Spin doctor? No. Just call me “a revolving physician.”
Spin doctor, spin doctor, spin doctor!! Is your blood boiling yet? Are your ears bleeding? If you are like me, hearing these two words together to describe people in my profession (public relations) is like listening to nails screeching down a chalk board.
In 2008, I was honored to have the opportunity to attend the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) International Conference in Detroit, Michigan. One of the keynote speakers repeatedly referring to what we did as “spin.” She was, and is, a well-known speaker and entrepreneur. For that reason, she shall remain nameless. Attendees were so offended that the current PRSA president interrupted the speaker in the middle of her speech and politely asked that she not refer to our work as “spin.” The crowd, of course, went wild.
Spin. It’s the four letter word of our industry. PR people have fought long and hard to clean up our own image. We are not spin doctors. Believe it or not, it is NOT okay to be manipulative or disingenuous. When working ethically; we address facts and truths. As professionals, we are ambassadors of public relations and it is important to reiterate our purpose. It is not our job to simply do what the boss or client says. Part of our job as public relations professionals is to act as a consultant. If your client/boss wants you to spin a response in favor of the company, let them know the value of truth, honesty and transparency to the company, its audiences and stakeholders. They should also be aware of the consequences of spin as well. Once your organization has been blackballed as a spin machine, it will be hard to gain that respect back.
As much as we fight to prove this perception wrong, there are plenty of professionals who are perpetuating the stereotype. How can we put an end to this? Should there be more/better education in the J-schools so that we are “raising” ethical, young public relations professionals? Should we press our public relations organizations to be more vocal when those in the media refer to our group as “spin doctors?”
What are your thoughts?
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