The PR firm known as APCO began life as a real-estate investment subsidiary for the legal partners in the law-firm Arnold & Porters. It was originally identified as A&P Co, which was converted into a specialist PR front to service Philip Morris, the major client of Arnold & Porters who serviced the cigarette company at the boardroom level. A&P then hired
Margery Kraus to run the new company, and it expanded rapidly through its tobacco-funded activities, successively becoming APCo, APCO, then APCO & Associates, and finally APCO Worldwide.
Philip Morris and APCO Tobacco document archives include a section on Philip Morris which is entitled:
Goals and objectives: The overall goals of the media plan are to: • raise the awareness level of the use of unsound science in public policy decision making among target audiences; • educate publics on the impact of this issue; and • lay the groundwork and provide an environment for a successful grassroots mobilization effort to assist (the Tobacco Company) Philip Morris with its issues nationally and in target states. The objectives of the media plan are to: • Establish TASSC as a credible source for reporters when questioning the validity of scientific studies. Encourage the public to question-from the grassroots up-the validity of scientific studies. • Mobilize support for TASSC through alliances with other organizations and third-party allies. • Develop materials, including news article reprints, that can be to TASSC audiences. Increase membership in and funding of TASSC. Publicize and refine TASSC messages on an ongoing basis." TASSC's links to the tobacco industry remained hidden for decades: APCO's strategy was for TASSC to appear to be an independent national grassroots coalition.
Coopting the media Op-eds and other merchandised articles which targeted the lay reader (although written by academics), were circulated to the media in a ready-to-scan/print form by the
pro-tobacco lobby. These were circulated in apparent response to current issues that had attracted public attention, but they often cited similar mass media articles on
smoking, which was the fundamental motivation behind the duplicity. Such material could be rapidly circulated to local media through affiliated associations, provided it appeared to be independent journalism. TASSC's role was to question the public acceptance of science in general, rather than risk being identified with the cigarette companies. The concept of merchandised-article proofs being circulated for free to small newspapers is adopted by many groups to successfully question peer-reviewed science and professional scientific associations and institutions in areas such as
environmental science on issues including
smoking,
pesticides, and
global warming. This program was operated most successfully by
Steven Milloy. ==History==