Tag Archives: ethics

The APR: My Experience

To practice public relations there is no board or exam. The practitioners are lumped in together- the good, the bad and the ugly. The Accreditation in Public Relations process is elective. You can choose to sit for accreditation or you cannot without any consequences. And if you pass there is no real effect on yourRead the rest of this entry

Stop Worrying and Start Innovating

For the most part, I find the PR industry’s trade publications — PRWeek, PRNewser, PRNews, etc. — to be good standard-bearers for effectively covering the ins-and-outs of this diverse and growing industry. Sure, they tend to focus too much on AOR announcements  — the old-time stock ticker-tape reports of PR — but they do theRead the rest of this entry

Has PR Become a ‘Lightning Rod of Mistrust’?

Lord Tim Bell, head of the U.K.-based PR firm Bell Pottinger, thinks so. That’s what he told a crowd gathered in Dubai for the recent IPRA Public Relations World Congress and reiterated in an excellent interview with The Holmes Report. Lord Bell is asked why he feels that public relations has become a “lightning rodRead the rest of this entry

10 Reasons To Think About Getting Your APR

We all know there are good PR Pros and there are the “other” PR imposters. These imposters go around selling our profession short of what it is and throwing mud on the industry name. It is hard to show that you are not one of “those” to a reporter, client or boss who has beenRead the rest of this entry

The Celebrity Plug Goes the Way of the Dodo

Could the celebrity plug — that beloved loathed centerpiece of many celebrity PR campaigns — be going the way of the Dodo? If the UK’s Guardian newspaper is any indication, it may be. And this could have profound effects on public relations. To get the background on this movement, you have to go back toRead the rest of this entry

When Not to Pitch: During an Earthquake (or a Hurricane)

Dear PR colleagues: Pls do not pitch earthquake-related stories unless you rep an earthquake preparedness company/expert. I wrote that tweet Wednesday afternoon in response to a tweet from Forbes media reporter Jeff Bercovici that he, like every other reporter it seems, had received an irrelevant earthquake-related pitch from a PR pro. And Friday afternoon, IRead the rest of this entry

Commentary: Blogger Compensation

All opinions expressed herein, unless otherwise noted are my own.  They do not represent the opinion of other PRBC bloggers, affiliates, etc. – NB Payments to bloggers are one of the many “Blogger” issues that has been coming for some time and last week came to a head around “Mommy Bloggers” at the evo ‘11Read the rest of this entry

News of the World Hacking Scandal is Bad Business, Not a ‘PR Disaster’

The fallout last week from the News of the World phone hacking scandal, and the subsequent bombshell decision by News International to close its 168-year-old tabloid, has raised a whole slew of accusations, questions and soul-searching within the media industry as to what it all means. And, of course, it’s also led to the media reducing this to yet anotherRead the rest of this entry

Friend or Foe? Online Reputation Management Firms

As many people know, I’m a vocal advocate for the value of PR. Hell, I wouldn’t be doing my job at PRSA if that weren’t the case, and it’s something I sincerely believe in. Yet from time to time, like most folks, I get down about certain aspects of the business. This is the storyRead the rest of this entry

Whispergate: There is NOTHING Good About It. Nothing.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve all read our share of posts criticizing Burson-Marsteller and Facebook over the smear (or, if you prefer, whisper) campaign. We’ve also seen the posts that have tried to legitimize the smear. Let’s get one thing straight:Read the rest of this entry