The perils of PR pitbulling.(Brief article)

Byline: Mark Chillingworth

The perils of PR pitbulling

Put aside your opinions on open access (OA) as a publishing model, and consider for a minute the sad fact that the industry has reached the point where it feels it is necessary to hire the PR "pitbulls". Men like Eric Dezenhall, the PR agent at the centre of the debate, contribute nothing to debates and lower the perceived value of an industry -- and no-one wins if that happens.

Dezenhall, as the Nature and IWR stories reveal, can cook up a good soundbite, but nothing he says will benefit the OA debate or the companies paying his hefty fees. In the long term, spin doctors simply lower the quality of the debate, and in doing so decrease interest in it. Take Jeremy Clarkson -- a man who has aligned the image of the motor industry with testosterone-overwhelmed social misfits in bad clothes. Or Alistair Campbell's sturdy efforts on behalf of New Labour -- whatever Blair has achieved, he will always be remembered (alongside Iraq) for an obsession with media messaging.

No business can progress without meaningful ...