Must See FRONTLINE replay tonight! "The Persuaders"

[Up2Late]

<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/>

This is a repeat from 2004, but if you missed it the first time, you need to see this one, especially the 1/2 half of the show where we meet PR menace Frank Luntz.

You can read the show description <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/etc/synopsis.html>

and even the full transcript at the links above and below:

<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/etc/script.html>

You can even watch it on-line from the FRONTLINE website of your station doesn't show it or you miss it.

"Americans are swimming in a sea of messages.

Each year, legions of ad people, copywriters, market researchers, pollsters, consultants, and even linguists—most of whom work for one of six giant companies—spend billions of dollars and millions of man-hours trying to determine how to persuade consumers what to buy, whom to trust, and what to think. Increasingly, these techniques are migrating to the high-stakes arena of politics, shaping policy and influencing how Americans choose their leaders...."

<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/>

[killbotfactory]

1. Sounds interesting...

Related documentaries that you should check out are "The Century of the Self" by Adam Curtis (same guy who did Power of Nightmares), and of course, Manufacturing Consent.

[Up2Late]

2. O.K. then, here's another FRONTLINE from 2001 you might like, it' on-line

...also

The Merchants of Cool
(60 minutes) FRONTLINE journeys into the world of the marketers of popular culture to teenagers. They spend their days sifting through reams of market research data. ... (more)

<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/>

[No Exit]

3. Glad this is on TV. Vance Packard wrote excellent books about this.

And I remember reading "The Status Seekers".

I, who currently have a TV blaring in my house, am not one to preach... but, really, if we turned off the TV for a year, we'd be so much better off. It's their most effective way of getting at us. I wish, how I wish, that I could turn off ALL the TV's in the country for a year. Oh, and all radio would be devoted to music only. It's harder to use music for such purposes.

All the other methods of reaching us add up to little, compared to TV and (distant second) radio.

[Nutmegger]

4. I seen this in a stream

It's well done! :thumbsup:

[radio4progressives]

5. Frank Luntz is now going into doing Jury Research according to Editors

This is disturbing.

So, not only have marketers learned how to manipulate us as consumers, they've also had a direct hand in manipulating and engineering our social and political thinking vis a vis engineering language in politics, but now Luntz will be breaking new ground in manipulating our justice system vis a vis selecting the right jury for the desired result, say like in big profile political cases, like maybe that facing Scooter Libby, and possibly Karl Rove et al.

sorry for my cynisism.. but this is really freaking out of it.



http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/talk/

Dear FRONTLINE,

These same "methods of persuasion" are also tranforming our legal system. No case of any real importance makes it to court without one side, or both, holding the same types of research your show explored.

An industry and research literature are currently emerging around this field - called "Jury Research" - look it up.

You might find it an interesting follow-up topic.

Bruce Beal

FRONTLINE's editors respond:

Political consultant Frank Luntz speaks to this very point - he says this is the area he is headed toward. See his interview with FRONTLINE that is elsewhere on this site.

[Up2Late]

8. Wow, that does Suck! It took me a minute to figure out what you...

...were talking about, Frank Luntz is the spawn of the Devil. He's the guy who came up with the "Death Tax" thing.

Just to be clear, this was a replay from November 9, 2004. It really made an impression on me when I first saw it One Week after * stole his second election.

That would be a good follow up program though.

[incapsulated]

6. This was an excellent show

I highly recommend it.

It made me slightly ill, especially the second half which delved into the marketing of politics. I remember thinking, the repukes do this so well, we could too, but what does it mean in the end? Political ideas carefully framed and marketed to niche voting blocks, one issue voters, to get a win. Tell them what they want to hear, regardless of what any of it means. Gain the world and lose your soul. It was sobering.

[Bozita]

7. Few Canadians will see this broadcast - Detroit PBS is on their bi-monthly

... week-long fundraising campaign. That station, WTVS, is the PBS station that most Canadian cable systems link.

It didn't used to be like this.

[Up2Late]

9. It's available at the FRONTLINE web site too

Here's the link: <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/view/>

<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/>

And if you have time, the 2001 Frontline "The Merchants of Cool" is amazing too, here's the description and links:

FRONTLINE journeys into the world of the marketers of popular culture to teenagers. They spend their days sifting through reams of market research data. They conduct endless surveys and focus groups. They comb the streets, the schools, and the malls, hot on the trail of the "next big thing" that will snare the attention of their prey - a market segment worth an estimated $300 billion a year. They are the merchants of cool: the creators and sellers of popular culture, who have made teens the hottest consumer demographic in America. But are these marketers merely reflecting a growing coarseness in teen culture, or have they helped create it? Are they simply reflecting teen desires or have they begun to manufacture those desires in a bid to secure this lucrative market? And have they gone too far in their attempts to reach the hearts - and wallets - of America's youth?

<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/view/>

<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/>

I understand the fund drive thing too, I'm one of the lucky few who have two local PBS stations on my Cable system, so tonight, while GPB (Georgia Public Broadcasting) was having their fund drive, I switched to PBA (Public Broadcasting Atlanta)