In short, USAToday.com writer, Seth Brown wrote a scathing article/book review describing the Public Relations industry ‘amoral and manipulative.’ He even went as far as throwing in a Hitler and Goebbles reference. 

The CEO and Chair of the PRSA Mike Cherenson responded with a Letter to the Editor.

This is how it is done folks … take notes. 

February 11, 2009

To the editor:

Seth Brown’s article and book review, “Despite Dim View of Public Relations, It May be Needed,” concludes that “PR is amoral, difficult to define, and difficult to measure.” Had Mr. Brown actually solicited input from the public relations industry in researching and writing his article, he would have come to a very different set of conclusions.

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) champions a Code of Ethics for its 32,000 professional and student members and, more broadly, the public relations industry at large. The values it advances—Advocacy, Honesty, Expertise, Independence, Loyalty, and Fairness—are fundamental beliefs that guide the industry’s behaviors and decision-making process. The PRSA Code also contains specific provisions for advancing the free flow of accurate and truthful information, and for disclosing all information necessary to foster informed decision making in a democratic society.

In our complex, pluralistic society, public relations helps individuals reach decisions and function more effectively by contributing to mutual understanding among groups and institutions. It aids businesses, governments, and other organizations in understanding the attitudes and values of different audiences in order to further the achievement of their institutional goals. The public relations practitioner is a counselor to management and a mediator, helping to translate private aims into reasonable, publicly acceptable policies and actions, and to mitigate risks.

The outcomes that public relations drives are no longer difficult nor expensive to measure, and include both attitudinal and behavioral metrics, as well as financial measures, such as return-on-investment. Public relations’ effect on sales, market share, brand awareness, stock price, reputation and trust, customer satisfaction, fundraising, employee morale and retention, event participation, Web site traffic, and regulatory changes can all be quantified, by way of example.

Mr. Brown also decries the industry’s lack of formal training. In fact, PRSA maintains student chapters at 302 colleges and universities that offer baccalaureate degrees, are accredited by nationally or regionally recognized accrediting associations or boards, and offer a sequence of at least five courses in public relations that are supplemented by ancillary courses allied to this field of study.

Furthermore, PRSA and the Universal Accreditation Board, a consortium of 19 public relations and communications organizations, administer a course of study and testing that allow individuals to become Accredited in Public Relations (APR). The APR designation proves that an industry professional has successfully demonstrated competency in the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to practice public relations effectively in today’s business arena.

As for Mr. Brown’s use of “Hitler, Goebbels, and the Nazi propaganda machine” as a metaphor for the public relations industry, I would hasten to add that Hitler was a book author, as well.

Sincerely,

Michael Cherenson, APR
Chair and CEO
The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)

http://prsay.prsa.org/index.php/2009/02/11/usa-today-promotes-cynical-view-of-public-relations/

Kurtis W. Won 3 Medals at the Youth and Junior World Championships

Calgary born biathlete and Grade 12 National Sport School student, Kurtis W. captured the gold medal at the Youth and Junior World Championship in Canmore, Alberta. The hometown hero set a pace no other athlete could match, completing the 7.5 km sprint event in just over 21 minutes.

Read More

The question was about ethical behaviour on LinkedIn.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090204.CACUBLICLE04/TPStory/?query=LinkedIn%3A+Balancing+friendships+and+prospects

The last question

A reader asked: I belong to the LinkedIn online network, which keeps me informed about what my business associates and acquaintances are up to. Recently, I noticed that one of my friends is now connected to some people who could become good business prospects for myself. Is it acceptable practice for me to contact those people and offer my services to them?

The responses

LinkedIn ethics are very interesting. I would suggest two things: If you are worried about your friendship then ask your friend to “introduce” you via LinkedIn. Secondly, don’t offer your services if they aren’t required. Similarly to blogger relations, you should first establish a dialogue showing an interest in what they do rather than offering them a service they may not want.

Matthew John, Hamilton

The Calgary Board of Education honoured Flextronics Calgary Centre as a community partner in January with the Lighthouse Award for its work with theBook Bags for Kids program.

Several years ago… read full article here

Megan R. is no stranger to story telling. The Grade 12 Lord Beaverbrook High School student has been penning stories since the third grade. All those years of writing have surely paid off. Her book… read full article here

The part that really irked me was this:

“at odds with the abstentions of other Western countries that were unwilling to defend outright the principle of fairness, to say nothing of the role of the Arab, African, Asian and Latin American countries, including such human-rights abusers as China, Cuba and Saudi Arabia (all, shamefully, members of the council) in singling out Israel for condemnation.” — rest of the article

The next day, I wrote a letter to the editor and it got published.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090116.COLETTS16-4/TPStory/?query=letter+to+the+editor

I’m getting tons of opportunities already to buff up my portfolio. Writing speeches, feature stories, offer marketing advice and even get to talk social media and the future of communication at the CBE.

I also got to snap some pics with a sweet Canon SLR and my new Sony Snapshot!

Here is my first Spotlight story for the CBE. (Pics From the Sony)

Cricket Canada and Scotiabank made history at Crossing Park School, participating in the launch of the Cricket Canada Scotiabank School Program (CCSSP)… read more

And here’s my office!

My office at the CBE

Let me fast forward a little … I recently had an interview with a government body who said they don’t use much social media because they are government. So that got me thinking, “Maybe I should ask an expert on social media? Wait a minute… Why don’t I ask as many experts as possible?”

I posted a question on LinkedIn and within an hour I had already received a very informed answer to my quandary. By this morning, I had four more repsonses from all over the world and a consultation offer!

I would like to say bravo to LinkedIn … I think it is a great tool to and I’m going to continue to ask questions and learn from the pro’s!

Check Out My LinkedIn Profile Here

Blogging and reading blogs certainly aren’t for everyone but for my fellow Public Relations classmates and former post grad PR classmates, I urge you to get involved. Writing a blog can be whatever you want it to be. Private, public, informational or use it simply as an outlet for creativity. I’m blogging because I want to write as much as I can and use my blog as an element in my PR toolkit.

Anything I learn through school, experience and from peers, I will be able to write down, discuss and recall important material whenever I like. For instance, Maggie Marwah gave us a great lesson about developing a traditional media relations tool kit. This is something I would put into a blog simply as a reference to use sometime in the future. The point is if we (students) do things like this, we’ll no longer have to sift through our notes and crumpled up pages in our binders. You can go to your blog and… wham … there is the information you are in need of.

This blog will be my outlet and my toolkit and I will be happy to share with anyone who would like to read and/or use it. It will also keep my writing staff sharpened and active. By writing staff I mean pen, pencil or fingers.

So… If you aren’t aware of what is happening in the Blogosphere, you don’t know whose blog to read or how to use an RSS reader. I will tell you quickly and then show you an awesome blog I have been tracking.

First thing first … what the hell is RSS and how do I use it?

I will tell you how I read my blogs and get updates through an RSS Feed. RSS or Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication feeds allow you to get updates from your favorite news site, blog or website as soon as there are updates. To receive these feeds you need a reader. Stay with me, this is easy.

I use G-Mail. If you have a G-Mail account then you will be able to see six tabs across the top: Calender, documents, photos and …. READER. That is where you will click to get your RSS feeds.

Next … say you’ve found a blog and you want to follow it. Click the orange symbol located somewhere on the page. This will give you a link, which you will copy. Then go back to G-Mail and click the Reader tab. You will then see a +add subscription button, just paste the link in there and you are following blogs, baby!

I’ve talked to some people who want to read blogs because they understand their importance and want to be involved, they just don’t know where to look. Google Blog Search is a really good way to find what you are looking for in terms of genre or material. This doesn’t really sift through all the crap though. Sometimes you have to dig through sand to find a diamond.

Here is my favorite blog right now.

Buzz Canuck, written by Sean Moffit. Sean is a word of mouth (WOM) marketing genius. He has chaired the Canadian Marketing Awards the past two years in a row and is the President of Agent Wildfire and The Influencers. This is a really great blog and has a lot of awesome material.

http://buzzcanuck.typepad.com/agentwildfire/

Enjoy the Blogosphere folks!