In memoriam
When Philip Berrigan died of cancer in December 2002 he was 79. His struggle against American war policies had receded into the dimness of recent history in a culture that is now even more disturbed and embarrassed by civil disobedience than it was in the 1960s and ’70s. During that time he had been a Catholic priest, a Josephite in a Baltimore parish that was poor and black. His radical pacifism began in World War II. He saw and deplored the discrimination practised against black US soldiers by their own country, and developed a passion for social justice. In Baltimore he founded Peace Mission, an anti-war group that in 1966 picketed the homes of Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, and Secretary of State, Dean Rusk. Berrigan conducted raids on draft boards, burning or spilling red liquid on draft records. In a protest in Catonsville, Maryland, he was joined by his brother, Daniel, a Jesuit priest and poet. Together they became much-feted and extensively profiled celebrities of the peace movement.
The obituary in the New York Times and Washington Post quoted Noam Chomsky’s verdict on the two priest/activists: ‘heroic individuals, willing to do what many realise should be done, regardless of personal cost’.
Need to know
‘Accountability’ and ‘professional standards’ are among the watchwords of the moment. So if you want to hear them analysed and discussed you might like to take in the annual Public Affairs in the Public Sector conference in Canberra in March.
The conference, with its panel of experts from the public and private sectors, will address some of the trickier issues that PR professionals have to face day by day. Among them: managing media relations and working with crises (sometimes one and the same thing!). The conference will also look at current ethical issues (yes, that’s right—ethics), especially the need to inject corporate social responsibility and accountability into the communications mix.
The speakers form a line of those who know: political speech-writer, Bob Ellis, heads the team of presenters and will discuss the role of ‘spin’ in today’s communications. Marika Harvey, PR Manager for the ACT Government’s Chief Minister’s Department, will discuss the very pertinent question of how to manage the relationship between ministerial offices and government departments.
In addition there are speakers from the Department of Defence, Melbourne City Council, Telstra, Westpac, Department of Main Roads Queensland and more.
For more information about the conference, go to www.iir.com.au/marketing or call (02) 9923