Tom Griscom
Encyclopedia
Thomas Cecil "Tom" Griscom (born ca.1949) was the executive editor and publisher of the Chattanooga Times Free Press
in Tennessee
, United States
from October 1999 to June 30, 2010.
. He was a Director of Communications
for President of the United States
Ronald Reagan
; a Press Secretary
for former U.S. Senator
Howard Baker
, Tennessee Republican
; an employee of Rupert Murdoch
's News Ltd; and a public relations
consultant
with Powell-Tate.
Before entering the political and lobbying
business, he was political editor at The Chattanooga News-Free Press. In 1978 Griscom joined the staff of Senator Baker and later became part of the Reagan administration. As Baker's senior staff person, he essentially ran day-to-day operations at the White House
while Baker was chief of staff
, and he maintained the strong links between the administration and the Republican Party
.
His most notable claim during this period was that, in 1987, as communications director at the White House, he approved and promoted (against diplomatic advice) Peter Robinson
's draft speech made at the Berlin Wall
, where President Reagan demanded that Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev
"tear down this wall
".
In 1990 he joined Reynolds Tobacco as head of its External Relations program, and over the next ten years he was responsible for the company's strategic operations against the growing anti-smoking forces. He also administered and organized the company's involvement in the many cooperative campaigns conducted with Philip Morris
and the Tobacco Institute
in lobbying the United States Congress
to block anti-smoking legislation. RJR also took a lead role at this time in conducting misinformation
campaigns for media and public consumption—especially in the promotion of the idea that health regulations were largely the product of junk science
.
Not long after joining RJR, Griscom became a key director on the management committee of the Tobacco Institute, responsible for secretly funding friendly think tanks and other organizations, and for organizing scientists, lawyers and other business allies to attack regulatory measures that blocked cigarette advertising, or those that introduced environmental and health regulations.
Steve Milloy, who ran the fake 'scientific grassroots' organisation known as the Advancement of Sound Science Coalition
(TASSC) and its website for Philip Morris on behalf of the tobacco industry
, was transferred in mid-1996 to the control of Reynolds under Griscom when TASSC and the junkscience.com links with Philip Morris were exposed.
Griscom subcontracted the administration of this "sound-science" operation to Jody Powell (ex-press secretary to President Jimmy Carter
) and Sheila Tate, (First Lady Nancy Reagan
's adviser) at Powell-Tate. RJR and Powell-Tate also handled the distribution of Milloy's book Science without Sense, supposedly published by the Cato Institute
(which was itself funded by tobacco interests). Similar books were commissioned and payment laundered
through 'think-tanks' for academic authors.
One other 'successful' program run at this time was to characterise relatively harmless substances as 'potentially cancerous' as part of the industry's 'sound-science' campaign. Griscom's PR staff attempted to both promote and ridicule the idea that coffee could cause cancer via Milloy's junk-science web pages and op-ed articles planted in newspapers. This created the straw-man idea that everything enjoyable could be classed as potentially dangerous (to counter fears about passive smoking) and no one could live without taking the normal risks associated with living. Smoking
, they implied, was no different from drinking coffee.
Griscom's communications and media division of RJR also hired state and federal lobbyists, and planted ghost-written
articles and letters to the editor in major newspapers and magazines. They also promoted seemingly normal tours by comedians, musicians, artists, etc. who were all carefully trained and contracted to promote the pro-smoking message.
http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/cgi/getdoc?tid=qnd13a00&fmt=pdf&ref=results
In 1997-1998, Griscom represented R.J. Reynolds on a long series of tobacco industry
negotiations with the State Attorneys-General, the Justices Department, the White House and its agencies. This led to a February 1998 Master Settlement Agreement
, in which the tobacco industry agreed to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation for Medicaid
costs associated with smoking to avoid charges under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
(RICO).
In December 1998, Fortune
magazine's "The Power of 25: the influence merchants" named Griscom, along with other ex-White House staff, ex-politicians and sons-of-politicians, as a key lobbyist in Washington.
He left R.J. Reynolds in the later half of 1999 and returned to Chattanooga "to help shape the overall identity" of the city's now single daily print newspaper, formed after WEHCO Media bought and merged the fiercely competitive afternoon Free Press and the morning The Chattanooga Times to create the Chattanooga Times Free Press
. On May 26, 2010, Griscom announced he would resign from the newspaper June 30, 2010.
Griscom is married to the former Marion Dobbins.
Chattanooga Times Free Press
The Chattanooga Times Free Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is distributed in the metro Chattanooga region of Tennessee and Northwest Georgia...
in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from October 1999 to June 30, 2010.
Life and career
Previously, Griscom was the executive vice president for external relations for the RJ Reynolds Tobacco companyR.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
The R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company , based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and founded by R. J. Reynolds in 1875, is the second-largest tobacco company in the U.S. . RJR is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Reynolds American Inc...
. He was a Director of Communications
White House Communications Director
The White House Director of Communications, also known as Assistant to the President for Communications, is part of the senior staff of the President of the United States, and is responsible for developing and promoting the agenda of the President and leading its media campaign...
for President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Ronald Reagan
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....
; a Press Secretary
Press secretary
A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage....
for former U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Howard Baker
Howard Baker
Howard Henry Baker, Jr. is a former Senate Majority Leader, Republican U.S. Senator from Tennessee, White House Chief of Staff, and a former United States Ambassador to Japan.Known in Washington, D.C...
, Tennessee Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
; an employee of Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
's News Ltd; and a 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....
consultant
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
with Powell-Tate.
Before entering the political and lobbying
Lobbying
Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
business, he was political editor at The Chattanooga News-Free Press. In 1978 Griscom joined the staff of Senator Baker and later became part of the Reagan administration. As Baker's senior staff person, he essentially ran day-to-day operations at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
while Baker was chief of staff
White House Chief of Staff
The White House Chief of Staff is the highest ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and a senior aide to the President.The current White House Chief of Staff is Bill Daley.-History:...
, and he maintained the strong links between the administration and the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
.
His most notable claim during this period was that, in 1987, as communications director at the White House, he approved and promoted (against diplomatic advice) Peter Robinson
Peter Robinson (speechwriter)
Peter Mark Robinson is an American author, research fellow, television host and former speechwriter for then-Vice President George H.W. Bush and President Ronald Reagan. He is currently the host of Uncommon Knowledge, an interview show by Stanford's Hoover Institution. He is also a research fellow...
's draft speech made at the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
, where President Reagan demanded that Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
"tear down this wall
Tear down this wall
"Tear down this wall!" was the challenge from United States President Ronald Reagan to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to destroy the Berlin Wall....
".
In 1990 he joined Reynolds Tobacco as head of its External Relations program, and over the next ten years he was responsible for the company's strategic operations against the growing anti-smoking forces. He also administered and organized the company's involvement in the many cooperative campaigns conducted with Philip Morris
Philip Morris USA
Philip Morris USA is the United States tobacco division of Altria Group, Inc. Philip Morris USA brands include Marlboro, Virginia Slims, Benson and Hedges, Merit, Parliament, Alpine, Basic, Cambridge, Bucks, Dave's, Chesterfield, Collector's Choice, Commander, English Ovals, Lark, L&M, Players and...
and the Tobacco Institute
Tobacco Institute
The Tobacco Institute, Inc. was a United States tobacco industry trade group, founded in 1958 by the American tobacco industry.It was dissolved in 1998 as part of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.-Founding:...
in lobbying the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
to block anti-smoking legislation. RJR also took a lead role at this time in conducting misinformation
Misinformation
Misinformation is false or inaccurate information that is spread unintentionally. It is distinguished from disinformation by motive in that misinformation is simply erroneous, while disinformation, in contrast, is intended to mislead....
campaigns for media and public consumption—especially in the promotion of the idea that health regulations were largely the product of junk science
Junk science
Junk science is a term used in U.S. political and legal disputes that brands an advocate's claims about scientific data, research, or analyses as spurious. The term may convey a pejorative connotation that the advocate is driven by political, ideological, financial, or other unscientific...
.
Not long after joining RJR, Griscom became a key director on the management committee of the Tobacco Institute, responsible for secretly funding friendly think tanks and other organizations, and for organizing scientists, lawyers and other business allies to attack regulatory measures that blocked cigarette advertising, or those that introduced environmental and health regulations.
Steve Milloy, who ran the fake 'scientific grassroots' organisation known as the Advancement of Sound Science Coalition
Advancement of Sound Science Center
The Advancement of Sound Science Center , formerly the Advancement of Sound Science Coalition, is an industry-funded lobby group which promotes the idea that environmental science on issues including smoking, pesticides and global warming is "junk science", which should be replaced by "sound science"...
(TASSC) and its website for Philip Morris on behalf of the tobacco industry
Tobacco industry
The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any warm, moist environment, which means it can be farmed on all...
, was transferred in mid-1996 to the control of Reynolds under Griscom when TASSC and the junkscience.com links with Philip Morris were exposed.
Griscom subcontracted the administration of this "sound-science" operation to Jody Powell (ex-press secretary to President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
) and Sheila Tate, (First Lady Nancy Reagan
Nancy Reagan
Nancy Davis Reagan is the widow of former United States President Ronald Reagan and was First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989....
's adviser) at Powell-Tate. RJR and Powell-Tate also handled the distribution of Milloy's book Science without Sense, supposedly published by the Cato Institute
Cato Institute
The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane, who remains president and CEO, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the conglomerate Koch Industries, Inc., the largest privately held...
(which was itself funded by tobacco interests). Similar books were commissioned and payment laundered
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
through 'think-tanks' for academic authors.
One other 'successful' program run at this time was to characterise relatively harmless substances as 'potentially cancerous' as part of the industry's 'sound-science' campaign. Griscom's PR staff attempted to both promote and ridicule the idea that coffee could cause cancer via Milloy's junk-science web pages and op-ed articles planted in newspapers. This created the straw-man idea that everything enjoyable could be classed as potentially dangerous (to counter fears about passive smoking) and no one could live without taking the normal risks associated with living. Smoking
Smoking
Smoking is a practice in which a substance, most commonly tobacco or cannabis, is burned and the smoke is tasted or inhaled. This is primarily practised as a route of administration for recreational drug use, as combustion releases the active substances in drugs such as nicotine and makes them...
, they implied, was no different from drinking coffee.
Griscom's communications and media division of RJR also hired state and federal lobbyists, and planted ghost-written
Ghostwriter
A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
articles and letters to the editor in major newspapers and magazines. They also promoted seemingly normal tours by comedians, musicians, artists, etc. who were all carefully trained and contracted to promote the pro-smoking message.
http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/cgi/getdoc?tid=qnd13a00&fmt=pdf&ref=results
In 1997-1998, Griscom represented R.J. Reynolds on a long series of tobacco industry
Tobacco industry
The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any warm, moist environment, which means it can be farmed on all...
negotiations with the State Attorneys-General, the Justices Department, the White House and its agencies. This led to a February 1998 Master Settlement Agreement
Master Settlement Agreement
The Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement was entered in November 1998, originally between the four largest US tobacco companies and the attorneys general of 46 states...
, in which the tobacco industry agreed to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation for Medicaid
Medicaid
Medicaid is the United States health program for certain people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states. People served by Medicaid are U.S. citizens or legal permanent...
costs associated with smoking to avoid charges under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization...
(RICO).
In December 1998, Fortune
Fortune (magazine)
Fortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc. Founded by Henry Luce in 1930, the publishing business, consisting of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, grew to become Time Warner. In turn, AOL grew as it acquired Time Warner in 2000 when Time Warner was the world's largest...
magazine's "The Power of 25: the influence merchants" named Griscom, along with other ex-White House staff, ex-politicians and sons-of-politicians, as a key lobbyist in Washington.
He left R.J. Reynolds in the later half of 1999 and returned to Chattanooga "to help shape the overall identity" of the city's now single daily print newspaper, formed after WEHCO Media bought and merged the fiercely competitive afternoon Free Press and the morning The Chattanooga Times to create the Chattanooga Times Free Press
Chattanooga Times Free Press
The Chattanooga Times Free Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is distributed in the metro Chattanooga region of Tennessee and Northwest Georgia...
. On May 26, 2010, Griscom announced he would resign from the newspaper June 30, 2010.
Griscom is married to the former Marion Dobbins.
External links
- Chattanooga Times Free Press
- http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/cgi/getdoc?tid=vsw27d00&fmt=pdf&ref=results
- http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/cgi/getdoc?tid=mhh43d00&fmt=pdf&ref=results
- http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/cgi/getdoc?tid=oyq70d00&fmt=pdf&ref=results
- http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/cgi/getdoc?tid=ryq70d00&fmt=pdf&ref=results
- http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/cgi/getdoc?tid=yev60d00&fmt=pdf&ref=results
- http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/cgi/getdoc?tid=ist03a00&fmt=pdf&ref=results