Et Tu, USA Today?

On February 11, 2009, USA Today published a story by Seth Brown on the topic of public relations.  The rasion d'etre of the article was the publication of a new book, PR- A Persuasive Industry: Spin, Public Relations and the Shaping of the Modern Media.

Whenever I see public relations in a headline, I know that there is just about absolute certainty that the story will be negative.  So how this this story score?  It only took Mr. Brown three paragraphs before he mentioned these three words:  Hitler, Goebbels and the Nazi.  Guess what:  Not only does Mr. Brown not like public relations, he also doesn't like the book.  Imagine my surprise. 

People gravitate to PR for a number of reasons: variety of the work; prospect of high pay; chance to be your own boss; glamorous lifestyle.

Perhaps the most alluring thing about being a PR consultant is that no formal training is required: no certification, no universally acknowledged test, no courses offered at many prestigious universities (although some colleges offer PR studies). Essentially, there are no barriers to entry. Acknowledging the general bad reputation of public relations, the authors feel the need to offer a defense, calling PR "a wholly legitimate aid to the exchange of information and ideas in society."

Oh, the glamor indeed. 

Even in my most generous mood, I couldn't shed a tear for the authors as Mr. Brown lambasts them.

The authors explain much about the industry: that PR is amoral, difficult to define and difficult to measure.

So, talk about adding insult to injury:  As if it isn't bad enough that a new book skewers the field of public relations, the authors of the book can't even get a good review from a journalist that hates public relations. 

Amazing. 

This very much affirms one of my core beliefs:  Never try to turn the public relations into the story.  Please step out of the spotlight.