The Ethical Optimist

Where have all the old folks gone? You know, we talk a lot about diversity in the PR businesses. Every conference I attend tries to tackle it (yet those sessions are full of empty seats), but we rarely discuss one of the larger issues facing our industry today, ageism.

In most other industries, elder statesmen are revered. Yet in PR, you’re lucky to get a job after the age of 50 unless you work for yourself. If you think I’m off base here, just take a look around at the next networking meeting or walk into a top ten agency and play “count the old folks.”

In the last few years, I’ve seen a number of good friends and exceptional practitioners squeezed out of high-level agency jobs and reduced to calling everyone in their networking database for help in securing freelance consulting gigs.

At the same time, I get weekly calls from headhunters and agency HR people crying for good leaders. Many are desperately searching for SVP holes to fill.

As I see it, the system needs tweaking…from both sides. Clearly, some older professionals are pricing themselves out of the market and lack the required skill set larger agencies are demanding in terms of social networking and new media savvy. Agencies, on the other hand, need to look at how they view talent, and the type of working environment they offer. Few of us in our 40’s really want to work an 80 hour week.

I remember job hunting shortly before I created Utopia…I was being interviewed for very senior positions by folks half my age, who were taking notes as I advised them on how I’d handle some of the challenges their clients were facing! I even had one recruiter tell me to dye my grey hair so I’d have a better shot at landing a job.

I found it incredibly frustrating. I’d be curious to hear your comments on the subject.

Since I’ve been blogging on the ethical implications to our industry surrounding the role of 5W PR in the Agriprocessors scandal, I want to share with you some helpful background in the form of a comprehensive article by Shmarya Rosenberg at http://www.jewcy.com/post/most_wanted_bad_butchers_agriprocessors

Also, the Forward has a report on 5W’s role as well, written by Marissa Brostoff at http://www.forward.com/articles/13847/

One of the most disturbing excerpts from that article was the following:

“Based on what I’ve read, including Mr. Torossian’s admission that the accusations leveled against 5W were true, I’m concerned that these practices are in opposition to our code of ethics,” said Bob Frause, chairman of the Public Relations Society of America’s board of ethics and professional standards.

Frause said that he had never before encountered allegations of a public relations firm impersonating people on the internet.

In response, Torossian wrote in an e-mail, “Considering that the EVP and #2 of 5WPR is on the Board of Directors of the Public Relations Society of America’s New York chapter we continue to follow all ethos of the PR industry which accounts for our continued growth and success.”

It is disheartening that PRSA-NY cannot sanction these individuals and allows them to sit on the chapter board and represent the vast majority of practitioners who believe that ethics are of the utmost importance to our industry.

Lately, our team here at Utopia has been snagged by a few pseudo magazines and production companies that are using less than ethical tactics. The game, as they play it, has been around the PR business for years, but it is a shame that they continue to operate.

Referred to as “pay for play” operations, they usually target corporations and non-profits (because most PR agencies catch them at the door) with a pitch that they are legitimate media outlets and want to do a story on the company or one of its officers.

Once several pre-interviews have taken place, they come back to the organization with either a “production charge” or request for a vendor list. They usually target a CEO or director of marketing who may not realize that this is not an accepted practice.

Bottom line? If you pay for editorial coverage, it’s not editorial. It’s advertising…period. Legitimate news outlets DO NOT ask for payment in return for doing a news piece.

Here’s the sticky part. Many of these production companies are producing content for legitimate networks such as Discovery, Oxygen Network, etc. I often wonder if these network executives even know that they’re hitting up the subjects of their interviews for money…maybe/maybe not.

One of our junior people was recently taken for a ride with a magazine that purports to do editorial features on CEOs. Once they were done interviewing our client’s CEO (which took a considerable chunk of the CEO’s time), they told us they would need a list of the company’s vendors. Why? So they could “invite” them to advertise. It’s unethical on two fronts.

First, they never identified this requirement upfront. Second, their “invite” is a bullying tactic. If you’re a vendor and your “invited” to advertise in a magazine that is doing a puff piece on a major client, you may not feel you have a choice for fear of alienating that client in some way.

It’s similar to one of your key clients asking you to buy a ticket to a charity they support and you find out each ticket is $1,000! You can’t really say no without jeopardizing the relationship.

As media fragments, my concern is that we’re going to see more “quasi” production companies providing content to legitimate outlets and more self-publishers positioning themselves as legitimate news outlets when in fact, both are just money machines.

In addition to hurting our clients and our industry, it hurts the consumer, who doesn’t know where this news is coming from, is not aware that it is a pay-for-play and takes the information at face value with the imprimatur of credibility.

It would be nice if our trade publications could “out” these guys. Anyone?

It’s a busy summer in the Higgins household with three children out of school. For parents, this translates into kids with too much free time. With that in mind, I signed my middle guy up for Camp in Delaware. Camp Arrowhead has a Christian focus, which I thought would be good for “Dennis the Menace” and help steer him in the right direction.

As someone who tries to live an ethically focused life, and run an ethically focused business, I find it still a challenge to pass my values onto my children. The little devils tend to have a mind of their own.

My middle son, at 14, is a loving soul, but he’s always been a bit of a challenge…headstrong, somewhat selfish (what teenager isn’t?), and no time at all for “god lectures.” So, off we packed him for two weeks in the wilderness to commune with nature and get a smattering of spirituality.

Imagine my surprise when I received a call from the camp after his return, that he and his two friends (who attended camp with him) had some serious charges pending. Apparently, Mo, Larry and Curley felt they were being picked on by another camper and decided to take photos of their naked butts with his camera.

Upon returning from camp, the child’s mother developed his photos and to her surprise had some interesting photos!

So much for the god squad I’d hoped for. Dennis the Menace (name has been changed to protect the less than innocent) thought the whole thing was hilarious. I, however, had another take on it. How do I make it an ethics lesson?

Well, I sat him down and explained the ramifications of his actions. I then made him call the camp and own up to his actions (after all, he had been accused, but his ass hadn’t been positively identified in a line up). Then, at his own suggestion, he asked the camp for the boy’s phone number and called him AND his mother to apologize and take ownership.

This wasn’t my suggestion, but his idea. To say I was surprised is putting it mildly.

You know, boys will be boys, but maybe this one actually has a chance to become an ethical man. One can only hope.