PR firms are pretty much a staple for any and all celebrities. From Michael Vick to Mel Gibson, celebrities eventually say or do something that needs to be cleaned up by a public relations professional.
Nadya Suleman, the infamous mother of 14 children including octuplets, hired The Killeen Furtney Group, a PR firm based out of Los Angeles. The firm sent a representative to Good Morning America and handled all of the mother’s publicity and privacy. Unfortunately, the firm stepped down from its duties after they received death threats from people and groups that disagreed with the mother’s in vitro fertilization practices. I mean, I get it; I understand some people do not agree with the fact that she VOLUNTARILY had 14 kids without any support system or income. I personally believe she is borderline insane and needs serious medical attention, or at least she will when those octuplets all come home. But death threats? To her PR firm? That is taking things to an entirely new level.
We don’t normally think of a PR firm being a dangerous place to work, but situations like this prove that no job is really safe. This is something we should take into consideration as we head out into the corporate world. Many of us will go into jobs with PR firms, and we must really look at who we are choosing to represent. For instance, Chris Brown hired the PR firm Sitrick and Company to deal with the Rihanna situation. I’m not sure that I could agree to represent the R & B singer because I am so personally against his actions and what they represent in society. I am sure Chris Brown is a nice person and just made a mistake as a human being; however, I don’t know if I could compromise my principles to make a little extra money. Well, more than a little.
I know that I am a fresh-faced college kid who can still see all the goodness in the world and hope to make a difference and change our corrupt society and blah blah blah. But, I do think we as a generation of PR professionals need to really think about who we are representing and why we want to represent them. Sure, it would be great to have a summer home in the Hamptons paid for by Chris Brown’s service fees, but my principles are still worth more than that.
Amen! Too many firms aren’t willing to say no to the client. That’s part of PR’s image problem. True, everyone is entitled to a defense, but the client has to listen to and take the advise of the PR person. If we continue to allow ethically challenged clients to dictate to us, we will continue to be thought of as an ethically challenged profession.