Ignore Cohen. Look up. Move on.

I wasn't planning on commenting on the recent dust-up caused by CBS commentator Andrew Cohen's assertion that Scott McClellan's admission that he lied during the time he served as White House spokesman somehow translated to all members of the PR field are liars. Really, I didn't want to give Cohen any more attention than he'd already received, as I have a feeling he was intentionally over the top to generate controversy--not because of some true sense of outrage. That is a lie of sorts itself, isn't it?

In his follow up non-apology apology to the nuttiness that has ensued (complete with an indignant response from PRSA and many PR pros in the comments section), Cohen quotes a friend of his who states: "In an academic sense, your hyperbole is inaccurate and therefore, perhaps, unfair. There are certainly ethical PR folks out there. But, like lawyers and the Fourth Estate, there have been so many bad actors who for so long have abused the public's trust, that the hyperbole pretty accurately represents the feelings of most in the public, and is sadly not that far from the truth. The PR industry needs to take some responsibility for this state of affairs (as do lawyers and the media) and work to restore the public's faith."

The PR industry does need to take some responsibility for the image that's out there, and maybe it should consider a campaign to improve the image of the profession. I'd suggest starting with Hollywood and the entertainment industry. My experience in a PR firm looked absolutely, completely, nothing at all like that ridiculous Sex and the City character Samantha's "PR" job. And yet, this type of party-site scouting is considered by many to be "PR." (Full disclosure, I think I've watched one full episode of SATC. The few other times I tried to watch the show it annoyed the heck out of me.) It is event planning and promotion, which is a small part of some PR work. If Hollywood isn't confusing PR pros with party planners, it's casting them as liars "spinning" stories. These folks exist too. But again, this isn't the bulk of PR.

Like lawyers, people love to complain about PR pros until they need one. (Try handling a major recall effort or crisis situation without PR counsel if you don't think anyone could possibly "need" a PR pro.) Any industry painted with a broad brush calling it dishonest will have people who take exception to that characterization. For the most part, lawyers seem to take it in stride. Maybe it's time for PR to do the same. Hold your head up, do honest work, don't lie. With all due respect to Mr. Cohen, I don't see many journalists worrying about how the public perceives them--his anecdote about hand-wringing notwithstanding. If there really are journalists in DC who are "wringing their hands at their own failures to ferret out McClellan's lies" they must be new to the town, and to the profession.

I'm struggling to think of any profession that isn't at least in part defined by its worst actors. Examples:

"All politicians are liars." - I've worked in politics, and have known quite a few on both sides of the aisle that are true public servants. Many work hard, long hours for low salaries because they believe they are doing good.

"Teachers get the whole summer off and don't work hard." - Usually said by someone who has zero real contact with teachers.

"Retail/fast food is full of workers who don't care." - I've worked in retail, and can say that there are many very hardworking people who do care about what they do. And again, long hours (most of the time on your feet), and crappy pay.

Oh, and one more:

"Bloggers write their mean and vitriolic posts hiding behind the anonymity of the Internet from the safe confines of their basements." - Obviously this only describes a few (if any) and yet is the pervasive view of the public.

I guess my point is this: it's time for PR pros to stop complaining about how others perceive us, and time to start either doing something about it, or ignore the criticism and just do good work. It might be counter-intuitive to a profession that spends its time caring about what people think, but it's time to move on.

Isn't there a proverb that says "to stop swatting flies first get rid of the garbage?" Self-police more often, and call out the bad actors. But know and understand that there will always be those that don't honor the PRSA's code of ethics, and that they will be the ones that get the attention. It's unfortunate, but a fact, and it's not just PR that has to deal with this.

Go forth and communicate.