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The spotlight continues to shine on the entire PR profession following revelations (first disclosed in USA Today Jan. 7) that Omnicom Group's Ketchum public-relations firm -- as part of a $1 million contract with the U.S. Department of Education (DoE) -- paid $240,000 to a company owned by conservative commentator Armstrong Williams to ensure Williams would plug the Bush administration's "No Child Left Behind" schools-standards law.
The still-unfolding scandal has raised serious ethical questions among senior-level PR pros. On one hand, the leaders among PR trade groups applaud Ketchum's recent efforts to cauterize a gaping wound. On the other hand, PR observers say the Ketchum debacle clearly violates industry standards, and it is likely to cause major damage to the profession.
The scandal has sparked a furor in the PR field, with other embarrassing questions foisted on the industry about how rampant "pay for play" is, whether PR pros are estranged from ethics and if the DoE broke the law by using taxpayers' money to pay for "propaganda."
After Ketchum initially dumped the blame on Williams, the agency late last week said it regretted the incident and pledged to change its policies to prevent another such incident. Ketchum -- which dates back 80 years -- has hired outside legal counsel to investigate the contract with the DoE and the Graham Williams Group, the Washington, D.C. based PR/advertising firm that Williams runs.
"Upon review, this particular contract did not comply with industry standards and guidelines and was a lapse in judgment that we regret," says Lorraine Thelain, senior partner of North American operations for Ketchum." She adds that an internal review has not discovered any similar problems and the agency has not received any negative feedback from other clients.
A statement released by Ketchum and attributed to CEO Ray Kotcher, reads, "We should have recognized the potential issues in working with a communications firm operated by a commentator."
Judy Phair, president of the...