Defend the Indefensible

As I’m nearing the end of my college career, applying for jobs and thinking about my future, I’ve spent a lot of time considering what would happen if I was asked to work on a client for which I had ethical concerns about or even opposition to. As near post-grad students, it seems to me that we feel the pressure to be the “yes men (and women).” But what happens when you don’t feel right saying yes?

When describing his desire to tighten up the ethics of public relations practices, not just within Edelman but also across the profession, Dan Edelman said that, “public relations firms have agreed to defend the indefensible” (Wisner, 76). This appears to be an important concern for many of my classmates, myself included, as one of the most frequent questions I’ve heard asked of guest speakers in classes or professionals at networking events is two parts: 1) Have you ever been placed in an unethical situation? 2) How did you handle that? Not only do we want to adhere to our personal values, but we also want to be team players, always willing to help. As entry-level associates entering the field, we’re concerned that we’ll be placed in situations and not feel comfortable saying no. Some situations are very black and white in terms of right and wrong, but others fall into a gray area that weigh heavily on personal values.

A passage from Wisner’s book that exemplifies a gray area of ethics that Dan Edelman faced was his work with the Church of Latter Day Saints in the '90s. After the Edelman team presented their program to the Mormon elders in Salt Lake, the future LDS President Gordon Hinckley said this: “That was a wonderful presentation… But let me ask you something, Mr. Edelman. How do you, a Jewish man, feel about representing our faith?” To this question, Dan answered that he found the Jewish and LDS faiths to have fought the same battles against “intolerance and misperception,” and that he would feel honored to help them (77).

When asked to take over Dan’s speech at the 2007 Global Leadership meeting in Washington D.C., Michael Deaver said this of Edelman’s strong values: “Know who you are. Be open and transparent. Be ready for change” (115). I cannot wait to begin my work in public relations with this quote in mind, and hope to continue developing these three values over the course of my career.

Emma Sheer is a senior at DePaul University graduating this June with a B.A. in Public Relations & Advertising, and a minor in French. She is the co-author of an experimental food blog, Cheeky Lil' Salt Cod. You can reach her at sheer.emma@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter: @EmmaSheer.