 445-4293 10200 Street, Room 130 Secretary of State Exhibit Hall (916) 445-0748 Sacramento, CA 95814 Legislative Bill Service (916) 445-2832
    [Show full text]
  • LIES THAT Bindi
    1 THE LIES THAT BINDi By John Guy Indianapolis Literary Club January 7, 2019 Why do we flawed humans distort? Why do we exaggerate and mislead? The answer is simple: to gain an economic, social or political advantage seemingly so important that we are willing, in its pursuit, to sacrifice accuracy, integrity, and the broader social interest. Three circumstances come to mind, each a professionalized effort to win an election or to defeat a policy proposal. In each case, no record exists suggesting that the parties at interest considered, introspectively, The Lies That Bind, (Professional Political Consulting Firms) January, 2019, Indianapolis Literary Club. 2 seriously, thoroughly, with humility, that their advocacy based on perceived self-interest just might damage, or hold back, progress and improvement in society generally. These advocates presume that their interests are the same as yours, that their world views are god-like, most certainly the best for all. The first circumstance is the stunning defeat of popular health care initiatives during the 1940s, a result of the aggressive work of the world’s first political consulting firm, Whitaker & Baxter. The second is a professional effort by a Washington, D.C political consulting firm to win an election in Bolivia. The third, more recent, and, therefore, perhaps not yet fully understood, is from last year, when a consulting firm in London strove to affect politics in South Africa. The first known skirmish between public policy and narrow self- interest—the first engineered by a professional political consulting firm, itself the first in the world, began in 1943, when Earl Warren became governor of California.
    [Show full text]
  • The Gatekeepers: an Investigation Into the Pre-Qualification & Qualification Stages of Direct Democracy in California, 1912-1998
    The Gatekeepers: An Investigation into the Pre-Qualification & Qualification Stages of Direct Democracy in California, 1912-1998 Prepared for the Annual Meeting of the Western Political Science Association, March 24-27, 2000 San Jose, California Dave McCuan University of California, Riverside RESEARCH OBJECTIVE This project analyzes changes with the drafting and qualification stages of direct democracy in California. For some time now, scholars of direct democracy have noted the dearth of studies assessing the emergence of initiative issues, the assignment of Title and Summary and the qualification of measures for the ballot (Magleby 1984; Lee 1989; Smith 1999). In this study, a database of measures that are proposed and qualified is constructed. Building on the work of Magleby (1984), the paper updates findings about the institutional and structural hurdles necessary for initiative proposals to move from the formulation of ballot language to appearance on the ballot. The work goes further offering a research strategy to understand how the “initiative industry” plays a critical role in the initiative process. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY A database of proposed, qualified and initiatives passed by voters is constructed through information obtained from the Political Reform Division of the California Secretary of State’s office (SoS-PRD) emphasizing the period from 1980 through 1998. Archival records from ballot measure committees are scrutinized. In Part III, a theoretical model is proposed to address the interaction between ballot activity and the “initiative industry.” . Prepared for the Annual Meeting of the Western Political Science Association (WPSA), San Jose, California, March 24 – 27, 2000. The author would like to acknowledge the gracious assistance of Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Socialism, Medicare, and the Yoke of European Dictatorship
    Socialism, Medicare, and the Yoke of European Dictatorship Brian Dolan, PhD Socialism and the History of Medicare 1 Q: “We use this term loosely, but are we turning into the U.S.S.A.?” A: “It sounds like hyperbole, but ABSOLUTELY.” 1 - Fox News, “Trading Pit” Figs 1 & 2: Commentary on Obamacare on a blog “Norwegian Shooter” 2 Medical History for Medical Students An abridged version of this article recorded as a podcast with archival audio clips is available at: www.UCMedicalHumanitiesPress.com “It is a purely self-interested falsification of the bourgeois to see every interference of the state with free competition as ‘socialism.’ We should criticize that, not believe in it. ... So choices will be imposed by state authorities instead of by factory foremen. What a beautiful socialism! That is where one comes out if one believes in the bourgeois who pretends, but does not really think, the state is equal to socialism.” - Letter from Friedrich Engels to Eduard Bernstein, 18812 PART ONE his is an anniversary year. about the government’s role in declaration: he called himself a Fifty years ago, in July providing healthcare. Looming Democratic Socialist. T1966, the Medicare and over these debates is not only a In some sense, associating him- Medicaid programs were enacted, concern about the economics of self with socialism should not have a year after the bill passed through healthcare. Those for and against been very surprising since he long Congress. But it is not so much for national health insurance are ago stated his position. Here he is this reason that American health- characterized by political ideology.
    [Show full text]
  • History of Health Insurance Reform
    Katherine Rohde Professor Ladson HIST 1090 October 31, 2018 The Defeat of National Health Insurance Reform in the United States The first half of the twentieth century saw many European countries establish national health insurance programs. The United States, however, opted for a voluntary, largely employer- provided model. In this essay, I will explore how the moneyed interests of American health insurance companies, employers, and medical professional societies, coupled with a nationwide fear of communism, led to the failure of national health insurance reform attempts in the United States ranging from the Progressive Era to the Fair Deal. The first attempts to institute national health insurance came at the turn of the twentieth century. In his 1912 presidential bid, Theodore Roosevelt called for a national health service as part of his Progressive Party platform.1 Although he lost the election, it brought the idea of universal health care into the national spotlight. Building on such momentum, the American Association for Labor Legislation (AALL) became the most prominent advocate for national health insurance during the Progressive Era. The AALL held the British and German welfare states as shining examples of progressive reform; a 1916 pamphlet entitled “The Need for Health Insurance in America” proclaimed, “Hundreds of thousands, now fighting on the field of battle for their fatherland, may trace their health and capacity to the timely and proper treatment 1. “Progressive Party Platform of 1912,” The American Presidency Project, University of California Santa Barbara, November 05, 1912, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/273288. received with the aid of sickness insurance.”2 The AALL widely circulated such pamphlets to the public and attempted to convince American politicians to enact similar legislation.
    [Show full text]
  • University of California, Berkeley Unified School District, Bay Area Social Planning Council, League of Women Voters, 1956-70
    The Bancroft Library University of California/Berkeley Regional Oral History Office Earl Warren Oral Hlstory Project THE GOVERNOR AND THE PUBLIC, THE PRESS, AND THE LEGISLATURE Marguerite Gallagher Administrative Procedures in Earl Warren8s Office, 1938-1953 Verne Scoggins Observations on California Affairs by Governor Earl Warren's Press Secretary Beach Vasey Governor Warren and the Legislature Interviews Conducted by Amelia Fry and Gabrielle Morris Copy NO. - 01973 by The Regents of the University of California This manuscript is made available for research purposes. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University of California at Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral ist tor^ Office, 486 Library, and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user. INTRODUCTION The present volume of the Earl Warren Series contains the recollections of Marguerite Gallagher, Verne Scoggins, and Beach Vasey, and is largely concerned wlth the external relations of the governor's office of the State of California, 1943-53 Ever since Plato's Republic, writers have scrutinized the built-in paradoxes that reside in the functions of a head of state, Just as the dichotomies have continued to impede the management processes of even the most capable public executives, questions about the phenomena still fascinate the inquiring minds of scholars, For instance, how does the chief executive of a large, complex state set up his office to provide efficient handling of masses of mail, of legislative programs and thousands of bills, and of press relations, without eroding his vote-getting aura of personal concern for each individual and each problem? Nor is that the only contradiction inherent in a governor's office.
    [Show full text]
  • Bibliography of My Sources for This Piece
    Jill Lepore, “The Lie Factory: How politics became a business,” The New Yorker, September 24, 2012. A Note about Sources N.B. For readers who’d like to read more, or who are undertaking their own research, here is a select bibliography of my sources for this piece. As with all the bibliographies for New Yorker essays that I post on my Harvard faculty website, this brief discussion mentions a good number of works consulted but it’s neither an exhaustive inventory of my sources nor a survey of the scholarship in a given field. Instead, I’ve listed works I found most useful or especially provocative. I have generally only included manuscripts, journal and magazine articles, and books; I haven’t listed interviews here at all; I’ve not included things like newspapers, advertisements, patents, legislation, and policy statements; and I’ve generally left out citations from specialized bodies of literature in fields like medicine and law. A last caveat: these brief bibliographies are all frozen in time: I do not update them, and they therefore don’t include anything written on these subjects after the date on which my essay was published. This essay relies on the archival records of Campaigns, Inc., housed in the California State Archives in Sacramento. These records, contained in 178 boxes, include speeches by Whitaker and Baxter, internal correspondence, plans of campaign, advertising spots, and campaign and opposition literature, including pamphlets, photographs, and audio and visual material. The firm’s records were given to the archives in 1991, by Clem Whitaker, Jr.; a finding aid was made available in 2009.
    [Show full text]
  • Professional Public Relations and Political Power in Texas
    37.w,01 PROFESSIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS AND POLITICAL POWER IN TEXAS THESIS Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS By Michael W. Mansfield, B. S. Denton, Texas December, 1970 Mansfield, Michael W., Professional Public Relations and Political Power in Texas. Master of Arts (Political Science), December, 1970, 154 pp., 3 tables, bibliography, 170 titles. The problem with which this investigation is concerned is the determination of the role played by public relations professionals in Texas politics. This exploration of modern campaign technology relies on a survey of related literature, published and unpublished, and on personal interviews con- ducted in 1968-69 with candidates for public office, party workers, public relations experts, campaign managers and con- sultants, and media specialists involved in the Texas Demo- cratic gubernatorial primary campaigns of 1968. This thesis, although not a summary of all the recorded evidence on the use of professional public relations in political campaigns, endeavors to organize a substantial number of studies and to present insights particularly per- tinent to individual campaigns and campaigning techniques in Texas. Another equally important purpose is the attempt to describe and assess the impact of significant changes taking place in political campaigns in Texas and American elections. These changes portend, among other things, attempts to ma- nipulate an electorate; the demise of political parties as decisive instruments of campaigning; the development of a high-risk, high-cost, high-reward profit industry; and an increasing demand for a "new politics." The organization of the thesis moves from a general discussion of the use of public relations professionals in political campaigns to a specific case study of their use in the Texas Democratic gubernatorial primary of 1968.
    [Show full text]
  • Also in This Issue
    Public Interest Reporting on the PR/Public Affairs Industry Volume 11, Number 1 First Quarter 2004 A PROJECT OF THE PR WATCH CENTER FOR MEDIA & DEMOCRACY WWW.PRWATCH.ORG ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: How Now, Mad Cow? Where’s the by Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber Common Courage Press has just released the paperback version of (BSE-free) Beef? our 1997 book, Mad Cow USA—the book that predicted the emergence page 5 of the deadly human and animal dementia disease in the United States. When Mad Cow USA was first published in November 1997, it bore the subtitle “Could the Nightmare Happen Here?” We used a ques- Pumping Irony tion mark because we thought mad cow disease was possible but still Book excerpt from preventable in the United States, if the meat industry and government regulators adopted adequate safety measures. Banana Republicans: Our book received favorable reviews at the time from some inter- How the Right Wing is Turning esting publications, such as the Journal of the American Medical Asso- America into a One-Party State ciation, New Scientist, and Chemical & Engineering News. Otherwise, it page 6 went largely ignored and unheralded. It sold briskly but briefly during the infamous Texas trial of Oprah Winfrey for the alleged crime of “food disparagement,” and then slid into obscurity until December 2003, when the “nightmare” in our subtitle arrived and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman announced that mad cow disease has been found in the United States. As we've followed mad cow disease over the years, we've seen U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Public, Private, Or Neither? Strategic Choices by the American Medical Association Toward Health Insurance from the 1910S to 1940S
    ACADEMIA Humanities and Social Science (85) June 2007 Public, Private, or Neither? Strategic Choices by the American Medical Association Toward Health Insurance from the 1910s to 1940s Takakazu YAMAGISHI* 1. Introduction The American Medical Association (AMA) is often described as a defender of private provision of health insurance and an enemy to public health insurance. In fact, while the AMA has always opposed the governments’ total control over health insurance, it has not constantly opposed the governments’ interventions in health insurance. Furthermore, it has not supported all private provisions, either. The AMA has historically changed its stance on public and private health insurance. This paper shows how the AMA changed its strategy for health insurance from the 1910s to 1940s. I focus on this period both because health insurance coverage drastically increased from virtually none to more than the majority of the population and because the AMA drastically swung strategy. While the main purpose of this paper is to show how the AMA changed its strategy, this project is a step to answer why the AMA did so. From the 1910s to 1940s, there were roughly three phases in the AMA’s strategic transformation. The fi rst phase was in the 1910s when the idea of health insurance became known and the AMA supported the creation of public health insurance programs for workers while it opposed private health insurance. Second, in the 1920s and 1930s, the AMA decided to fight against any health insurance provisions, including public and private ones. Finally, the third stage was in the 1940s when the AMA gradually softened its opposition to private health insurance and fi nally began to aggressively promote it while it kept opposing public health * The research was supported by the Pache Research Subsidy I―A―2 for Academic Year 2007.
    [Show full text]