After reading the press release and article on Huffpo just now, I couldn't help but be a little disturbed about this new venture that Dan Abrams has launched. Did you ever just get that "uuugh" feeling...
So let me get this straight. Abrams gets cancelled, leaves MSNBC, pulls together a group of media cronies and launches a new "strategy firm" aimed at helping corporate titans and the like handle reporting to/from the media.
After just suffering through an election cycle that had enough talking spin heads offering up the latest dish for their candidate, as well as every behind the scenes corporate yahoo pushing stories to the media regarding the bailouts, we now are crossing the threshold of a very organized, professional "news" based spin firm. To quote from Abrams new website their mantra is:
.Abrams Research is a media strategy firm that connects business leaders with a global community of media professionals. Our proprietary data networks and global contacts allow us to target strategically selected media insiders to offer insights, data and personnel never before available to businesses for image enhancement, branding, investigative reporting and the execution of the best media plan.
Even Rachel Sklar from Huffpo is on board along with a plethora of good-willed media tycoons who sit on the newly created board of directors, including Bob Wright, Kevin Reilly, Bryant Gumbel, Bonnie Fuller and Judith Dobrzynski. To kick start the launch of his new entrepreneurial endeavor, he has secured his first client, none other than, Ronald Perelman.
Now, before folks start commenting that this is just another high profile PR agency in effect, handling big names in a variety of businesses, I would like to argue that for a very long time, the media has crossed or almost crossed that dangerous line between hard news and tabloid inuendo. With a team of professional writers, reporters who are offering their services (including professional bloggers, I might add - are DKos regulars signing up?)to help control messaging on all platforms, including DKos, who is going to control the "controllers". He states his concern and poses his argument from today's .Huffington Post article:
Working on media strategies with businesses could raise ethical red flags for journalists who were required to be detached and objective about the subjects they covered. Mr. Abrams said the company would "bend over backwards to make sure that there are no conflicts or ethical issues that arise."
He said he planned to broaden the network of experts beyond traditional journalists, employing media analysts, bloggers and others who might not operate under such stringent rules. He said he was especially interested in connecting bloggers with businesses that had trouble dealing with online media.
I conclude that diarists here and elsewhere have called the media, politicians, business leaders and the like to task on many important issues of our day. This intriguing move by Abrams and his new assembled team (who they may be is to be seen) is one that we may find ourselves confronting from time to time. At least that's my two cents worth.