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Jay Byrne (born 1962) is an American writer, former senior government official and entrepreneur. Byrne is president and founder of v-Fluence, a public relations and reputation management firm. He is a frequent public speaker on the use of the Internet and has published several articles on new media and communications. He is a contributing author to Let Them Eat Precaution published by the American Enterprise Institute.
Career
editAs former political campaign operative Byrne is credited with executing a range of aggressive communications tactics, including the 1992 presidential campaign's Chicken George attack on George H. W. Bush.[1] Byrne was Deputy Assistant Administrator for Legislative and Public Affairs at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in the Clinton Administration from 1993 to 1997.[2] During this time he also served as a White House spokesperson for numerous presidential and administration foreign policy initiatives including the 1994 G7 Jobs Summit and the Greater Horn of Africa Famine Initiative.[3] Prior to joining USAID Byrne held communication positions on the Clinton-Gore presidential campaign, for Boston Mayor Raymond Flynn and for Congressman Joseph Patrick Kennedy II (D-MA).
After serving in the Clinton Administration, Byrne headed up corporate communications for Monsanto Company from 1997 to 2001.[4][5] As Monsanto's director of corporate communications, Byrne focused on building acceptance for the company's controversial genetically modified crops.[6] After leaving Monsanto, Byrne founded the reputation management firm v-Fluence through which he led efforts to counter opposition to products created by agrochemical companies.[6] According to a lawsuit against the agrochemical firm Syngenta, Byrne and v-Fluence helped to suppress information about links between Syngenta's herbicide paraquat and the development of Parkinson's disease. The lawsuit also claims that Byrne and v-Fluence helped to "neutralize" critics of the herbicide.[6] In 2014, v-Fluence launched a private social network called Bonus Eventus. According to investigative reports by Lighthouse Reports, The Guardian, Le Monde and others, the purpose of Bonus Eventus is to act as a platform for coordinating attacks against pesticide critics.[5][6][7][8]
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Byrne attended St. John's Preparatory School and graduated from Tufts University.
Books
edit- Byrne, Jay; et al. (2005). Let Them Eat Precaution: How Politics Is Undermining The Genetic Revolution in Agriculture. AEI Press. ISBN 0-8447-4200-7.
Other publications
edit- Byrne, Jay (2007). Blogs & Beyond: A guide to understanding and engaging consumer-generated media outlets. Association of Cable Communicators: ACC Briefs.
- Byrne, Jay (2007). New Search Trends Affect Online PR & Marketing Efforts. O'Dwyers: Public Relations Report.
- Byrne, Jay (2003). Attack of the Killer Labels. Public Relations Society Press: PR Reporter Magazine.
- Byrne, Jay (1999). When You're Serious About Culture Change. Ragan Press: Journal of Employee Communications.
- Byrne, Jay (1999). Empowering People, Improving Profits and Breaking Barriers. Phillips Publishing: PR News Journal.
- Byrne, Jay (1999). How Internal Communications Transforms a Culture. Ragan Press: Journal of Communications Management.
References
edit- ^ Why the Chickens Have Come Home To Roost This Campaign Season, by Reid Epstein, Wall Street Journal, September 17, 2014.
- ^ Foreign Aid's Impact Is Felt Close to Home, by Marc lacey, Los Angeles Times, October 23, 1995.
- ^ President Clinton's Greater Horn of Africa Initiative Archived March 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Debate between Monsanto and Jeremy Rifkin, Democracy Now Radio, February 22, 1999.
- ^ a b Burns, Andy; Morris, Nathan; Gibbs, Margot; DeBre, Elena; Gillam, Carey (27 September 2024). "High-profile Australian industry players part of invite-only social network where pro-chemical lobby shares 'wiki' dossiers of known critics". ABC News. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ a b c d Gillam, Carey; Gibbs, Margot; DeBre, Elena (27 September 2024). "Revealed: the US government-funded 'private social network' attacking pesticide critics". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
- ^ Foucart, Stéphane; Gibbs, Margot; DeBre, Elena (27 September 2024). "Investigation reveals mass profiling of 'opponents' of the agrochemical industry". Le Monde. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
- ^ "Poison PR". Lighthouse Reports. 27 September 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.