So by 138 votes to 124 an audience to a PRWeek ethics debate decided against the motion that ‘PRs have a duty to tell the truth’.
3 comments.
Firstly there is a great discussion about this at blogHerald and Strumpette (great blog name)
Secondly – PRWeek just isn’t great at PR. I cannot actually see the source article without subscribing to the (UK) PRWeekly magazine – something of dubious value to me without the ability to see what I am buying, and certainly not something worth £120 per year.
Thirdly is the obvious – if PR firms and the businesses they represent persist in lying, then they will lose all credibility and people will just learn to ignore their messages. Does anyone actually believe that the piffle that Cheveron writes on the environment bears any relation to how they run their business?
The companies, brands and people that we respect the most have alignment between what they say and what they do. Apple. Toyota. Ghandi. Mandela. Warren Buffett.
PR firms would do well to council their clients to be the same.
Lance Wiggs 