By Rogério Artoni, Executive Director
Ever since the beginning of corporate communications, the discussion regarding the ethics of, or lack thereof, this work, has been present. The perception and rumour of this business has, among the public, for decades consisted of the idea that it is a dishonest business, which prospers by helping corporations making fortunes by avoiding inconvenient truths, especially as it many times includes lobbying. In other words, a portion of the population believes that communications professionals who operate on this market are people who explain to corporations the best way to lie to the public, whenever considered advantageous.
Although I am certain of that the clear majority of you who are reading this don’t agree with this view (and neither do I), it is still noticeable that the communications and lobbying industry suffer from this negative image. Hence, it is an image that we, as professionals from the area, need to worry about. When I speak of lobbying, I would like to make it clear that it is an ethical, law-obeying and transparent lobbying that I am referring to.
First of all – is there any truth, however small, to this reputation? Well, to be honest – yes and no. Just as with any business, there are questionable and dishonest professionals in the field. However, claiming that this is a problem typical to lobbying is, in my view, a mistake. Lobbying does not equal lies, tricks and deceit of the public. Quite the contrary. When done the right way, lobbying, together with the communications of the company or organisation, is about managing, selecting and providing the right information to the right person. It is about facilitating the flow of information between companies, organisations and entities, the media and the public. It is not about hindering this flow, despite what many might think (some professionals from the area, included). And perhaps it is here, in this misunderstanding, that the root if the problem lies. For, undeniably, every now and then, cases surge of companies and organisations that act questionably and afterwards use lobbying and public relations in a questionable manner to cover it up, sometimes with blatant lies.
This, however, I would argue, is not a problem of the communications area, but rather a problem of a dishonest organisation or, at least, of dishonest individuals. Now, this is where we, as communications professionals, consultants and advisors, need to take on the role of educators. It is fundamental that we consider it one of our main responsibilities to educate and train representatives of companies and organisations not only to deal with the media but also to serve it. Many leaders and spokespersons of companies view the media as an enemy and the communications consultants and lobbyists as weapons to ward it off. Of course, in some cases, this might be true, but in most cases, it is not. The media ought to be viewed as an ally, a communications channel which enables a conversation between consumers, clients and other stakeholders and, also, where you can encounter valuable information about these groups.
Good relations between companies and the media create, in fact, not only a scenario that benefits one side, but one that benefits all three sides: the companies, the media and the public all reap the benefits of this relationship. The companies get the opportunity to get their messages across, the media receives valuable material and the public receives relevant information.
In other words – more than a reflexion of a dishonest industry, dishonest communications consultants, lobbyists and public relations professionals are reflections of the organisations which they represent. Communications, lobbying, media relations or public relations which are well-executed and correctly conducted are, independent of the subject which is being discussed, mediators. Without a structured communications area with lobbying, media relations and public relations, the media will have problems accessing information about the companies and entities and, consequently, the public will have the same problem. It is up to us as professionals, together with the companies that we represent, to make our industry as correct, ethical and prosperous as possible. Only this way will we change our image.
(Article orginially published in portuguese on the Aberje site.)
