The Ethical Optimist

I read an interesting commentary by Kathleen Parker in today’s Asbury Park Press. The headline read, “Right or wrong, McClellan can look ahead to lonely days.”

The essay questions McClellan’s timing on making his ethical call.  According to her, “An honorable man quits his job rather than being complicit in fatal fraud. He stops the lie in its tracks and heads straight to the nation’s newsrooms.”

Her belief is that he didn’t do this because he wanted to “warm himself by the glow of the inner circle.”

To my point yesterday, human beings make decisions based on the culture in which they find themselves.  The Bush Administration had an ethic…so did the Nazis.  Morals and ethics are not the same…look them up.  An ethic is a system of values in which decisions are made.  Morals are entirely different, and everyone has their own moral code.  You can have a lousy moral code, but if your organization’s ethic is to work honorably, a person is more likely to work within that structure.

She feels that he’s damned for holding back, and now, damned for squealing. As I also noted yesterday, a PR person’s reputation is their stock in trade.  Those who don’t guard it wisely, will find it difficult to gain employment.

Parker goes on to talk about McClellan being an inept spokesman, and the Administration’s goal to “downgrade the press as a player within the executive branch, to make it less important in running the White House and governing the country.”  She says the plan was to “starve” the media of information.

This is not the first charge I’ve seen the press make on this point.  Frankly, I think it’s finger pointing and bogus.

I went to a journalism school…from what I recall, they taught us that good reporters always question, always dig, develop good sources, etc.  They do not sit in a briefing room and take a spokesperson’s words as law…especially a political spokesperson.

The lies are McClellan’s fault? Please…the media ALLOWED the Administration to lie.  How many networks were gung ho on imbedding journalists when we hit the ground overseas to improve their ratings? How many joined the fray with 24/7 coverage of the “war” and bought into the bullshit so they’d have a story?

Question McClellan’s timing all you want, but why aren’t you questioning your own? Seems to me, everyone is now a 20/20 quarterback.  I didn’t see a lot of balanced reporting before or during the Iraq invasion…nor do I see it now.  The Bush Administration isn’t stopping reporters from doing their job…rather the downsizing of today’s newsroom and corporate media monster’s concern for the bottom line is managing that on its own.

For example, the fact that General Electric (a major defense contractor) owns NBC has nothing to do with the way the war was reported?

I find the hypocrisy this subject has spawned interesting to observe.  To me it’s just a typical media feeding frenzy before they move on to the next carcass.  And, it further fuels my desire to represent organizations that stress good values and tell solid stories as honestly as possible.

One of our clients is K. Hovnanian Homes. They’re a terrific client, and we enjoy their efforts to promote and educate consumers on Energy Star homes and green building.

I’ve always found them to be extremely ethical in their business dealings and media interaction, as well, but was pleasantly surprised this week to receive a letter from them to all their partner companies, outlining their Code of Ethics.

The letter encourages each partner company to carefully read the code and abide by it. They outline what they consider to be serious offences of ethical misconduct, and note that “these activities may jeopardize the safety of our associates and irrevocably impair the company’s reputation.”

What I find particularly useful is the fact that they provide a toll-free Corporate Governance & Ethics Hotline in the letter for the anonymous reporting of complaints and concerns.

Wow!

They note that, “As an important business partner of the company, you [Utopia] and your employees are also encouraged to utilize the hotline to report any incident which may be perceived as inappropriate or unethical behavior, the braking of any law, or a violation of company policy or procedure.”

They note that the letter and hotline number should be shared with all of Utopia’s employees.

You know, it’s not uncommon for a company to have an internal code of ethics, but this is the first time I’ve seen one shared with all vendors and partner companies. When you think about it, it’s a wonderful idea. The people/vendors who work closely with your company need to understand where you set the bar and that you expect them act in accordance with your ideals.

I’ve always liked working with K. Hovnanian…but now I like them even more!

Kudos to the agency that handled this morning’s placement for Smart Mouth mouthwash on the Today Show. Why kudos you ask?

Well, they did a terrific job on disclosure….as I watched the program this morning, my jaded PR sensors perked up. Here was a lovely dentist talking about how to prevent bad breath.

She started by telling viewers to brush and floss…so far, all seemed fine. Then she discussed brushing the tounge. Okay, still fairly innocuous. Then she talked about the three generations of mouthwash…germ killers, de-ordorizers…and now, a new product…(drumroll please)…Smart Mouth, which does the best job of killing bacteria that causes bad breath.

This is when my PR spidey senses perked up…and I thought…aha, she’s not just some random dentist…she’s a PR placement. I was then VERY pleasantly surprised when Al Roker said, “In the spirit of full disclosure, we need to mention that you work for the company that makes Smart Mouth,” to which the spokesperson responded…yes.

Now, here’s the beauty of disclosure…it didn’t make the segment any less interesting. In fact, as a consumer, I found the information helpful. As a consumer, I also appreciated the disclosure and found that it make both the segment and the spokesperson more credible. After all, as a PR professional, I knew I was getting hoodwinked, but more viewers are ordinary folks who have no idea who’s truly behind a story.

I also give high marks to the Today Show for having the guts to fully disclose that they used a paid spokesperson for a segment. Believe it or not, many reporters feel it will lessen their credibility to admit that a majority of their information is provided by us PR folks. Not so!

Today’s consumers are better educated than ever before…while they may not always be aware of where a story comes from, they can spot a product pitch a mile away and wonder…isn’t it better to be up front. If you have a legitimate story and useful info, people will still be interested.

So, today’s “Ethie” (my version of an ethics award) goes to…Smart Mouth and The Today Show!