Australian media has been dominated by the capture of two anti-whaling activists by Japanese whalers last week. The pair had boarded the ship to deliver a letter demanding Japan cease all whaling. They weren’t allowed to leave and an international media war ensued.

Headlines across Australia feature the illegal detention - with images of captives in pain as they’re man-handled on board the whaling ship. In Japan the furore centres on Australia’s two-sided arguments: Don’t kill whales, yet local government web sites outline how to humanely kill baby kangaroos should their mothers be killed in a road accident.

Dead whales versus dead kangaroos - this is what sells newspapers.

From a public relations viewpoint, you have to hand it to Sea Shepherd. This anti-whaling protest boat has satellite phones, video editing suites, a daily blog and an on-board crew from Discovery Channel filming a documentary. This team controls the imagery and messages used int he public debate because the flotilla is somwhere in the oceas between Australia, Africa and Antarctica. With their non-stop flow of information and imagery the Sea Shepherd has dominated the public relations war.

This is a communications program worth watching to learn ways of influencing public perception, government policy and international relations all through expert media management.

Track the action at: http://www.seashepherd.org/