Candor is Essential in Public Relations

By Craig Miyamoto, APR, Fellow PRSA

(This is the 2003 Fourth Quarter issue of Public Relations Strategies, a quarterly publication of Miyamoto Strategic Counsel)

Here�s a word that you�ve been hearing a lot of lately � Transparency. Simply stated, it means an organization should be open and honest about everything it does. America has been undergoing a crisis of trust � Enron, weapons of mass destruction, the Catholic Church, 9-11, the examples are many. When something � an object, a philosophy, an organization, an individual � is transparent, it means you can see through it without deflection or distortion of any kind.

The concept is not new. At least 40 years ago in college, the word �candor� appeared in the public relations textbook I used � specifically Effective Public Relations by Cutlip & Center. That was the first time (in college, imagine that) I seen or heard of the word; so I looked it up. Basically, it means being honest and open.

At the time, my professor noted that it did not mean revealing absolutely everything about the organization. For example, he said, if you see a garbage can sitting in an alley, you know what�s in it and don�t have to lift the lid to expose the contents. I guess that was the prevailing attitude at the time. These days, however, stakeholders and the general public are demanding more from us. They don�t want us to just point out the garbage can, they want to see what�s in it, and what was done to create the garbage.

Public relations educators pound it into students that credibility is the stock in trade of the profession. Credibility demands transparency, candor and honesty, based on sound values, policies and actions. The issues of credibility and trust are somewhere in the middle of the Values-Image Continuum (Values → Policy → Action → Credibility → Trust → Reputation → Image). Unless an organization acts credibly, it will not be trusted.

Political pundit Mary Matalin has noted that people now have an even lower threshold for lies and equivocation, and that there is a necessity for transparency and authenticity in what you say and how you say it.

The Public Relations Coalition, in its 2003 white paper, �Restoring Trust in Business: Models for Action,� suggested three concepts for restoring trust:

1. Adopt ethical principles for performance
2. Pursue transparency and disclosure
3. Institutionalize trust and ethics, and establish formal measurement

What else can you as a public relations practitioner do? First of all, create more access and availability of information to nurture trust between your organization and its publics. Trust is earned by the continuum: Tell me → Show me → Involve me. Transparency naturally increases as you move along the continuum.

Accept responsibility and commit to being held accountable for everything you do (and don�t do). When you support other causes or organizations, make it known and don�t keep it confidential. Here are some techniques you can use to become more transparent when you do:

• Insert a "Paid for by ..." notification in sponsored ads
• Distribute sponsorship/involvement information on your letterhead
• Use footnotes and acknowledge your involvement and support
• Issue press releases disclosing involvement in your positions; be "up front"
• List third-part involvement on your website(s)
• Insert note marks on electronic transmissions

You should ask yourself if your support is legal and the right thing to do. Remember that anything you do is fair game for the news media, and take a moment to reflect on how your activities will look in the newspapers or on television. This is not to say that you should be dissuaded from doing it, just that you should be willing to accept responsibility for anything you do.

In college, one of the prevailing definitions of public relations that I learned was, �Public relations is doing good things and telling about it.� It�s a little more complicated these days, but it still valid nonetheless. By using the word �good,� the definition presupposes that the action is credible, necessary, and honest.

Nearly three-quarters of a century ago, Arthur Page sagely advised corporations to tell the truth and to prove it with action, because public perception is determined by what the organization does, and very little by what it says.

The end goal should be honesty and accountability. Society expects it of you.