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Ethics in PR -- an oxymoron or a given?

Posted by Matt Kucharski on June 30, 2008 at 1:38 PM

You'd think that a field that's built around creating and sustaining positive reputations would have fewer ethical dilemmas than others. Yet I would guess that a survey of the least "ethical" professions would find public relations right up there (or down there) with personal injury attorneys, corporate raiders and politicians.

This article by PRNews is based on surveys with members of the PRSA Counselors Academy, and points to some fairly interesting divergence in opinions on the role and importance of ethics in the field.

Personally, I think PRSA made a mistake 10 years ago when it moved away from its specific code of ethics to a more liberal "suggested behavior" model. But that's just me. If you have an opinion, I'd love to hear it.

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"Sustainability is Like Teenage Sex"

Posted by Matt Kucharski on June 18, 2008 at 4:04 PM

I'm betting that one'll get blocked by some Internet firewalls, but it's a direct quote from Joel Makower, editor/author of greenbiz.com, readjoel.com and stateofgreenbusiness.com. Joel spoke to a breakfast roundtable of Padilla clients and friends this morning, and had some excellent perspective on the business motivators behind the green/sustainability movement. Some of the highlights:

• Sustainability is like teenage sex. More say are doing it than really are doing it, and those that are doing it aren't doing it very well.
• There have been three "eras" to the sustainability movement to date. The first was the "do no harm" era. The second was the "do well by doing good" era. The third (today) is the "green as a business strategy" era.
• The key drivers to sustainability today can be summarized in seven words -- customers, competitors, energy, investors, activists, regulators and employees.
• The three keys to being "good enough" in your company's sustainability: 1. Figure out what you know. 2. Figure out what you're doing and going to do. 3. Figure out what you're saying and what you're going to say.
• The three rules to follow in obtaining success in this sustainability era: 1. Obey the laws of government. 2. Obey the laws of the marketplace. 3. Obey the laws of nature (physical and human).

A lot of sustainability "experts" have the reputation for being hemp-wearing, non-bathing, tree-hugging fanatics with no grounding in reality. That's not Joel. He's practical, thoughtful, engaging, educational and credible. If you get a chance to hear him speak, you should clear your calendar and go.

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Padilla's Mike Greece on Fox

Posted by Matt Kucharski on June 5, 2008 at 5:24 PM

Check out Managing Director of Padilla Speer Beardsley's New York Office, Mike Greece, talking about how small businesses can leverage public relations for their success. Here's the link to the video.

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Do startups need PR help?

Posted by Matt Kucharski on June 3, 2008 at 8:45 AM

Interesting post from Shel Holtz, a pretty bright technology communications guy -- on Twitter's recent perception issues. Rather than paraphrase, I'll let you read his post directly, as it's pretty thorough.

Bottom line -- all good organizations need to build and maintain their reputations. Sometimes it requires a formal, sustained program, and sometimes a simple, organic approach is sufficient.

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Scott McClellan -- a spokesperson isn't a public relations professional

Posted by Matt Kucharski on June 3, 2008 at 7:47 AM

Amid the drama surrounding McClellan's book about his days in the Bush Administration were two posts -- one from CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen questioning ethics in public relations and a reply from PRSA's Jeff Julen.

Setting aside the irony dripping from Cohen's post (a legal analyst spouting off on ethics makes me laugh) and the "please take us seriously" response from PRSA, the entire debate misses one key point.

McClellan -- in his role as Bush Administration spokesperson -- was never a public relations professional. McClellan was a spokesperson. A mouthpiece. A tool (and it appears from all accounts a willing one).

A public relations professional is a strategic advisor -- helping clients understand what they should do, and what they should communicate -- in order to effectively (and yes, ethically) build reputation with people important to them. Most of us in the field, when faced with a client that we don't believe in, will respectfully decline to represent that client, knowing that our counsel would be less than effective. A note to Mr. Cohen -- I challenge you to make the same generalization about lawyers.

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