[Coral-List] Guana Cay - Conservation v Public Relations

steve tooze stevetooze1 at hotmail.com
Wed Mar 15 08:14:12 EST 2006


Dear Mike

I'm a journalist myself and I think, if you're not already doing so, you 
need to start playing publicity hardball with these developers. I absolutely 
accept what Todd was saying about these guys having lots of money. But 
people power is always sexier, more sympathetic and makes better headlines 
than big business trying to use bullying tactics to get its way.

Plus, as I'm sure you realise, the only reason that these guys are attacking 
your reputation and credibility in the local press (and pouring all their 
cash into an expensive PR campaign) is because they are scared of you and 
think you've got a good chance of thwarting their ugly scheme. So whatever 
you're doing now, you're doing right. Keep doing it.

In addition, (sorry Erik if you're about to re-read everything I just put 
into an email to you!), if you've got a lawyer in yr midst, get him to fire 
off an angry letter to the papers that lazily regurgitated the 'liar' quote 
from some corporate press release. Demand an apology and retraction and a 
right of reply. Then get every campaigner willing to put pen to paper (or 
cursor to email) to send a letter of complaint. Editors and publisher hate 
bags of mail from angry readers and you can bet they will think twice before 
making that mistake again on this issue.

As an added extra, their journalists/news desks will probably be ordered to 
look out for a story that supports yr viewpoint in order to quell the 
furious mob. Which you should duly supply - a good one would be to find 
someone, preferably a normal working guy like the people on Guana Cay, who 
has had their environment/livelihood/property values blighted by a previous 
Discovery development elsewhere. Someone sympathetic saying 'For God's sake 
don't let these people do to you what they've done to me!'

That should scare the c**p (not sure if that's a word you can use on the 
List) out of the very local politicians that these developers are relying on 
to push this proposal through - and drum up extra outrage and anti-golf 
course feelings in the Bahamas.

Apologies if you're already do all the above (hope it's working if you 
are!). Just wanted you to know from a media person's perspective, that it's 
not always the cash that buys the headlines. Significant numbers of 
passionate people protesting (ie your readers) always make better copy than 
big business bleating about its bottom line.

Good luck

Steve Tooze

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