Spin

I have worked in the communications field now for over 35 years, first as a journalist and currently as a press secretary. Over the past few years one term has emerged regarding this profession that really bugs me: spin. Especially as applied to public relations and, more specifically, people like me, it suggests purposeful dishonesty; a twisting of facts; a manipulation of information for the purpose of deceiving. Mainly, I am bothered for two reasons. The first is it suggests public relations practitioners professionals are fundamentally dishonest individuals who are paid to lie and "pull a fast one" on their audiences. The second reason is, sadly, because there are too many instances when that perception is true.

At the risk of generalizing, professional communicators are honest workers who are unfairly maligned. Often times these people are hired to represent one side of an issue or an individual, such as a political candidate. They gather facts. The devise strategies to communicate those facts.They generate plans to present their clients in the best possible light. Those activities, in themselves, are not bad things. Lawyers do the same thing for their clients. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for people to confuse a communicator's vigorous support of a person or an issue as being manipulative or dishonest because they are not presenting a complete picture of an issue. It is important to remember that it is the public relations professional's job to present one side, not both sides, as a journalist is supposed to do.

At the same time, there are professional communicators who do lie, twist the truth, and deceive. They give the field of public relations a bad name because they label themselves communicators. The truth is these "spinners" are not communicators, but in fact are bald-faced liars. These kind of individuals are found in every profession. Sadly, as it is in many walks of life, good liars are often hard to detect and expose. Sometimes they can even get away with deceiving or spinning for years. The run-up to the war in Iraq is a good example. The fact the Bush administration has virtually no credibility right now is one result of the well orchestrated spinning its key players initiated nearly seven years ago. What they did was not public relations. It was being dishonest.

I will be writing more on the work of public relations practitioners and the work they do. Make no mistake, ones that are good and reputable are not dishonest. They are just doing their job.