Spin Cycle - The Media and Natalee Holloway

In late spring, shadows lengthen and dance with the prevailing winds while the sun drowns in the azure waters that surround the tropical paradise of Aruba. Surf and sand yield to clinking slot machines, laughter and music in a usual scene for an island that has promoted itself as a crime-free tourist haven in the Caribbean. On May 30, 2005, however, the serenity of this island paradise is changed forever by a solitary incident. For over twenty months the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of an 18-year-old girl from Alabama named Natalee Holloway has been the subject of numerous articles and news reports across international boundaries. The crime against this young, defenseless American girl has captured world wide attention and exposed the truth behind the façade that is Aruba.

As tragic as the Natalee Holloway disappearance is, such happenings are not uncommon elsewhere. Almost daily we read, or hear of some young life being stolen from those that cherish them so dearly. It is an all too familiar chronicle of our times. However, the Holloway story is set apart from others because of what happened during the following days, weeks and months after she vanished.

This will be the first in a series of articles that examine what took place behind the scenes in Aruba after Natalee Holloway’s disappearance. From top to bottom a concerted effort was orchestrated by a group of media specialist and their primary mission was to besmirch the character of the victim and persistently defame members of her family. Knowing the cast of characters in this drama of misinformation is vital to our efforts of understanding what transpired during the summer of 2005. The list is long, but we will begin with a media consultant group headquartered in the U.S.A.

In 1989 the MEP party was struggling to regain power on the island of Aruba and win a political majority they lost with the demise of the party’s leader and founder, Betico Croes. Enter Mr. Robert DiLella, founder of Strategic Message Design Group, Inc. (SMDG), with a promise that his media savvy group could turn things around for the party. MEP obtained a decisive victory in those elections. This result cemented the relationship between DiLella and the leadership of MEP. It also established a precedent for the conveyance of information.

SMDG’s tactics during that election were very simple. Use every available means to cast doubt upon the character of anyone that opposes the party’s point of view. This wholesale character assassination was so cleverly done that no one individual could be held accountable for the many inaccuracies and slanders propagated as truths. Rumors were sown, nurtured and sent through an invisible word-of-mouth pipeline. The rumors began to breathe on their own and started to live as fact without source, or confirmation.

Robert DiLella began his media endeavors in the early 80’s as a part-time campaign strategist in New Jersey. In 1982, Mr. DiLella served as a staff member for Matt Reese and Associates assisting campaigns in Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, Michigan and Nevada. He later joined Cook Reuf and Associates a South Carolina based advertising and public relations firm. DiLella was the Director of the Political Division in the Washington DC Office where he developed communications plans for public offices in Georgia, South Carolina, New Mexico, Delaware New Jersey and Alabama. He also represented several corporations thrust into the political arena in initiative and referenda throughout the United States.

In 1987 Robert N. DiLella formed Strategic Message Design Group and later partnered with Stephen Cohen, Suzanne Dalton and Robert Colella.

Mr. Cohen has a broad background in handling high profile cases as a journalist and as a crisis manager. He has operated, as a senior news executive, for many of the most prestigious and largest local newsrooms in the United States. While at CBS, he was the news director of both WCBS TV and KCBS TV, later he served as Vice President and General Manager of WCAU TV in Philadelphia.

Throughout those years, he mentored; hired and guided the careers of many of today’s best known electronic journalists. Mr. Cohen was also the founding executive producer of Court TV, and was responsible for the launching of the network and the selection and coverage of many high profile cases from William Kennedy Smith’s rape case to the trial of Rodney King. He also oversaw the coverage of the Clarence Thomas hearings and the resultant Anita Hill testimony in the confirmation hearings.

As a consultant, Mr. Cohen developed non –state run media opportunities in China for investors; opened new markets for film production in Beijing; and created new network cable concepts for emerging media interests. He has also advised Aruba on crisis management and assisted in the creation of a planned approach to protect economic interests while dealing with outside media pressures.

He holds three degrees, including a B.S. in Education, a Master’s in Modern History, and an M.A. in Journalism. He is the recipient of numerous journalism awards including Emmy’s for excellence in television journalism.

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