Should PR Firms Write Opinion Pieces?

I came across an article from Northern Michigan’s Traverse City Record-Eagle: “PR Firm ‘Ghosted’ Letters.” Long story short, a PR firm was hired to flood the newspaper with letters (supposedly from town residents) in an effort to influence voters and taxpayers leading up to a February recall.

It brings up a more general question about PR writing: Is it ever OK to hire a PR professional to write an opinion piece that your name will be signed to?

I think in most cases, yes, it’s absolutely alright (whether that be an Op-ed, letter to the editor, or anything else along those lines).

Some people simply aren’t articulate, or they can’t write persuasively although they may know exactly what they’re trying to convey. When you need something to be concise or persuasive, and you can’t do that yourself, it makes absolute sense to bring in a professional.

In the case of the story mentioned above, I do think it was abused, and far from ethical. Having PR professionals creative massive campaigns designed to manipulate is significantly different (in my opinion) from an individual needing help turning their own ideas into something effective and readable.

I think the biggest question as far as ethics go is the amount of involvement from the client (or person claiming authorship). There’s a big difference (again, in my opinion) between a client telling a PR firm precisely what they think, what point they’re trying to make, etc., and then approving everything before publication or distribution, and someone simply telling the PR professional “we want a piece that’s pro-this or anti-that” or “write us a bunch of letters, and we’ll have our people sign them.”

What are your thoughts on the ethical side of hiring a PR firm to write opinion pieces for you or your company?

December 28th 2007 READ MORE