CBS “Sunday Morning” Commentary on Public Relations
I received this information from the Florida Public Relations Association today:
A recent CBS program called “Sunday Morning” featured a rather scathing commentary on the public relations profession from the perspective of a legal analyst named Andrew Cohen. This nationally-televised program garnered the attention of many of our members and, justifiably, caused those members concern.
| PRSA Sounds Off on CBS Commentary: Analyst Says McClellan Lied Because He’s in PR, Where ‘Misinformation’ is the Guiding Standard |
| CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen took some ugly shots at the PR profession with his commentary on “CBS Sunday Morning” this weekend about Scott McClellan‘s new book: “There is nothing funny about this past week’s revelations that former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan lied to the American people about certain vital policy decisions within the Bush Administration… But in every tragic drama comes a moment of comedic Zen. And in L’Affair McClellan, that has come from the public relations community, where some now wonder whether the former flack violated the ‘ethics’ of his craft. Apparently, an industry the very essence of which is to try to convince people that a turkey is really an eagle has a rule that condemns lying.”He continues: “The Public Relations Society of America states: ‘We adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth in advancing the interests of those we represent…’ This clause strikes me as if the Burglars Association of America had as its creed ‘Thou Shalt Not Steal.’ Show me a PR person who is ‘accurate’ and ‘truthful,’ and I’ll show you a PR person who is unemployed.”The reason companies or governments hire oodles of PR people is because PR people are trained to be slickly untruthful or half–truthful. Misinformation and disinformation are the coin of the realm, and it has nothing to do with being a Democrat or a Republican,” Cohen asserted.
PRSA chairman and CEO Jeffrey Julin fired back at Cohen and CBS in a letterthis week, claiming Cohen unfairly challenged the integrity of the industry. “Regarding your commentary on today’s ‘CBS Sunday Morning,’the Board of Directors of the Public Relations Society finds it imperative to affirm the professionalism of public relations practitioners and to take exception with what we regard as a misguided opinion. The PRSA Code of Ethics, to which all members pledge, embodies a strict set of guidelines defining ethical and professional practice in public relations. Professionals who meet the Code’s standards stand in stark contrast to the simplistic, erroneous characterization of the profession you presented,” Julin wrote. The letter continues: “Contrary to baseless assertions, truth and accuracy are the bread and butter of the public relations profession. In a business where success hinges on critical relationships built over many years with clients, journalists and a Web 2.0–empowered public, one’s credibility is the singular badge of viability. All professionals, including attorneys, accountants and physicians, aspire to ethical standards, and public relations professionals are no different, always striving for the ideal. “For public relations professionals, engaging diverse and often skeptical audiences requires top–flight skills in communications, creativity and even persuasion, but a trust once lost cannot be regained. Unemployment, contrary to your opinion, is reserved for the professional who has lost his or her credibility. “Building upon a foundation of integrity, implementation of those professional skills can also yield some very positive and powerful outcomes. Spreading the word about available health services has gotten thousands of infants immunized. Uncovering facts about post–9/11 air quality has helped scores of New York children unravel the mystery of a high incidence of asthma. Creating programs that engage veterans has helped them make the personal and professional transition to civilian life. “Curiously, you also assert that lying is no big deal. To the public relations professional, that is far from the truth. To ‘try to convince people a turkey is really an eagle’ would leave true professionals eating crow, if they could eat at all.” |
