Scott McClellan Sells Out the PR Industry
Scott McClellan is going to be rich man. The former Bush press secretary's about-face regarding what he and the White House said while he was Bush's spokesman will make his book fly off the shelves and will probably double his speaking fee (and the demand for his services).
It's safe to say that if McClellan had continued to parrot the party line in his book, it would not have been as good for business.
In order to cash in, though, McClellan had throw the PR industry under a bus. Thanks for the push, Scott.
Here's just a sample of the fallout:
Anderson Cooper on CNN this week: "Isn't this the job of PR people to spin constantly? Wasn't lying for the administration his job?"Actually, no. Believe it or not, most PR people, most of the time, are not lying outright about their company or their client. They may be shading the truth, putting it in its best light, omitting negative information, but they're not constantly lying. And before you get a good chuckle out of the sentence above, who among us doesn't want their story presented in its best light?
The PR industry has a code of ethics. One of the values is honesty:
We adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth in advancing the interests of those we represent and in communicating with the public.David Vossbrink, former spokesman for ex-San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales, says he adhered to the following four principles in his job:
- Tell the truth
- Represent somebody or something you respect
- Answer all calls
- Never become the story yourself