The Death of Spin - Hardcover

Pitcher, George

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0470850485 ISBN 13: 9780470850480

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc, 2002

Synopsis

Charts the rise and fall of the spin culture of the last two decades...

Every decade has its own identity, key values and needs. The 1990s were the age of spin, when the materialism of the 1980s, the desire for instant communication and soundbite democracy came together in the spin culture. This spread throughout society from business and politics even to charities and the church. Somewhere in these polished communications the message was lost.

In this fascinating and highly readable work George Pitcher tells the story of the rise and fall of the spin culture, predicting its final death in the early years of the twenty first century. He examines methods of communication as a reflection of and within the context of the values of society and the process of democracy, before drawing on his considerable experience both as the giver and receiver of spin, to examine how we can move beyond the age of spin.
* A zeitgeist work that captures the quest for meaning in the current age and a desire to progress beyond the heady days of spin culture.
* Charts the history and rationale of spin throughout society from the early days of Margaret Thatcher to the death of spin in the hands of the masters of the spin culture.
* Interspersed with the author's own diary entries as a journalist covering major events of the past twenty years
* Discusses methods of communication, how they reflect the values of the age and the relationship between business and politics
* Discusses the way ahead: how politicians, businesses and institutions can communicate with the general population in the post spin age.
* Author offers a unique perspective with insights both as the giver and receiver of spin.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

Spin-culture, the Zeitgeist of the last two decades of the twentieth century, is finally dying in the early years of the twenty-first. Far from being just a political phenomenon, spin-culture has infected the way we do business, how our media work and our institutions, from the Church to the Royal Family. It is both a product of the society in which we live and a replacement for engagement with real issues - a triumph of presentation over content, that values how we are perceived rather than how we behave or what we believe.

George Pitcher, who has operated at senior levels on both the receiving and transmitting sides of spin, traces the roots of spin-culture in the Thatcher years, identifies where it all went wrong in the Nineties and predicts how our attitudes to communication in all walks of life have to change for the future.

Writing from the inside about serious commercial and political issues with a lightness of touch and with amusing and enlightening extracts from contemporary notes and diaries, George Pitcher has produced a thought-provoking work not just for anyone in the business of communications but for everyone who wants to communicate.

From the Back Cover:

'Revealing and highly entertaining. Mr Pitcher writes like a dream. This book needs no further spin.' William Keegan, Associate Editor, The Observer

`Trust George Pitcher to stop the top spinning' Paul Routledge, Chief Political Commentator, The Daily Mirror

'An acute synthesis of experience and insight. Pitcher combines a light hearted refusal to take spinners too seriously with a grounded insistence that communications must grapple with issues that really matter.' Tom Bentley, Director, Demos

About this edition

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0470850485
• ISBN 13: 9780470850480
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272