<H4>Target-marketed sliced and diced, part 2</H4>

As PBS explained on Frontline (see post below), marketers and advertisers are slicing our society into ever-narrower segments.

And it is not just marketers, it is also political parties and candidates.

One of Frontline’s interview segments was with Republican pollster – and more – Frank Luntz.

Luntz has to be considered a pioneer in “phrase packaging” in politics, through such sleight of hand as relabeling the “estate tax” as the “death tax” and “global warming” as “climate change.”

But, Luntz could not have succeeded at this if the media didn’t let him, through laziness if nothing else, and the Democratic Party didn’t do the same thing.

If you can find it being rebroadcast, or take the time to go to the Frontline website, it’s well worth a look. The segment on data-mining company Acxiom is also very good.