Comments on: The Flak Over Flacks

In The Wake Of Scott McClellan's New Book, Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen Says PR People Are Aghast At The Truth

[requiescat-2009]

Your legal analyst Andrew Cohen was spot on with his editorial this morning. The PRSA tenet he cited was telling in that %u201Cadvancing the interests of those we represent%u201D is the primary concern of any PR firm, as well it should be. Let%u2019s face it; all salespeople are basically in PR. The only reason that the drug companies inform the public that their product could cause narcolepsy, leukemia or death, is that the government has forced them to do so. Having sold 4 homes in my lifetime, I am continually amazed at real estate agents, whom I am paying through my proceeds from the sale, always seeming to be more interested in selling me on accepting the buyer%u2019s pitiful offer than on selling them on getting closer to my asking price. I am also weary of the mainstream media citing %u201Csome%u201D as validation for their stories, as in %u201CSome say taking vitamin supplements is only buying expensive urine.%u201D Who are %u201Csome%u201D and what are their qualifications to give an expert opinion on anything? Whatever the product or service, the rule of thumb is always caveat emptor.

[ioweign]

Posted by LBW111 at 01:56 PM : Jun 01, 2008

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I bet Mr. Cohen one day complains about the lack of civility in the world and the next day calls thousands of decent people liars.
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Mr. Cohen is not Karl Rove.

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I have never lied and never will.
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Then the 935 false statements and lies from this regime should be irritating the hell out of you....

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[lbw111]

I have been a public relations professional for 37 years. I have never lied and never will. Why in the world would I do such a thing? My job is to represent the truth, as seen through the eyes of the public, to the company I work for, and to represent the truth, as the company sees it, to the public. I should also add that I have never been asked to lie. I was once asked to shade the truth by a middle manager but the senior officers of the business supported me when I refused. Why do people make ridiculous blanket statements like all PR people lie, as Mr. Cohen did? I bet Mr. Cohen one day complains about the lack of civility in the world and the next day calls thousands of decent people liars.

[lbw111]

I have been a public relations professional for 37 years. I have never lied and never will. Why in the world would I do such a thing? My job is to represent the truth, as seen through the eyes of the public, to the company I work for, and to represent the truth, as the company sees it, to the public. I should also add that I have never been asked to lie. I was once asked to shade the truth by a middle manager but the senior officers of the business supported me when I refused. Why do people make ridiculous blanket statements like all PR people lie, as Mr. Cohen did? I bet Mr. Cohen one day complains about the lack of civility in the world and the next day calls thousands of decent people liars.

[lbw111]

I have been a public relations professional for 37 years. I have never lied and never will. Why in the world would I do such a thing? My job is to represent the truth, as seen through the eyes of the public, to the company I work for, and to represent the truth, as the company sees it, to the public. I should also add that I have never been asked to lie. I was once asked to shade the truth by a middle manager but the senior officers of the business supported me when I refused. Why do people make ridiculous blanket statements like all PR people lie, as Mr. Cohen did? I bet Mr. Cohen one day complains about the lack of civility in the world and the next day calls thousands of decent people liars.

[pvperson]

prevprof.......Goerings quote proves to me that the republicans learned their lessons well at the feet of the Nazis.

"tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and for exposing the country to danger"

[pvperson]

That''s it LBW111, repeat it enough and someone will believe it. Isn''t that the mantra of PR?

[lobo1031]

I am appalled at Mr. Cohen''s outrageous accusation that all PR people are liars. I have been in PR for 40 years and NEVER lie. In fact I urge clients to tell the truth at all times, as do all my colleagues, whose work I know well. I have refused to color the truth for a client. I am an accredited member of the International Association of Business Communicators, and like PRSA, we have ethical standards that are enforced. There are always a few bad apples in every professional, but the vast majority of PR professionals are highly ethical. It is in our client''s best interest to tell the truth. As for "spin," all we are doing is telling the client''s side ... believe me the media will always jump in to tell "the other side." If we don''t, who will protect our client''s reputation? Not people like Mr. Cohen. His comments perpetuate the blatantly wrong stereotype that PR people lie. I hope that you will see fit to air an equally well-placed rebuttal. We PR people and our clients deserve that.

[skyk-2009]

The courage shown by this guy McClellan will be looked upon by future generations in the say way we today look back on those who "Outed" Joe McCarthy! He has been attacked from EVERY angle except ONE! No one has disputed the FACT that Bush LIED to us, USED Propaganda to get his war. That there is NO doubt about now... TO many people have the same story.

[jon2012-2009]

As a legal analyst, Cohen certainly is aware of the unethical practices of many attorneys. According to his line of argumentation, the entire legal profession also should be labeled as unethical.

Posted by gorney1515 at 11:40 AM : Jun 01, 2008

Let''s not be too harsh on lawyers. They can lose their license for gross misconduct and violation of ethics. Is there a system in place to insure ethical conduct for PR professionals? Also, in a criminal trial the adversary structure that regulates the presentation of evidence and the oversight of the judge provide some degree of assurance of a fair trial in which inaccuracies and sloppiness in the evidence can be challenged. When a PR person goes to work, who represents the other side of the story and who referees any conflict of views?

I think the government should not be allowed any PR personnel on payroll but that if it does any information and news they issue on behalf of the administration should be unequivocally labeled as preliminary until confirmed from other sources.

[ammianus]

The Sorrows of Young Dumus, Art. XXI:

The Oligarchs took great care to prepare the minds of the people for abject slavery. A system of education comprising dull repetition, training in obedience and neglect of science enfeebled the critical faculties. By manifold deceptions, the people were brought to identify themselves with their oppressors. They were taught to emulate the haughty disdain for truth, the proud and willful ignorance, and the devious hypocrisy of the Oligarchs.

With such preparation it was inevitable that the people, although heirs to a great republic, swallowed whole the crude fabrications of Dumus designed to justify the conquest of Mesopotamia. Dumus proclaimed that Nur ud Din, the bitter enemy of Al-Ghazna, was the lieutenant of ibn Shaitan and that a country reduced to desperate poverty by the elder Dumus threatened the Hegemon with hyper-lethal weapons. That these myths, so flatly contradicted by the most accessible knowledge, were accepted by every class of citizen cannot be ascribed wholly to credulity. Not a few winked at the fictions of Dumus, conceiving that by his promised conquests, they would, together with the Oligarchs, become lords over all the peoples of the Earth. Little did they foresee that the war of plunder, so lightly embarked upon, would be the grave of their power and of their liberty.
Opposition within the Hegemon cowed, and the opinions of ancient allies spurned, Dumus launched his invasion.

[lbw111]

I have been a public relations professional for 37 years. I have never lied and never will. Why in the world would I do such a thing? My job is to represent the truth, as seen through the eyes of the public, to the company I work for, and to represent the truth, as the company sees it, to the public. I should also add that I have never been asked to lie. I was once asked to shade the truth by a middle manager but the senior officers of the business supported me when I refused. Why do people make ridiculous blanket statements like all PR people lie, as Mr. Cohen did? I bet Mr. Cohen one day complains about the lack of civility in the world and the next day calls thousands of decent people liars.

[lbw111]

I have been a public relations professional for 37 years. I have never lied and never will. Why in the world would I do such a thing? My job is to represent the truth, as seen through the eyes of the public, to the company I work for, and to represent the truth, as the company sees it, to the public. I should also add that I have never been asked to lie. I was once asked to shade the truth by a middle manager but the senior officers of the business supported me when I refused. Why do people make ridiculous blanket statements like all PR people lie, as Mr. Cohen did? I bet Mr. Cohen one day complains about the lack of civility in the world and the next day calls thousands of decent people liars.

[lbw111]

I have been a public relations professional for 37 years. I have never lied and never will. Why in the world would I do such a thing? My job is to represent the truth, as seen through the eyes of the public, to the company I work for, and to represent the truth, as the company sees it, to the public. I should also add that I have never been asked to lie. I was once asked to shade the truth by a middle manager but the senior officers of the business supported me when I refused. Why do people make ridiculous blanket statements like all PR people lie, as Mr. Cohen did? I bet Mr. Cohen one day complains about the lack of civility in the world and the next day calls thousands of decent people liars.

[prevprof]

In 1918, U.S. Republican Senator Hiram Warren Johnson is purported to have said: "The first casualty when war comes is truth." During the Nuremberg trials, Hitler''s Reich Marshall Hermann Goering said in an interview %u201CNaturally the common people don%u2019t want war. But after all, it is the leaders of a country who determine the policy, and it%u2019s always a simple matter to drag people along whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. This is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and for exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country.%u201D I don''t know who said "The truth hurts" but it is often true, especially when you are talking about truths that shatter myths about our leaders, our country, our parents, our long-held beliefs or ourselves. While I agree that Andrew Cohen comes down hard on PR professionals who are paid to put best face forward, one would hope that our government has not become such a business, special interest group, or private concern, that allegiance to truth and the public is not considered a higher calling than allegiance to an individual or an administration. I''d prefer Truth & Reconciliation hearings to a string of "lie and tell" books. I also believe that despite the pain the truth will set us free.

[prevprof]

In 1918, U.S. Republican Senator Hiram Warren Johnson is purported to have said: "The first casualty when war comes is truth." During the Nuremberg trials, Hitler''s Reich Marshall Hermann Goering said in an interview %u201CNaturally the common people don%u2019t want war. But after all, it is the leaders of a country who determine the policy, and it%u2019s always a simple matter to drag people along whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. This is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and for exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country.%u201D I don''t know who said "The truth hurts" but it is often true, especially when you are talking about truths that shatter myths about our leaders, our country, our parents, our long-held beliefs or ourselves. While I agree that Andrew Cohen comes down hard on PR professionals who are paid to put best face forward, one would hope that our government has not become such a business, special interest group, or private concern, that allegiance to truth and the public is not considered a higher calling than allegiance to an individual or an administration. I''d prefer Truth & Reconciliation hearings to a string of "lie and tell" books. I also believe that despite the pain the truth will set us free.

[gorney1515]

Andrew Cohen''s wrong-minded essay makes a quantum leap from recognizing that some communicators lie on behalf of their clients to insisting that the entire profession of public relations is "based on deceipt and spin." In other words, there aren''t just unethical practitioners, the public relations practice itself is inherently unethical.
This is an undeserved slap in the face to tens of thousands of professionals who put their jobs on the line every day to convince their clients to do the right thing, because it is not only in the best interest of the public, but in the best interest of the client. Cohen forgot to mention that Nixon lied, and we know what happened to him.
Cohen has it all wrong. Public relations by definition must be ethical, that is, fair, accurate and truthful. If a practitioner lies or distorts or manipulates opinion with dishonesty, he or she is practicing the antithesis of public relations.
As a legal analyst, Cohen certainly is aware of the unethical practices of many attorneys. According to his line of argumentation, the entire legal profession also should be labeled as unethical.

[irliberal]

Andrew thinks that all PR people outright lie and that''s ok because it''s their job.

I think Andrew is wrong.

PR people may put the best possible light on something but to outright lie is quite something else entirely. To say that the two things are the same, as this article does, is absurd.

The American people were OUTRAGED when Bill Clinton lied about monica - something that affected them NOT ONE TINY WHIT and had nothing to do with anyone else or governing the country.

Now you''re saying that because we were LIED into a multi billion dollar war with Iraq (to say nothing of the lives lost) it''s just STATUS QUO?

You''re a fool Andrew. It''s not right. It never will be. And there have been far, far more people put to DEATH for far, far less.

Once you lose your sense of proportion, you don''t really have anything left. Or are you simply a Bush administration apologist as well?