Jay Byrne - Revision history

Jonathan Matthews at 13:58, 30 May 2011

2011-05-30T13:58:08Z

Jonathan Matthews at 13:56, 30 May 2011

2011-05-30T13:56:15Z

Jonathan Matthews at 13:51, 30 May 2011

2011-05-30T13:51:24Z

Claire Robinson at 16:16, 22 May 2009

2009-05-22T16:16:07Z

Claire Robinson at 16:12, 22 May 2009

2009-05-22T16:12:37Z

Claire Robinson at 15:56, 22 May 2009

2009-05-22T15:56:46Z

Claire Robinson at 15:54, 22 May 2009

2009-05-22T15:54:05Z

Claire Robinson at 11:07, 20 May 2009

2009-05-20T11:07:40Z

Claire Robinson at 11:01, 20 May 2009

2009-05-20T11:01:40Z

Claire Robinson at 11:00, 20 May 2009

2009-05-20T11:00:39Z

@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 :The site's listserv ([[AgBioWorld]]) generates more than 2,000 subscribers. Byrne subscribes and offers advice and  information when relevant and ensures his company gets proper play.<ref>"[http://web.archive.org/web/20050209040620/http://www.joinwow.org/newsletter/16/in/ From the front: PR pros share their lessons to handle rogue Web sites and assaults on their brands]", WOW Newsletter, The Monthly Newsletter for Web Professionals from the World Organization of Webmasters (WOW), Vol. 3, No. 16, December 2000, archived in Wayback Machine web archive 9 February 2005, accessed February 2009.</ref>
-Byrne's exact role in the Prakash campaign's emergence can only be guessed at but there is evidence that the [[AgBioWorld]] site was designed by Monsanto's PR company [[Bivings Group]] and its original e-mail archive was covertly hosted on Bivings' main apollo server. The [[AgBioView]] list prominently circulated emails from [[Andura Smetacek]] and [[Mary Murphy]] attacking Monsanto's critics. Murphy's mails have been traced back to Bivings and Smetacek's to Monsanto, as is detailed in Andrew Rowell's book, [[Immoral Maize: Extract from Don't Worry, It's Safe to Eat by Andrew Rowell|''Don't Worry, It's Safe to Eat'']].
+Byrne's exact role in the Prakash campaign's emergence can only be guessed at but there is evidence that the [[AgBioWorld]] site was designed by Monsanto's PR company [[Bivings Group]] and its original e-mail archive was covertly hosted on Bivings' main apollo server. The [[AgBioView]] list prominently circulated emails from the fake citizens [[Andura Smetacek]] and [[Mary Murphy]] attacking Monsanto's critics. Murphy's mails have been traced back to Bivings and Smetacek's to Monsanto, as is detailed in Andrew Rowell's book, [[Immoral Maize: Extract from Don't Worry, It's Safe to Eat by Andrew Rowell|''Don't Worry, It's Safe to Eat'']].
 [[Image:Slide16.jpg|right|298px|thumb]]
 At the end of 2001 Byrne ran a PR industry workshop in Chicago which was billed by its organisers, Ragan Communications, as showing how Monsanto 'brilliantly outwits its opponents at their own game of guerilla PR.' Byrne's presentation was accompanied by a PowerPoint display.<ref>Jay Byrne, "[http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.v-fluence.com/powerpoint/Byrne-Ragan.ppt Protecting your assets: An inside look at the perils and power of the Internet]", PowerPoint presentation, Ragan Communications, 2001, version placed in web archive 27 January 2006, accessed 21 May 2009</ref> One of Byrne's slides, headed, "Take action/Take control", illustrated Monsanto's work on a particular search engine. Listed are the top search results for "GM food" before and after Monsanto took action. All the "before" sites are critical of GM; the "after" sites were mostly created by Bivings and include the [[Center For Food and Agricultural Research]] - the fake agricultural institute promoted by Smetacek.

@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 :The site's listserv ([[AgBioWorld]]) generates more than 2,000 subscribers. Byrne subscribes and offers advice and  information when relevant and ensures his company gets proper play.<ref>"[http://web.archive.org/web/20050209040620/http://www.joinwow.org/newsletter/16/in/ From the front: PR pros share their lessons to handle rogue Web sites and assaults on their brands]", WOW Newsletter, The Monthly Newsletter for Web Professionals from the World Organization of Webmasters (WOW), Vol. 3, No. 16, December 2000, archived in Wayback Machine web archive 9 February 2005, accessed February 2009.</ref>
-Byrne's exact role in the Prakash campaign's emergence can only be guessed at but there is evidence that the [[AgBioWorld]] site was designed by Monsanto's PR company [[Bivings Group]] and its original e-mail archive was covertly hosted on Bivings' main apollo server. The [[AgBioView]] list prominently circulated emails from [[Andura Smetacek]] and [[Mary Murphy]] attacking Monsanto's critics. Murphy's mails have been Bivings and Smetacek's to Monsanto, as is detailed in Andrew Rowell's book, [[Immoral Maize: Extract from Don't Worry, It's Safe to Eat by Andrew Rowell|''Don't Worry, It's Safe to Eat'']].
+Byrne's exact role in the Prakash campaign's emergence can only be guessed at but there is evidence that the [[AgBioWorld]] site was designed by Monsanto's PR company [[Bivings Group]] and its original e-mail archive was covertly hosted on Bivings' main apollo server. The [[AgBioView]] list prominently circulated emails from [[Andura Smetacek]] and [[Mary Murphy]] attacking Monsanto's critics. Murphy's mails have been traced back to Bivings and Smetacek's to Monsanto, as is detailed in Andrew Rowell's book, [[Immoral Maize: Extract from Don't Worry, It's Safe to Eat by Andrew Rowell|''Don't Worry, It's Safe to Eat'']].
 [[Image:Slide16.jpg|right|298px|thumb]]
 At the end of 2001 Byrne ran a PR industry workshop in Chicago which was billed by its organisers, Ragan Communications, as showing how Monsanto 'brilliantly outwits its opponents at their own game of guerilla PR.' Byrne's presentation was accompanied by a PowerPoint display.<ref>Jay Byrne, "[http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.v-fluence.com/powerpoint/Byrne-Ragan.ppt Protecting your assets: An inside look at the perils and power of the Internet]", PowerPoint presentation, Ragan Communications, 2001, version placed in web archive 27 January 2006, accessed 21 May 2009</ref> One of Byrne's slides, headed, "Take action/Take control", illustrated Monsanto's work on a particular search engine. Listed are the top search results for "GM food" before and after Monsanto took action. All the "before" sites are critical of GM; the "after" sites were mostly created by Bivings and include the [[Center For Food and Agricultural Research]] - the fake agricultural institute promoted by Smetacek.

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:51, 30 May 2011
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−	'''Jay Byrne''' is [[Monsanto]]'s former Director of Public Affairs and former Internet Outreach Programs Director. Prior to Monsanto, Byrne worked for [[USAID]]. Since leaving Monsanto, Byrne has become president of Internet PR company [[V-Fluence]]<ref>V-fluence website, [http://www.v-fluence.com/about/team.html About Us], accessed 20 May 2009</ref>, whose vice-president, [[Richard Levine]], was ~~formerly~~ part of the Monsanto team for Monsanto's Internet PR firm [[Bivings Group]]. [[V-Fluence]] is based, like Monsanto, in St. Louis. Monsanto is one of its clients.<ref>"[http://www.odwyerpr.com/pr_firms_database/prfirm_detail.htm?prid=43ed39a894b5d47c2ae2ea2de2a24909 V-fluence Interactive Public Relations, Inc.]", O'Dwyer's Database of PR Firms, accessed 20 May 2009</ref>	+	'''Jay Byrne''' is [[Monsanto]]'s former Director of Public Affairs and former Internet Outreach Programs Director. Prior to Monsanto, Byrne worked for [[USAID]]. Since leaving Monsanto, Byrne has become president of Internet PR company [[V-Fluence]]<ref>V-fluence website, [http://www.v-fluence.com/about/team.html About Us], accessed 20 May 2009</ref>, whose former vice-president, [[Richard Levine]], was previously part of the Monsanto team for Monsanto's Internet PR firm [[Bivings Group]]. [[V-Fluence]] is based, like Monsanto, in St. Louis. Monsanto is one of its clients.<ref>"[http://www.odwyerpr.com/pr_firms_database/prfirm_detail.htm?prid=43ed39a894b5d47c2ae2ea2de2a24909 V-fluence Interactive Public Relations, Inc.]", O'Dwyer's Database of PR Firms, accessed 20 May 2009</ref>

	==Covert Monsanto-Bivings campaign==		==Covert Monsanto-Bivings campaign==

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:16, 22 May 2009
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	'''Jay Byrne''' is [[Monsanto]]'s former Director of Public Affairs and former Internet Outreach Programs Director. Prior to Monsanto, Byrne worked for [[USAID]]. Since leaving Monsanto, Byrne has become president of Internet PR company [[V-Fluence]]<ref>V-fluence website, [http://www.v-fluence.com/about/team.html About Us], accessed 20 May 2009</ref>, whose vice-president, [[Richard Levine]], was formerly part of the Monsanto team for Monsanto's Internet PR firm [[Bivings Group]]. [[V-Fluence]] is based, like Monsanto, in St. Louis. Monsanto is one of its clients.<ref>"[http://www.odwyerpr.com/pr_firms_database/prfirm_detail.htm?prid=43ed39a894b5d47c2ae2ea2de2a24909 V-fluence Interactive Public Relations, Inc.]", O'Dwyer's Database of PR Firms, accessed 20 May 2009</ref>		'''Jay Byrne''' is [[Monsanto]]'s former Director of Public Affairs and former Internet Outreach Programs Director. Prior to Monsanto, Byrne worked for [[USAID]]. Since leaving Monsanto, Byrne has become president of Internet PR company [[V-Fluence]]<ref>V-fluence website, [http://www.v-fluence.com/about/team.html About Us], accessed 20 May 2009</ref>, whose vice-president, [[Richard Levine]], was formerly part of the Monsanto team for Monsanto's Internet PR firm [[Bivings Group]]. [[V-Fluence]] is based, like Monsanto, in St. Louis. Monsanto is one of its clients.<ref>"[http://www.odwyerpr.com/pr_firms_database/prfirm_detail.htm?prid=43ed39a894b5d47c2ae2ea2de2a24909 V-fluence Interactive Public Relations, Inc.]", O'Dwyer's Database of PR Firms, accessed 20 May 2009</ref>

		+	==Covert Monsanto-Bivings campaign==
	Byrne is believed to have been the chief architect of the covert Monsanto-Bivings PR campaign which involved attacks on the company's critics via front e-mails, such as those of [[Andura Smetacek]] and [[Mary Murphy]], and material posted on the website of a fake agricultural institute, the [[Center For Food and Agricultural Research]] (CFFAR). CFFAR material, attacking Monsanto's critics, was also faxed to journalists and planted at a conference.		Byrne is believed to have been the chief architect of the covert Monsanto-Bivings PR campaign which involved attacks on the company's critics via front e-mails, such as those of [[Andura Smetacek]] and [[Mary Murphy]], and material posted on the website of a fake agricultural institute, the [[Center For Food and Agricultural Research]] (CFFAR). CFFAR material, attacking Monsanto's critics, was also faxed to journalists and planted at a conference.

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 Byrne's exact role in the Prakash campaign's emergence can only be guessed at but there is evidence that the [[AgBioWorld]] site was designed by Monsanto's PR company [[Bivings Group]] and its original e-mail archive was covertly hosted on Bivings' main apollo server. The [[AgBioView]] list prominently circulated emails from [[Andura Smetacek]] and [[Mary Murphy]] attacking Monsanto's critics. Murphy's mails have been Bivings and Smetacek's to Monsanto, as is detailed in Andrew Rowell's book, [[Immoral Maize: Extract from Don't Worry, It's Safe to Eat by Andrew Rowell|''Don't Worry, It's Safe to Eat'']].
 [[Image:Slide16.jpg|right|298px|thumb]]
-At the end of 2001 Byrne ran a PR industry workshop in Chicago which was billed by its organisers, Ragan Communications, as showing how Monsanto 'brilliantly outwits its opponents at their own game of guerilla PR.' Byrne's presentation was accompanied by a [http://www.v-fluence.com/powerpoint/Byrne-Ragan.ppt PowerPoint display]. One of Byrne's slides, headed, 'Take action/Take control,' illustrated Monsanto's work on a particular search engine. Listed are the top search results for 'GM food' before and after Monsanto took action. All the 'before' sites are critical of GM; the 'after' sites were mostly created by Bivings and include the [[Center For Food and Agricultural Research]] - the fake agricultural institute promoted by Smetacek.
+At the end of 2001 Byrne ran a PR industry workshop in Chicago which was billed by its organisers, Ragan Communications, as showing how Monsanto 'brilliantly outwits its opponents at their own game of guerilla PR.' Byrne's presentation was accompanied by a PowerPoint display.<ref>Jay Byrne, "[http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.v-fluence.com/powerpoint/Byrne-Ragan.ppt Protecting your assets: An inside look at the perils and power of the Internet]", PowerPoint presentation, Ragan Communications, 2001, version placed in web archive 27 January 2006, accessed 21 May 2009</ref> One of Byrne's slides, headed, "Take action/Take control", illustrated Monsanto's work on a particular search engine. Listed are the top search results for "GM food" before and after Monsanto took action. All the "before" sites are critical of GM; the "after" sites were mostly created by Bivings and include the [[Center For Food and Agricultural Research]] - the fake agricultural institute promoted by Smetacek.
 [[Image:Slide19-1.jpg|right|298px|thumb]]
-Another of Byrne's slides is headed 'Listservs: Directed & opt-in.'  It contains a single image: a thread of messages on the AgBioView list. The implication would seem to be that Monsanto uses this list for strategic PR purposes.
+Another of Byrne's slides is headed "Listservs: Directed & opt-in". It contains a single image: a thread of messages on the AgBioView list. The implication would seem to be that Monsanto uses this list for strategic PR purposes.
 [[Image:Slide33.jpg|right|298px|thumb]]
 The content of Byrne's  concluding slide is a quote: "Think of the Internet as a weapon on the table. '''Either you pick it up or your competitor does - but somebody is going to get killed'''."

@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 At the end of 2001 Byrne ran a PR industry workshop in Chicago which was billed by its organisers, Ragan Communications, as showing how Monsanto 'brilliantly outwits its opponents at their own game of guerilla PR.' Byrne's presentation was accompanied by a [http://www.v-fluence.com/powerpoint/Byrne-Ragan.ppt PowerPoint display]. One of Byrne's slides, headed, 'Take action/Take control,' illustrated Monsanto's work on a particular search engine. Listed are the top search results for 'GM food' before and after Monsanto took action. All the 'before' sites are critical of GM; the 'after' sites were mostly created by Bivings and include the [[Center For Food and Agricultural Research]] - the fake agricultural institute promoted by Smetacek.
-[[Image:Slide16.jpg]]
+[[Image:Slide16.jpg|right|298px|thumb]]
 Another of Byrne's slides is headed 'Listservs: Directed & opt-in.'  It contains a single image: a thread of messages on the AgBioView list. The implication would seem to be that Monsanto uses this list for strategic PR purposes.
-[[Image:Slide19.jpg]]
+[[Image:Slide19.jpg|right|298px|thumb]]
 The content of Byrne's  concluding slide is a quote: "Think of the Internet as a weapon on the table. '''Either you pick it up or your competitor does - but somebody is going to get killed'''."
-[[Image:Slide33.jpg]]
+[[Image:Slide33.jpg|right|298px|thumb]]
 [[Graydon Forrer]] and [[Philip Angell]] were colleagues of Byrne's at Monsanto.