Comments on: Cohen: Flacks Follow-Up

After Blasting The PR Industry's Attack On Scott McClellan, Andrew Cohen Responds To Critics

[feelfree4u]

Re: "He thought his PR experience was going to be akin to a creative writing course for the business world. The rest of the class seemed in agreement."

A good example of how the student can become the teacher.

[slwinfrey]

Claude Reins? You were obviously making reference to the actor, Claude R-a-i-n-s.

However, I am not "shocked" to find an error in your work -- you had no PR person proofing your comments before posting.

[feelfree4u]

Well, there is the truth, and then there is "mediated shared meaning founded on truth", also known as lies.

[brandywinela]

No, your animal analogies don''t work. They''re based on the assumption that the sole point of PR is to take something bad and trick the public into believing it''s good. If that were the case, we''d all have been out of a job many years ago - PR people and journalists alike.

While I found the first article frankly mildly amusing, the second had me laughing out loud. Hyperbole aside, it''s chock full of non sequitors, inconsistencies and excuses (''it wasn''t my fault - it was the 450-word format'') that it very quickly transitioned from the offensive to the ridiculous.

I thank you for brightening my otherwise slightly dreary afternoon.

[jandprprof]

Just a month ago I had a conversation with my students who were just finishing their first course in public relations. These students were a mixture of business, mass communication, and political science majors. What I learned was personally heart-warming and globally unsettling. One student, a business major, told me he respected me because I spent the entire 15 weeks beating into him that PR was about mediated shared meaning founded on truth. He said he had no idea he had to tell the truth in PR before he started the class. He thought his PR experience was going to be akin to a creative writing course for the business world. The rest of the class seemed in agreement. I was glad I could help set the record straight for these students, but the real problem lies elsewhere. All of those leaders of industry-in-training, all of those future pols, have a misguided view of PR, and those are the ones who will one day be signing the public relations officer''s paycheck. Public relations is equally duty-bound to the audience as it is to the organization. And, yes, I believe my idealism would get me fired if I was not in an ivory tower. The root of PR''s PR problems lies with intent and influence of the client or the management, not the trained and ethical practitioner.

[feelfree4u]

Attention PR spammers:

The story is not about you. It is about a man with the apparent courage to take a public stand against the fascistic hand that once fed him. It is about the lies that stampeded our country into self-defeating and criminal war of aggression, that put national security and individuals at mortal risk by outting an undercover intelligence operative, and about many, many other deadly, treasonous lies churned out by the Bush cabal. It is about how many people in your industry have conspired to shoot this messenger.

Get over yourselves, and try to put your skills to use in toppling the criminal regime, rather than in boring us with more lies about the National Liars Guild lies, and lining your pockets with your lies.

[skpublicrela]

Yes, reading the responses it appears that some of the rebuttals, and then the rebuttals to your rebuttal, are self-righteous. But I think that''s more about general human foibles rather than about PR people (who happen to know how to verbalize their human foibles better than most).

[s_lopatin]

I don''t call McClellan shameful. I call him incredibly brave. One man going up against some of the most powerful individuals in this nation right now. It could have been a suicide mission.

I hope PR professionals see this act of bravery, of coming clean (even though his former actions may not have been something to brag about). And only in America could he write and publish this book, and not turn up dead one morning. While I have not read Scott McClellan''s book yet, it appears he became disillusioned and only came to his senses within the last half-year or so of his job.

As for Mr. Cohen''s response, he is entitled to his own opinion. I must say, when I was a reporter, I had a very negative outlook on PR people. I thought most of them were deceitful. Now that I''m working in PR for a good cause, I realize that''s not the case. Sometimes, it takes walking in "both pairs of shoes" to understand all sides. Perhaps one day, Mr. Cohen will walk in those shoes and see for himself. If not, this is America, and I hope we can focus on the issues at hand rather than who is at fault.

[feelfree4u]

Dear Mr. Cohen,

I have been a pretty harsh critic of your writings at times in the past, however, I don''t think you have anything to apologize for here.

Plus, it has been fun to watch the members of the Professional Liars Association come on here and spam the site with their lies about how they do not lie.

That was very entertaining. Obviously you hit some folks pretty close to home.

Thanks.

[dj_gamache]

I think most people in public relations do not work on the kind of national stage as do the players in this tempest, nor do most of us stand at a podium and deliver proclamations, either honestly or dishonestly, to a sea of people. Most of us work behind the scenes and do our level best to rack our brains to come up with newsworthy pitches and accurate background information. We work directly with the same reporters over and over, and our credibility is paramount. We are honest in our dealings, and the reporters on the local level where most of us work will verify our facts as part of their jobs. The think the outcry is over the generalization about dishonesty that absolutely doesn''t fit with what most of us in PR actually do, or how we do it.

[db023]

I am also saddened that you believe it is ok to make a commentary about all PR professionals. That would be akin to my saying that since there are several authors found to be lying in their books that the category of "non-fiction" shouldn''t exist.

I don''t disagree with you that some have abused the profession, but that is often the case. As a PR professional, I could cite numerous journalists who don''t fully research their stories before "reporting" and yet I would never criticize the vocation in general.

I am sure that all of this "attention" has given you exactly what you want, and while I hate adding to your 15 minutes, I felt compelled to comment.

[ambro75-2009]

Mr. Cohen - Thank you for taking a second look at the issue. I''m still quite stunned that you''ve chosen to attack an entire group of professionals. And I remain hurt on a personal level. I wouldn''t be in this field if I felt as if my efforts didn''t help my organization (a public university) and the community at-large. You''ve called into question my very existance as a professional.

[drjohnnyspin]

I use as my screen name "DrJohnnySpin" as a wink and nod to the term "spin doctor." But to say that PR is "a profession built on spin" is a gross mischaracterization of what PR is, Mr. Cohen. That is tantamount to saying that the legal profession is built on loopholes. There isn''t a story about a product or service reported by online, print and broadcast media that hasn''t first passed through the hands of a PR person. The "spin" we create is to find what is meaningful and important for journalists and present that information in a way that is compelling. We have to translate the language spoken inside companies to a language that lay people understand. We have to become experts in markets and trends. If the PR profession suddenly disappeared so too would a great many publications and news outlets as there is just simply too much information to digest without it being packaged properly by people in my profession. It''s time Mr. Cohen to drop the sanctimony and admit you made an error in judgement in using hyperbole to smear an entire industry.

[jn122736]

You say in your rebuttal that you were just using "hyperbole" in your original piece. If that isn''''t lying, I don''''t know what the definition is. I''''ve been a reporter, and now I''''m a PR professional and a member of PRSA. I''''ve known reporters who "never let the facts get in the way of a good story" and I''''ve known PR people who were guilty of "spin." As a PR professional, I make it clear to my clients that I will not lie, and if they choose to do that -- or anything else remotely unethical -- I''''m out. Both journalists and PR folks have ethical standards. About the only difference I''''ve seen -- having been on both "sides" -- is that journalists are less self-aware about their biases and more self-righteous. You don''''t own all the "ink" or "air" any more, Mr. Cohen, and you don''''t get the last word when you take pot shots at an entire profession and the people who work in it. You can''''t afford to be "superior" any longer.

Posted by gailbkent at 04:36 PM : Jun 02, 2008.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two clichis:
Those most guilty tend to yell the loudest
The truth can be told in so many different ways that a lie is seldom needed.

There%u2019s no way of knowing if what you say is the truth, but if you really do refuse to lie or do anything even %u201C%u201Dremotely%u201D unethical you have about as much chance of succeeding in your profession as a, totally honest, politician has of rising above a county office position in his/her own state. Good luck.

[bill_smith2]

Let me see if I''ve got this correct. The lawyer, Andrew Cohen, is calling out public relations as a profession for its lack of ethical standards. Mr. Cohen works for CBS News. Frankly, I believe the general public would have a bit of a problem with the veracity of the statements of any of those three: lawyers, PR or, considering the lack of accuracy in L''Affaire Rather, CBS. And regarding Dan, that would be both the infamous memorandum mess and the recent dust up over his departure. As I recall, CBS''s own PR flacks had a little trouble with that recently.

[cincinnatus9]

Your follow-up statement makes less sense than your original premise. I am amazed that you and your fellow journalists within the Beltway actually think that political appointees like McClellan and Rove convey anything other than political policies and issues, as envisioned by the Bush Administration. This isn''t public relations, it is politics. I have worked for five newspapers and hate to get ridiculed by poseurs like you Beltway hacks who think spin is the truth. Nobody outside the Beltway does. It would make sense for CBS'' credibility to relieve you and their audience of your current position and allow you to real people in real professions across this nation.

[gailbkent]

You say in your rebuttal that you were just using "hyperbole" in your original piece. If that isn''t lying, I don''t know what the definition is. I''ve been a reporter, and now I''m a PR professional and a member of PRSA. I''ve known reporters who "never let the facts get in the way of a good story" and I''ve known PR people who were guilty of "spin." As a PR professional, I make it clear to my clients that I will not lie, and if they choose to do that -- or anything else remotely unethical -- I''m out. Both journalists and PR folks have ethical standards. About the only difference I''ve seen -- having been on both "sides" -- is that journalists are less self-aware about their biases and more self-righteous. You don''t own all the "ink" or "air" any more, Mr. Cohen, and you don''t get the last word when you take pot shots at an entire profession and the people who work in it. You can''t afford to be "superior" any longer.

[leahdog2150]

I apologize for the multiple posts. I am just getting the hand of this web site.

[leahdog2150]

Your commentary is about public relations in the political arena. If you limit your comments to that area I might even agree with you. However, the vast majority of work in the field is done in other arenas. How do you think a military public information officer risking his or her life in Iraq would feel about your commentary? You tried to kill a fly with a shotgun and wounded quite a few innocent bystanders in the process.

[proudprpro]

Mr. Cohen,

Your ''follow-up'' is incredibly self-righteous. Yes, there is a stereotype that those in the public relations profession are unethical liars. I agree that a few bad apples can leave a bitter taste in the mouths of the American people. However, you have no right to purport this stereotype. In doing so, you show yourself as someone who feels it necessary to trample on an important and vital profession in order to make a headline. Please note my use of the word vital, Mr. Cohen. Where would CBS news be if not for the PR team that keeps it in the view of the American public? Where would the thousands of nonprofits be who employ people such as myself to make sure our causes are noticed? I am just beginning my public relations career, and I am proud to call myself a member of the profession. I believe that I can effectively do my job and uphold the PRSA code of ethics. I look forward to a long and successful career, and I have absolutely no doubt I will someday be highly in demand. And when that day comes, Mr. Cohen, I will be more than happy to turn down a position on your likely-suffering PR team.