Well, it seems to me that the term spin doctor is something the press has manufactured to

really deal with the problem the press has.

This is Herb Schmerz, the ultimate spin doctor we met in our last episode.

He's complaining about his favorite target, the press.

The press by and large would like to control the agenda and the terms of reference of all

debates and they'd like to decide what information they're going to deliver and what information

they're not going to deliver.

If you haven't listened to episode 4, go back and do that.

This is part two of our Herb Schmerz episode and you need to listen to part one.

I'm Amy Westervelt and this is Drilled, season 3, The Mad Men of Climate Nile.

It seems almost unimaginable now, but before Herb Schmerz, it wasn't really okay for corporate

executives to be assholes to journalists.

The prevailing idea was that if you wanted the media to cover you positively, you had

to be nice to journalists.

You had to build a friendly relationship with them.

This was one of Ivy Lee's big rules and it didn't change for almost 50 years because

it had mostly worked.

It had tamped down on muck-reaking and given companies away into the press.

But then came the 60s and 70s.

Vietnam and Watergate and suddenly everyone was suspicious of those in power again.

The perfect spin doctor for such a time was not a Gentile southerner who could smooth

talk a story like Ivy Lee.

...