A Question of Personal Principle, Not Industry Ethics

In this week's newsletter, Arun Sudhaman reports on the controversy over Washington, D.C.-based Fenton Communications--known for its representation of liberal causes--going to work for a Qatari group that is trying to turn public opinion against the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Fenton has come under fire from former Counselor's Academy chair Bruce Rubin, who believes its decision to work for a group that "portrays the U.S. or any of its close allies as an enemy."

We'll get to the specifics of this case in a second, but first it's important to look at the general principle here, since it comes up fairly frequently in our business.

Lawyers justify their work for unpopular causes, companies and individuals by pointing out that everyone is entitled to legal representation. As Rubin rightly points out, there is no similar entitlement to public relations counsel. PR people are under no professional obligation to represent causes they find abhorrent. But they are entitled to work for any cause, company or individual they choose. This seems to me to be a matter of personal conscience.)

The sole exception, I believe, would be when the State Department or some equivalent, raised an official objection--and even then I would argue that if a PR person believes a cause is just, he or she should be prepared to challenge the State Department view.

As I may have mentioned before, I am pretty much a First Amendment fundamentalist. There are few if any issues that do not benefit from a full and frank discussion and robust public debate. If PR people believe anything, they should believe that. It's the core principle of the profession.

Furthermore, I believe the core ethical issues of our profession are defined by what we do, not who we do it for.

It is quite possible to do ethical public relations for clients whose ethics are questionable. Rubin, for example, asks whether it would be right to do PR for a "Charles Manson-type mass murderer." It seems to me that if this Manson type wished to apologize sincerely to victims, make some kind of restitution, or educate others to seek mental help when they start hearing voices, then a PR person would be well within his or her rights to take the account.

Similarly, it is quite possible to do unethical PR for a client with the noblest motives. Lying is wrong, whether it is done on behalf of a giant oil company or an environmental group.

In the case of this Qatari group, there is no allegation that Fenton has done or said anything dishonest.

Indeed, the issue in question seems to me to be an almost classical example of one on which reasonable people can disagree. The United Nations, for example, has called for an end to the Gaza blockade. Would working for the UN be "unethical"?

It's important to differentiate between attacks on the U.S., or one of its allies; and attacks on a specific policy of the U.S. and its allies. Companies hire PR firms to attack government policies (environmental regulation, trade policy and more) all the time. If a group wanted to hire a PR firm to oppose the invasion of Iraq or the war in Afghanistan, it should be entitled to do so, and any PR person who agrees with that view should feel free to offer professional counsel to such a group.

Bruce Rubin has a right to criticize anyone who advocates a position with which he disagrees. And Fenton Communications has just as much right to argue a cause it believes to be a just one, to try to stimulate and influence public debate around that cause. That's what public relations does, and should continue to do.