You are right, Richard. It is steady process – demonstrate the truth. We are new affiliate in Edelman network. PR market in Lithuania is also young. But we are very familiar with propaganda because of our history. Now is very important to show for the public that information management is not the same as propaganda was. We are trying very hard to collaborate with journalists to show that in the public eyes we both – media and PR are on the same side. Especially when we are talking about faithful facts, information. It is interesting to read that some problems are similar in let’s say old and young democracies. Maybe we could share our experience. And I hope it could be very useful for network where one can find so different experiences from so different cultures so different countries.

Hello Mr.Edelman,

I am writing from Bulgaria. Not surprisingly, PR experts get excited over the same issues all over the world.

This is why I jumped at the following idea you wrote:

"Fourth, we need shortly an enforcement mechanism for sanctioning misbehavior"

I personally absolutely agree, even though we have been arguing a great deal here in Bulgaria of how to come up with such "an enforcement mechanism" and make it work. I believe an international discussion should be started on this subject. It is possible that somewhere someone has found an answer.

Thinking about mechanisms sanctioning misbehavior, an earlier blog of yours reminded me of my visit to ancient Olympia in Greece. Like you, I was also impressed by the way ancient Greeks punished cheaters. Not only were their names inscribed on the base of each statue of Zeus but they were also made to pay for the making of the statue itself. The names of their parents and the village they came from were also inscribed. For everyone to feel ashamed... And do you know what? In 7 centuries of Olympic games, there were only 16 cheaters!

P.S. Pardon my poor command of English. It is not my native language.

Mr. Edelman... as a public relations practitioner, I strongly agree with your five rules on how to do our jobs.

However, I don't necessarily feel that the criticism pointed at our profession is much different than it has in the past. From your perspective, has something changed (e.g., the intensity of the criticism) or is it that we've never really addressed the need for greater accountability, transparency, etc.?

Thank you for your thought-provoking posts.

Rob Berick

Richard is entirely correct if we don't rally as a profession to embrace ethics and our role within PUBLIC dialogue someone else will do it for us. We need to behave more like the legal profession - and that's beyond those who too easily throw around phrases like "acting as advocates for our clients in the court of public opinion."

That's a bunch of crap. And so is the thought that what we do as PR people is somehow protected by the first ammendment and therefore not subject to scrutiny, liability, lisence or in some cases shame. That needs to change.

If there is no punishment for bad actors I fear we can't really call ourselves members of a profession. Agencies and corporate PR departments must be willing to fire those who behave unethically and perhaps (if the lawyers will let us) say out loud why these firings have taken place. We must teach ethics to our young hires as fervently as we teach media relations. We probably won't - it's not a billable behavior, but we must.

Richard

Great blog. You are, of course, right on in your assessment of the situation our industry faces and the lack of organized response or reaction from those very trade groups organized to think along the lines you propose. Just imagine for a second if the PR industry put out an RFP, seeking to hire a crisis communications firm to help it emerge from this period of credibility attack. All of the big firms would be scrambling with swat teams of global mega-experts, offering brilliance and flair and hardcore advice. But here we are, an industry being pummelled in the press and in Washington and you are the only leader of our top firms willing to speak of solutions, of accountability and of getting our house in order. There are more speeches like Klein's coming our way...which are read by clients and legislators alike. I for one have been calling for an industry summit on these issues that will shape the course of our profession in the years to come.

Elliot

Excellent post. The public and the media have a right to hear something from the PR field about what is and isn't acceptable behaviour, and what the implications are of ethical lapses. I don't think anyone cares what the initials are of the organization that stands up and makes a statement. Your idea that it should be ALL organizations, working together makes a lot of sense.

Surely the danger of not acting far outweighs any inconvenience or loss of control an association might feel if they have to work together with others.

im doing a career portfolio for an assignment in my Buisness class, and i've always wanted to be a PR specialists and it just so happened that when i took a career cluster test, PR was in that. I just wanted to comment and ask if you have to live in some huge city like New York to follow a career such as PR. Thanks for even taking the time to read this.
email me at mrssheckler15@aol.com

Let's push for it, not just with blogs but by getting PR Week or another neutral party to host and on a specific date
This cannot wait

What is that a famous patriot said during the American Revolution (I think it was Sam Adams) either we hang together or we will surely hang separately. Thanks for writing

Ken
I am more optimistic than you are
Self preservation is an even more powerful motive than short term greed We have to remember that we have license to operate only by conducting our business in an ethical fashion We will destroy all the gains made by this industry in the past twenty five years by continued short sighted behavior I for one will continue to point out ethical breaches and inappropriate behavior And will call for an industry summit with agencies and top corporate guys like you where we agree on a code of behavior and teeth for enforcement Thanks for writing

Something has changed
We have become front page news and not in a good way How...because some of the major PR companies are now entangled in domestic political fights...Armstrong Williams was a really bad thing for our industry And now down the slope we go to VNRs We have to reverse the momentum and not wait for the cycle to play itself out Why Because we now have an amazing opportunity to expand the PR business and take share from advertising We are the next generation vehicle but only if we are trusted So I am calling for an all industry group summit perhaps hosted by PR Week It has to happen Thanks for writing Say hi to Scott Chaiken please he is a good man

Ivanka,
How exciting to get the full story on the statues at Olympia Paid by the families of the cheaters!! And only 16 in history.
We will overcome this issue but only if we work together as an industry

Linas,

Propaganda is evil and unacceptable no matter what country is victimized. Thanks for writing. And give my best to Veronica Moiseeva who is a terrific PR professional herself.

Richard - the PR industry has never been regulated. There is no barrier to entry, no licensing procedures, no enforceable standard of ethics, and no one trade organization that has both the respect and the teeth to enforce a set of professional standards.

At one point, the PRSA's APR meant something, but is now an industry joke. Neither PRSA, IABC nor the Council have done anywhere near an effective job of gaining the respect of the industry sufficently enough to promulgate a code of conduct that will be respected and obeyed.

While a conference on the subject may be called for, it will be just another gathering until the practionioners of PR - both corporate and agency - agree to hold themselves to a set of standards. And agree on some policy of enforcement.

Arnie
The purpose of such a meeting would be to agree on a set of standards We cannot allow this situation to fester Thanks for reading my blog.

Richard

Arnie/Richard:

An interim step might be for each major PR agency to develop their own code of ethics that are discussed and agreed to with clients. Potential clients can then decide who they want to represent them based on the firms' committment to high ethical standards. By leading the way one agency will then force another to play catch-up and the entire industry will be elevated. The difficulty with an industry-wide standard is that there is no clear consensus on what PR is. To some, it is merely getting your name in the paper or painting an elephant blue and marching it down Times Square blasting the name of a new product. As a counter to Ketchum, an agency should institute and promote its strict ethical practices that could be a model for the industry. Richard, if you do get PR Week to sponsor such an event, then unveil Edelman's new ethical practices standards and invite people to discuss it in this blog.

It seems that everyone is open to creating a standard for ethics in PR and I applaud that. I am interested to get your opinions on the impact of search on PR... Like someone said there is no barrier to entry, no set of standards!

Since there are over 160 million internet users in the US and a lot of them use the search engines to form opinions, how will this impact how your jobs are done? How can you incorporate search into your new initiatives for better control? And how can this be measured and who will do the measuring? I'm hearing peers and setting up an advisory group, is that realistic?

Justin,

Anybody using search knows about ways to bias the result through search engine optimization and other techniques. I do believe we need a group session to discuss. Want to be a part of this?

Richard

Richard,

I appreciate the opportunity to be included. Let me know what I can do!

Hello,
How interesting to hear the PR industry reflecting on their ethics. As an outsider, may I share these thoughts and ask for your feedback?

I am a graduate student in public administration (PA) in Portland, Oregon, USA. I am currently studying organizational ethics which is how I stumbled across your blog. I was handed a copy of the Edelman Trust Barometer by a fellow student who had attended a seminar delivered for the Port of Portland. It is a fascinating study, one I had not heard of previously. It so happens I am also doing research for a course assignment, an innovation paper to address a local city bureaus public relations problem. My innovation idea was for this public agency, which has lost the publics trust, to hire a PR firm instead of handling public relations in-house. Having worked for this agency for three and a half years I am familiar with their current public involvement practices. They are sadly inadequate in this area of doing the publics business. This organization has been severely plagued with poor PR since 2000 and the consequences are a lack of ability to get the public on board for some critical Capital Improvement Projects. City infrastructure is aging and must be replaced. Without community buy-in the agency is floundering in mistrust. The impact will be paid for by future generations of rate payers.
I hear the same issues of institutional mistrust whether in the private or public realm. Personal and professional integrity has been peeled off organizations like layers on an onion. I am not sure what kind of catalyst began this transgression but the impacts are costly. What do you suppose will swing this tide in the other direction? History teaches us we usually take notice when in crisis. Our traditional organizational structures, highly hierarchic in design, don?t flex much unless dislodged by disaster. Are there any organizational historians out there who can pick up on this thought?

Keep up the thought provoking exchange. I am listening,
SL

Shelley,

You have made an important point in your post--which is institutional tendency to maintain status quo until crisis hits. Outside PR firm would have less obligation to play that game. Best practice is to offer community a chance to co-create rather than impose decisions made in smoke filled room. This is only achieved through a transparent process where consumer comment and continued dialogue is core to ultimate achievement of unified purpose.

Richard