Who in the world would sanction a public relations firm that brokers a deal between the White House and a broadcaster that pays $240,000 in taxpayer dollars to the broadcaster to endorse a White House program? Apparently PRSA and the Council of PR Firms. Jeremy Pepper observes that neither organization has called Ketchum on its behavior. PRSA has opted instead to point the finger of blame at Williams, per this from a New York Times article: “Judith T. Phair, the president and chief executive of the Public Relations Society of America for 2005, condemned the decision by Mr. Williams to, as she put it, promote the law ‘without revealing that his comments were paid for by a public relations agency under contract to the government.” Not a word about Ketchum’s culpability.

And the Council for PR Firms also gives Ketchum a pass: “‘It was the spokesperson’s responsibility to disclose the affiliation’ rather than Ketchum’s,” according to the Times piece. To hell with disclosure. It was Ketchum’s responsibility to avoid engaging in such a despicable practice.

Could it be that Ketchum is just too big a player to piss off? How many dollars of dues would be lost if Ketchum dropped its affiliation with either association? It seems that ethics policies only apply when the fallout of invoking them is of little consequence. The fact that Ketchum brokered this deal is a clear violation. To pass the buck solely to Williams is the same as letting Charles Manson off scott-free because, after all, it was the rest of the gang who committed the murders; Manson only put them up to it.

PR has a bad image, always an amusing notion since we’re supposed to be image experts. It won’t improve until we start cleaning our own house.