Recent comments

Of course not all PR people are untrustworthy, but I for one wish that the honest ones would speak out more assertively. You talk about advocacy. If the PR industry as a whole were truly honest, the clients with harmful agendas would have a much harder time finding "advocacy" for hire. This advocacy isn't like that for criminal defendants, who are entitled by law to representation. There's no law that says anyone with an agenda is entitled to PR services. <i>"Don't confuse spin with advocacy."</i> Well, let's see: I think of an advocate as someone who speaks out in the open for a particular person or cause. You know who he is and for whom and what he is speaking; you know his own stake in the matter if he has one. But a spinner works in secret to manipulate what gets printed, broadcast and talked about. Often the agenda he's promoting has no obvious connection to the overt matter it's inserted into; the idea is just to plant thoughts or change attitudes without the targeted audience even noticing it. Usually the spinner would hate to have his role in the undertaking publically known, because that would shatter the illusion he seeks to create, and the whole thing wouldn't look so good to the people he's trying to influence. If truth and justice are ever well served under such conitions, it's more likely by chance than by design. I would love to see high-profile industry groups like "PR Professionals Against Homelessness" or "PR Professionals Against Militarism." But I'm not holding my breath, for the simple reason that these hired "advocates" mostly go where the money is, just like anyone else with services to sell. This or that firm may take on this or that pro bono project now and then, but, when you get down to it, there really isn't much money in promoting progressive political and social policies. It's the people with the money who would have to accept the limitations on their accumulations of power and wealth that progressive policies entail. As they say, money talks. But contrary to the saying, b.s. doesn't walk; it usually flies luxury class. This, as I understand it, is the imbalance that CMD is working to rectify. If their work doesn't satisfy your own idea of "balance," you may have to resign yourself to looking elsewhere.