Sheldon Rampton
Encyclopedia
Sheldon Rampton was the American editor
of PR Watch
, and is the author
of several books that criticize the public relations
industry and what he sees as other forms of corporate and government propaganda
.
Rampton was born in Long Beach, California
. At the age of three, his family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada
, where his father worked as a musician. Raised as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), he spent two years in Japan
as a Latter-day Saint (LDS) missionary
from 1976 to 1978. Upon returning to the United States, however, he left the LDS Church, influenced in part by Mormon
feminist
Sonia Johnson
.
As an undergraduate student at Princeton University
, Rampton studied writing under Joyce Carol Oates
, E. L. Doctorow
and John McPhee
. Upon graduation in 1982, Rampton worked as a newspaper reporter before becoming a peace activist. During the 1980s and 1990s, he worked closely with the Wisconsin Coordinating Council on Nicaragua
(WCCN), which opposed the Reagan administration
's military interventions in Central America
and works to promote economic development, human rights, and mutual friendship between the people of the United States and Nicaragua
. At WCCN, Rampton helped establish the Nicaraguan Credit Alternatives Fund (NICA Fund) in 1992, which channels loans from US investors to support microcredit
and other "alternative credit" programs in Nicaragua.
In 1995, Rampton teamed with John Stauber
as co-editors of PR Watch
, a publication of the Center for Media and Democracy
(CMD). They were described as liberal, and their writings are regarded by some members of the public relations industry as one-sided and hostile. ActivistCash, a website hosted by Washington lobbyist Richard Berman
, has castigated them as "self-anointed watchdogs," "scare-mongers," "reckless" and "left-leaning." Rampton and Stauber have in turn argued that the ActivistCash critique contains a number of "demonstrably false" claims.
Rampton is also a contributor to the Wikipedia
open content
project, and was the person who coined the name "Wikimedia" which later became the name of the foundation that manages Wikipedia and its sister projects. Inspired by Wikipedia's collaborative writing model, Rampton founded Disinfopedia (now known as SourceWatch
), another CMD project, to complement his PR Watch work to expose what Rampton perceives as deceptive and misleading public relations
campaigns.
Rampton left the Center for Media and Democracy in October 2009.
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
of PR Watch
PR Watch
PR Watch is a web site, and until 2008 a quarterly newsletter, whose stated mission is to expose deceptive and misleading public relations campaigns. It particularly covers US environmental issues, but also covers topics ranging from labor rights to world affairs...
, and is the author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of several books that criticize the public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
industry and what he sees as other forms of corporate and government propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
.
Rampton was born in Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
. At the age of three, his family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, where his father worked as a musician. Raised as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), he spent two years in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as a Latter-day Saint (LDS) missionary
Mormon missionary
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...
from 1976 to 1978. Upon returning to the United States, however, he left the LDS Church, influenced in part by Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
Sonia Johnson
Sonia Johnson
Sonia Johnson is an American feminist activist and writer. She was an outspoken supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment and in the late 1970s was publicly critical of the position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , of which she was a member, against the proposed amendment...
.
As an undergraduate student at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Rampton studied writing under Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates is an American author. Oates published her first book in 1963 and has since published over fifty novels, as well as many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction...
, E. L. Doctorow
E. L. Doctorow
Edgar Lawrence Doctorow is an American author.- Biography :Edgar Lawrence Doctorow was born in the Bronx, New York City, the son of second-generation Americans of Russian Jewish descent...
and John McPhee
John McPhee
John Angus McPhee is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, widely considered one of the pioneers of creative nonfiction....
. Upon graduation in 1982, Rampton worked as a newspaper reporter before becoming a peace activist. During the 1980s and 1990s, he worked closely with the Wisconsin Coordinating Council on Nicaragua
Wisconsin Coordinating Council on Nicaragua
Working Capital for Community Needs is a nonprofit organization that organizes partnerships with individuals and organizations in Latin America and the U.S. to build sustainable economic opportunities that help people work their way out of poverty....
(WCCN), which opposed the Reagan administration
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
's military interventions in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and works to promote economic development, human rights, and mutual friendship between the people of the United States and Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
. At WCCN, Rampton helped establish the Nicaraguan Credit Alternatives Fund (NICA Fund) in 1992, which channels loans from US investors to support microcredit
Microcredit
Microcredit is the extension of very small loans to those in poverty designed to spur entrepreneurship. These individuals lack collateral, steady employment and a verifiable credit history and therefore cannot meet even the most minimal qualifications to gain access to traditional credit...
and other "alternative credit" programs in Nicaragua.
In 1995, Rampton teamed with John Stauber
John Stauber
John Stauber is an American writer and political activist who has co-authored five books about propaganda by governments, private interests and the PR industry...
as co-editors of PR Watch
PR Watch
PR Watch is a web site, and until 2008 a quarterly newsletter, whose stated mission is to expose deceptive and misleading public relations campaigns. It particularly covers US environmental issues, but also covers topics ranging from labor rights to world affairs...
, a publication of the Center for Media and Democracy
Center for Media and Democracy
The Center for Media and Democracy is a non-profit investigative reporting group. The CMD gives analysis and opinion on policies such as the economy, environment and national security...
(CMD). They were described as liberal, and their writings are regarded by some members of the public relations industry as one-sided and hostile. ActivistCash, a website hosted by Washington lobbyist Richard Berman
Richard Berman
Richard Berman is a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer, public relations executive, and lobbyist. Through his public affairs firm Berman and Company, Berman runs several industry-funded non-profit organizations such as the Center for Consumer Freedom and the Center for Union Facts...
, has castigated them as "self-anointed watchdogs," "scare-mongers," "reckless" and "left-leaning." Rampton and Stauber have in turn argued that the ActivistCash critique contains a number of "demonstrably false" claims.
Rampton is also a contributor to the Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
open content
Open content
Open content or OpenContent is a neologism coined by David Wiley in 1998 which describes a creative work that others can copy or modify. The term evokes open source, which is a related concept in software....
project, and was the person who coined the name "Wikimedia" which later became the name of the foundation that manages Wikipedia and its sister projects. Inspired by Wikipedia's collaborative writing model, Rampton founded Disinfopedia (now known as SourceWatch
SourceWatch
SourceWatch is an internet wiki site that is a collaborative project of the liberal Center for Media and Democracy...
), another CMD project, to complement his PR Watch work to expose what Rampton perceives as deceptive and misleading public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
campaigns.
Rampton left the Center for Media and Democracy in October 2009.
Writings by Rampton
- With Liz Chilsen:
- Friends In Deed: The Story of US-Nicaragua Sister Cities (1987)
- With John StauberJohn StauberJohn Stauber is an American writer and political activist who has co-authored five books about propaganda by governments, private interests and the PR industry...
:- Toxic Sludge Is Good For You: Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry (1995)
- Mad Cow U.S.A.: Could the Nightmare Happen Here? (1997)
- Trust Us, We're Experts: How Industry Manipulates Science and Gambles With Your Future (2001)
- Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq (2003)
- Banana RepublicansBanana RepublicansBanana Republicans: How the Right Wing Is Turning America Into a One-Party State is a book by Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber of the Center for Media and Democracy...
(2004) - The Best War Ever: Lies, Damned Lies, and the Mess in Iraq (2006)