Deep lobbying is a process of shaping the intellectual atmosphere around a politicized topic based on a political or economic agenda. Most deep lobbying is done by

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

s, who create

talking point A talking point is a pre-established message or formula used in the field of political communication, sales and commercial or advertising communication. The message is coordinated ''a priori'' to remain more or less invariable regardless of which ...

s and sponsor fellowships for like-minded academics (so-called " wingnut welfare"). The concept was coined by American journalist and author

William Greider William Harold Greider (August 6, 1936 – December 25, 2019) was an American journalist and author who wrote primarily about economics. Early life and education Greider was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on August 6, 1936, to Harold William Greider ...

in his book ''Who Will Tell the People? The Betrayal of American Democracy'' (1992): The idea was further expanded in 2003 by journalist and blogger

Steven Clemons Steven Craig Clemons (born 1962) is an American journalist and blogger. In March 2022, he became Founding Editor at Large of '' Semafor'', Justin Smith and Ben Smith’s new media startup, to create their global events vertical. He spent three ye ...

in a paper for the Japan Policy Research InstituteSteven C. Clemons
The Corruption of Think Tanks
JPRI Critique, Vol. X, No. 2 (February 2003) Says Clemons, "Think tanks are in the business of policy analysis, but they also market that analysis and attempt to sell their views to the public and to the government. For example, senior fellows at

Brookings Brookings may refer to: Organizations * Brookings Institution, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy organization based in Washington, D.C. Places * Brookings, Oregon, USA * Brookings, South Dakota, USA * Brookings County, South Dakota, USA ...

maintain a reputation for being more academic than most policy wonks in Washington and broadcast their work through books more frequently than other researchers. By contrast, fellows at

the Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (or simply Heritage) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1973, it took a leading role in the conservative movement in the 1980s during the Presi ...

operate more frequently through faxed policy briefs or op-eds in ''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American Conservatism, conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on Politics of the United States, national politics. Its broadsheet daily edit ...

'' and other newspapers and magazines. In the last decade, the same phenomenon that has occurred in scientific research and development funding has happened in the public policy analysis business."

References

Lobbying {{activism-stub