Newcomers to the field of PR often take the stance that a public relations practitioner is like a lawyer: everyone is entitled to legal representation. These people believe that everyone is entitled to a voice in the public media (which is difficult to argue with) and any PR practitioner with the skills could work for an organization without being morally associated with it, just as a lawyer is not morally associated with his or her client and the activities of which the client might be accused. Even clients who are believed to be guilty are entitled to a fair hearing in a democratic system. Indeed, those who subscribe to this analogy between PR and the law suggest that a PR practitioner worth his or her salt ought to be able to put those skills to work for anyone or any cause regardless of the ethics represented by that client. What nonsense . This perspective indicates a very superficial level of ethical functioning. Let's revisit this spurious analogy with lawyers that we first broached earlier in our discussions.
Lawyers represent clients, but what they are upholding in their representation is not advocacy of the individual, but advocacy of a legal system that provides for due process for everyone. This legal system has been developed over generations and provides the infrastructure for individual representation regardless of the crime. No such system exists in the arena of public communication. Thus, working for a client in whose cause you do not believe is a bit like prostitution. You're selling out your beliefs for financial gain. How sad. But it happens every day.
Client selection is but one of our ethical issues; selection of the words we use to persuade is another.