James "Jim" Hoggan (born October 10, 1946) is an author and president of Hoggan and Associates, a

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

-based public-relations firm. He is also the co-founder of the Web site

DeSmogBlog DeSmog, (formerly The DeSmogBlog) founded in January 2006, is an international journalism organization that focuses on topics related to climate change. DeSmog's emphasis is investigating and reporting on misinformation campaigns and organizatio ...

Career

James Hoggan began his public relations career in the 1970s and is the named partner of Hoggan and Associates Ltd. He started in the industry in order to help put himself and his wife through law school at the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...

. After graduation, Hoggan continued to work in the PR field focusing on publicly sensitive information. Hoggan is also the cofounder of the Stonehouse Standing Circle, a think tank. Hoggan joined the board of the

David Suzuki Foundation The David Suzuki Foundation is a science-based non-profit environmental organization headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with offices in Montreal and Toronto. It was established as a federally registered Canadian charity on Jan ...

in 2001 and became its Chair in 2009. He served in this role until November 2016. He has also served as a trustee of the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education and is the former chair of Climate Project Canada.

Books

Hoggan is the author of three books, including the 2009 works ''Do the Right Thing: PR Tips for a Skeptical Public'' and ''Climate Cover-Up: The Crusade to Deny Global Warming'', as well as his 2016 work ''I'm Right and You’re an Idiot: The Toxic State of Public Discourse and How to Clean it Up''. In ''Climate Cover-Up'', Hoggan discusses the philosophical root of

climate change denial Climate change denial, or global warming denial, is denial, dismissal, or doubt that contradicts the scientific consensus on climate change, including the extent to which it is caused by humans, its effects on nature and human society, or th ...

, specifically looking at the fallacies within the logic and argumentation of deniers. In response to the book,

David Suzuki David Takayoshi Suzuki (born March 24, 1936) is a Canadian academic, science broadcaster, and environmental activist. Suzuki earned a PhD in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961, and was a professor in the genetics department at th ...

has stated that the efforts of deniers described by Hoggan is "tantamount to an intergenerational crime while our politicians to whom we entrust the future are criminally negligent." The book has also been referred to as a 'psychological profile' of

climate change denier Climate change denial, or global warming denial, is denial, dismissal, or doubt that contradicts the scientific consensus on climate change, including the extent to which it is caused by humans, its effects on nature and human society, or the ...

s. Much of the book covers the public relations efforts that have been made in support of that denial, and attempts to outline specific examples of where public corporations or other stakeholders have paid (sometimes fraudulently) to have climate change denial advertised. His work in climate-change awareness was also featured in the CBC documentary ''The Denial Machine''.

Recognition

Hoggan received a 2003 "Silver Anvil" awards by the

Public Relations Society of America The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is a nonprofit trade association for public relations professionals. It was founded in 1947 by combining the American Council on Public Relations and the National Association of Public Relations Coun ...

. In 2007, Hoggan and DeSmogBlog were awarded a provincial Communication Leadership award from a local chapter of the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS). His blog also received a "Best Blogs of 2011" award from ''

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

'' in June 2011. In 2012, Hoggan was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoggan, James Living people University of Victoria alumni Canadian public relations people Canadian non-fiction writers 1946 births Writers from Vancouver