Wednesday 14 June 2017

Is A Pink Herring Fake News?

Pink Herring ©  Simon Royer - Natural History in Art

I've heard of a red herring, but what the heck is a pink herring?

After setting the title of my book, The Pink Herring, I did some research on the use of the term. The results were sparse, but very surprising.


Gee man,  J. Edgar Hoover?


Charles E. Morris III, wrote an article entitled Pink Herring & The Fourth Persona: J. Edgar Hoover's Sex Crime Panic in the Quarterly Journal of Speech, in May 2002. He writes of a time following the Great Depression and just before the onset of the Cold War - a period of increasing secrecy and fear of the unknown. Morris contends that Hoover as head of the FBI, used the anxiety of this time to hide assumptions about his own sexuality by demonising homosexuals, a tactic Morris called a pink herring. Morris proposes that Hoover encouraged propaganda (today’s fake news) causing a nationwide panic by conflating a supposed surge in sex crimes to an increase in reported homosexual activity - a diversionary tactic to silence those that might uncover his own sexuality.


Surely not the Catholic Church?

Also in 2002, a student named Josue Cisneros wrote a paper entitled Shame and Scandal in the Family: Pink Herring, Moral Panic, and the Sexual Abuse Crisis in the Catholic Church. The paper was written on the back of the Boston Archdiocese sexual abuse scandal famously uncovered by the Boston Globe newspaper. Cisneros takes a similar view to that proposed by Morris in that the news media at the time focused their reporting on issues around stereotypes of homosexuality rather than focusing on the sexual abuse allegations, providing a pink herring diversion for the Archiocese in the early stages of the investigation.



A financial lure?

In financial law, a pink herring is the name for a preliminary prospectus put together for a securities offering. Hmmm, if like me this leaves you none the wiser, this is what I've gleaned from a bit of research. A securities offering is something that a business does to raise money to fund an expansion project. The business offers an equity share to investors in the form of stocks, shares or bonds. A pink herring is used to advertise the offering in the early stages, to whip up interest. Those that want to take things further - or took the bait - are then given the full prospectus which includes greater detail about pricing and the number of securities on offer - this is known as a red herring. So, in a legal context, a pink herring is a financial lure used to entice potential punters into an investment deal.



Not actually a species?

The cover image for this post, Pink Herring, comes courtesy of Simon Royer an artist who specialises in capturing natural history through his paintings in a interesting and compelling way. Simon told me that the herring is probably the most overlooked fish in the world. That simple fish that feeds millions, humans and other ocean creatures alike, deserves greater recognition in the circle of life. The fact that it is so common and abundant should raise it high above its bland categorisation as a mass-produced commodity. Simon summed up the magnificence of the species when he described the few wonderful moments when they are just out of the water, their skin reflecting all the dabbled colours under the rainbow, like jewels under the sun. That’s just the kind of imagery I like and I think he’s captured those sentiments with the fabulous vibrancy of the herring in this picture. To me though, the humble wordsmith, I see the imagery that suits my story: a lone herring separated from the masses, hiding, almost backing out of the surreal frame - the elusive Pink Herring.


A play on a literary ploy?

I have been asked many times how I chose the name for my book. At the start, instead of a prologue, I use a quote from Shaun Young’s university thesis. It explains the origin of the pink herring (which of course is a figment of my imagination) used in the context of his dissertation on the psychology of altered states. The quote references a little-known curing process to produce subtly flavoured smoked herring, more expensive but far superior to the common kipper or red herring.  Young states that if the pink herring is used as a hunting lure, it is much harder to detect. Without giving away the story, I use this technique of ‘seeding’ pink herring clues in many strands of the plot and sub-plots, which only come to fruition at the end. From feedback I’ve had, some of the pink herrings were missed by readers - a constructive use of fake news which pleases me immensely. 


Do you think you could find them? Try The Pink Herring here.


Please feel free to leave a comment or share this post - go on, hit the button of your choice...


2 comments:

  1. Spencer Garner23 June 2017 at 09:07

    Tom,
    Fascinating insight into the name, The Pink Herring. I too love the picture by Simon Royer but I still feel you are holding something back! Or is that the point?
    Great post. Please do more.

    ReplyDelete

Tell me what you think...

Ask the author...

... anything - send him a direct email - he's very responsive.

The Nor'easter is on sale

    eBook from AmazoniBooksKobo or any other digital platform. Paperback from Amazon.

The Pink Herring is on sale

    Buy it as a paperback at Amazon or on any digital platform at Books2Read

Popular Posts: