The Truth Well Told

There's an old adage in PR ... the truth well told. Watching the Trump campaign hurtling along at lighting speed with that wannabe politico and self-proclaimed billionaire Donald J Trump at the helm, one would swear that truth (or truthiness as satirist Colbert would say) is an optional extra in politics.


While politicos have never been known for being sticklers to the truth, Trump has taken this to another level. He has mastered the dark art of making a statement, then back-peddling faster than Lance Armstrong on speed.


His campaign kicked off with a call to build a wall. It ended with his Twitter account being taken away from him (according to the New York Times). His campaign managers finally realizing that Trump's dedication to telling the truth, or saying what he thinks his supporters want to hear, was affecting his performance at the polls.


Trump veers from bending the truth to saying whatever crosses his mind, something his supporters love.


So is telling the truth sometimes a bad thing? Maybe if you're a bigoted, xenophobic misogynist. And when the world's cameras are pointed as you, and hot mics a 'la Billy Bush are the order of the day, watch what you say. As my granny used to say: "Say something nice, or don't say anything at all."

Donald Trump - Madman or PR Genius?

The Twitterati took to social media this week to air their views on Trump's declaration that Muslims shouldn't be allowed into the US.

Trump is either a madman, or a PR genius. While some Republican candidates have faded into stage left (think Carly Fiorina) Trump is making the news and trending worldwide. While Fiorina has made it onto The Daily Show thanks to Trump's musings about her "bloody" performance at a GOP debate, she is no match for the former reality TV star.

Being in PR, I can't help but wonder if Trump is making these wild statements simply to prick our attention. The Brits are paying attention and have racked up over 370 000 signatures in a petition banning the would-be Commander in Chief from entering the UK.

Samuel L Jackson has come out against Trump, saying he will move to South Africa if the Donald becomes President. As a South African, I can imagine the Rand/dollar exchange rate in the wake of Nene's dethroning would sweeten the deal.

American politics is fascinating. I'll watch the madness unfold from my comfy couch in South Africa and just hope that the Democrats take the White House and the Senate. *grabs the popcorn*

- Raylene Captain-Hasthibeer

Louis Theroux meets Max Clifford

Louis Theroux, journalist extraordinaire interviewed PR guru Max Clifford in one of his typical "Weird Weekend" documentaries.

The film demonstrates the relatiosnhips between journalists and the media. Clifford was able to manipulate some of the journo's but proved to be no match for the upfront Louis Theroux.

The unethical bahaviour demonstrated by Max Clifford - from setting up Louis to Clifford consistantly lying in the documentary makes me question the way PR is practised. This is especially hard-hitting as Clifford is arguably the leading PR guru (self-styled) in the UK.

The sybiotic relationship between journalists and PR practitioners is quite clearly demonstrated. In particular, this documentary reveals the dodgy bahaviour of Clifford, particlarly with regards to squashing rumours that Simon Cowell is gay.



References:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf6HxmXuKBE

NGO's and Public Relations

It takes a certain kind of person to work in PR at an NGO. Passion for the NGO you work for, an ability to multi-task and getting paid a substantial amount less than your PR counterparts are all essential for all PR professionals looking to work in this sector.

At NGO's there is a close relationship between PR experts and the dominant culture of the organisation. In many cases, directors at NGO's are involved with drafting and issueing press releases to the media, this gives them an advantage over directors in the corporate sector as they are able to build a relation with the media.

NGO's are also innovative in nature. They utilise new media tools like Twitter as they are free/inexpensive to use. As an illustrative point, 38 degrees, which grew to a membership in excess of 100,000 in 8 months, used Facebook extensively to publicise its efforts.

NGO's rely heavily on alliances to achieve change. Unlike corporates who keep their technology under-wraps, NGO's freely make available their resources, particularly to others in their sector.


Social Marketing is also a mechanism for companies to instute change, in particular social change. These companies endeavour to change behaviour, and social media has made this easier to achieve.

Politicians makes strange bedfellows

Politicians have come a long way from their counterparts of yesteryear. One can hardly imagine Abraham Lincoln engaging with rock stars and celebrities the way PR savvy politicians like Barack Obama do.



The Obama campaign has become the gold standard in the political arena, and his foray into new media has swept other parts of the world. Elections held in South Africa in 2009 saw many similarities to the Obama campaign. Branding and using new media platforms like Facebook were incorporated into the African National Congresses (ANC) campaign efforts.

Obama has managed to perfect a few other PR techniques, including his ability to speak in sound bites. His ability to tap into this and other PR techniques has undoubtedly made a difference in his quest to lead one of the world's super powers.

References:

http://www.thestar.co.za/?fSectionId=&fArticleId=vn20090315064208463C258434

Feminisation of PR and diversity issues

Debate – “Women will always work in PR but will never run it”

There are certain assumptions about how a PR practitioner should act and look. Arguably the most famous PR practitioner is Samantha Jones, the fictional character from HBO's Sex and the City. Ooozing sex appeal, competent and self-assured, Samantha Jones managed to crack the glass celing, and runs her own PR company.

But, a reality check brings us swiftly back to terra firma. There is a broad spectrum of people's ideas, assumptions and attitudes as to a women's role in this industry. My experiences have largely found that while PR is overwhelmingly made up of women, all too often, men are running the show and women are caged in by a glass ceiling, concrete walls and the velvet ghetto phenomena. The Velvet Ghetto, a phenomonon explored in the 1980's by Dr Caroline Cline looked at salaries, attitudes, bias, and not being part of the gang.

The infamous Max Clifford is probably Britain's most famous self-styled PR guru. As a relative newbie to the PR landscape in the UK, I find that Clifford and Alistair Campbell are the most recogniseable PR/publicity figures.

What makes this an even more bitter pill to swollow, is that women are often paid less than their male counterparts for doing the same job.

References:
http://www.iabc.com/rf/pdf/VelvetGhetto.pdf

Can PR ever be ethical?

Where does ethics fit into PR?




PR Week recently tackled this hairy subject in an article: Professional Ethics - Should you promote these products?


Debate: “The only way to practice ethical PR is to work in the NGO or voluntary sector, all the rest is corporate propaganda or spin”
In a letter to PR Week, Businesses are not here to be ethical, Reginald Watts, director, Sound Strategies said:
"There are too many people in public relations bouncing around on the edge of business who have seldom carried the responsibilities of large company senior management."

The role of management is to run an efficient organisation that makes money. The role of government is to run a successful and efficient organisation that ensures the system is good for society. These two functions work when they are well defined. Do not muddle them.

Sectors other than Charity are driven by the bottom-line. From the CEO’s to PR practitioners, the end-goal is to make money. Charities are dependent on their credibility with the outside world, their very existence depends on their ethical behaviour, and whether the public see them as trustworthy or not. This filters down from the board, to the PR practitioners.

Business on the other hand are under no such obligation, while ethical behaviour is a nice to have, a cherry on the top if you will, shareholders are happy with increased profit margins, and PR practitioners are bent on ensuring that the companies reputation is not sullied, by whatever mechanism.


Does PR have a duty to tell the truth?

A debate held by PR week in 2007 had the majority vote against the proposition that PR practitioners have the responsibility to tell the truth. What surfaced in this debate is: "if you are not prepared to lie occasionally, you cannot do your job successfully."

In the real world, you are expected to toe the company line, and yes, this means sometimes withholding information, or even telling white lies. Often, a duty to tell a journalist the truth can conflict with client confidentiality. Can anyone, not just those working in Public relations commit to telling the whole truth, and nothing but the truth all the time?


References:

http://www.prweek.com/news/634717/Ethics-debate-dishonesty-necessary/

http://www.prweek.com/news/983049/Professional-ethics-promote-products/