PRSA submitted a letter to the editor in response to a front-page
Wall Street Journal expose of Saint Consulting Group's use of front groups and phony employees, emphasizing how such practices run afoul of the
PRSA Code of Ethics:
Dear Editor,
Ann Zimmerman’s front-page story, “Rival Chains Secretly Fund Opposition to Wal-Mart,” sheds a welcome and necessary light on the shadowy behavior of Saint Consulting, a company that is using the dirtiest sort of political cheap trick — creating front groups, inserting phony employees with fake names into communities and otherwise acting deceptively — on behalf of clients whose goal it is to “kill” Wal-Mart expansion.
The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is a group of 32,000 public relations professionals and students who pledge, through their membership and payment of dues, to abide by the PRSA Code of Ethics, which prohibits and defines as unethical the sort of “services” that Saint Consulting routinely provides and, in fact, celebrates on its website. The company’s activities are in direct conflict with provisions of the PRSA Code that commit members to disseminating accurate and truthful information and to maintaining the integrity of relationships with the media, government officials and the public. The Code very specifically requires the disclosure of sponsors for causes and interests represented.
It’s true that no Saint Consulting employee is a current member of PRSA. And, yes, the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects even these sorts of repugnant, contentious and disingenuous manners of speech and behavior. However, this company’s activities represent the very worst sort of communications and business practice. At a time when corporations and business schools are increasing the attention paid to workplace ethics, it is important for business leaders to know that the vast majority of communications professionals value honest relationships, operate with integrity and transparency, and adhere to ethical standards of behavior.
Business leaders and ethical practitioners need to publicly condemn and avoid the appalling practices so proudly employed by Saint Consulting and insist upon higher standards of moral conduct in their communications practices.
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Thomas E. Eppes, APR, Fellow PRSA, is Chair of the Board of Ethics and Professional Standards of the Public Relations Society of America, the largest public relations professional association in the U.S.
