Searching through the vast ocean of the blogosphere, I've come across some interesting themes. First and foremost, people are angry. It seems as though they write most passionately about that which infuriates them. Personally, I live in a world of cynicism. Quippy jokes and snide comments are my failsafe fall back. But why does it seem that we revert to such places when expressing ourselves? I'm no more a hippie than John Wayne, but can't we all just be happy?
In the PR world, I've found the issue of money and convictions come to light quite often. It seems as though people are having to choose between that which they know to be right or at least they understand to be inherently "good" and the other option of what's best for the company (usually money....).
I pose these questions: What's right for us or what's right for the company? Where do we draw the line as PR practitioners? And, maybe most importantly, does it ever become OK to stretch our own values for the good of the company?
6 comments:
Very philosophical post Mitchell, and to cut to the chase....bottom line we are around to please our client and to meet the needs of our client. I feel that anyone that would have a hard time balancing out the needs of their client should not work for a major PR firm where they would be put in the situation where they would have to test the limits and boundaries of personal and professional ethics. They should consider working for one company where they will have the chance to communicate the message of one client, of course they would be passionate about that organization and would obviously stand behind the message personally so I would imagine that they wouldn't have a problem with it professionally either.
I would have to say that it is never okay to stretch and/or sacrifice your personal values for the sake of a client. At the end of the day you have to live with yourself and the company will live happily with their sufficient pay checks. If you truly can not complete an assignment because of a confliction with personal moral, I would say screw it, even though it is very unprofessional and would hurt you in the professional field, at least at the end of the day you can look in the mirror and be glad to know that you are grounded in what you believe in.
Hmmm. We're blogging on the same wavelength today, Mitchell. I ask the same question at the end of my post.
No. I will not represent someone I do not believe in personally or 100 percent. Haven't done it for 27 years in PR, and ain't startin now. No matter how much money there is.
first of all: those links were hilarious. for some reason, i kept thinking one would be attached to an actual article. i was wrong and pleasantly surprised.
as far as representing something/someone you don't believe in is concerned- i don't feel as though the monetary gain would be worth the overall feeling of shame and disappointment i felt for myself at the end of the day.
but let us think about something: what if we are in a situation where our firm assigns us to a client whom we don't agree with, but it's a make or break deal. if you succeed in representing the client well, then you keep your job. if you refuse the job or do a poor job, you lose yours.
times are tough right now and the job market is a cruel place, with unemployment being even more so.
sticking to your convictions as a young practitioner can be difficult but walking around with no shoes on your feet and no food in your belly might be a little more so.
Hey buddy, you and I both know the "but can't we all just be happy" question is a ridiculous one. Ofcourse we write most passionately about what infuriates us. It gives us an opportunity to do way to many things at once. First, it gives us the chance to feel like we are the say all be all on the matter. Take your Seinfeld/Gates blog for instance. Your disproval of the commercial is so strong, that has reached "paragraph long insult" status. Secondly, it allows us a chance to detach ourselves from an insecurity or flaw that is abundantly obvious in ourselves. And once we're detached, we can begin to analyze and criticize others for the same BS. Finally, we get to expose some sort of passion without leaving ourselves to seem vulnerable to everyone else. If I sat around and wrote really nice sweet nothings, I would get plenty of heat from you and the guys. But thats all just a shot it the dark.
I completely agree with you Marvin. I find myself frequently writing words that i know are merely put to paper to sound good. I pose a question to you though: as elementary as it may be to write something that "allows us a chance to detach ourselves from an insecurity or flaw that is abundantly obvious in ourselves," who else will bring it up? Someone has to speak. Someone has to ask questions. It's a fact that we are all flawed. And maybe we don't understand our flaws, so we speak out. We seek understanding, even if it through placing blame on others or trying to convince ourselves our personal flaws don't exist. It may seem childish and easy, but it has to be done. Right? Doesn't someone have to say something? And we can't ask those without this flaw to speak on the matter. how can they understand it if it's not a part of them? Yes, it's easy. Yes, it feels like i'm pulling myself down sometimes. But I truly believe, at some point, it's my responsibility to ask. And if i ask a million stupid questions, math and chance dictate that at least one of them will be thought provoking and may cause real change. That, my friend, makes it worth it.
Mitchell, this post is insane with all the links. I'm delayed in getting to it but I laughed nevertheless.
One of my mottos in life is care about something. There are so many people who are just floating around without standing for anything. All those people ever end up doing is tearing down what other people stand for, because they don't know what else to do.
And no I couldn't represent someone I didn't believe in. It would go against my motto.
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