Life after death (of a reputation)

When the poet Alexander Pope said: “To err is human, to forgive is divine” he clearly wasn’t talking about the PR Industry. It seems the humble PR professional is not allowed to make mistakes.

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) recently called on the online magazine The Drum to sack a columnist because they believed previous convictions for tax fraud brought the PR industry into disrepute.

Richard Hillgrove, founder and chief executive of PR firm 6 Hillgrove and co-author of the Bang On column in The Drum, was convicted of two counts of tax evasion in 2014 and sentenced to 15 months imprisonment which was suspended for two years on each count.

CIPR president-elect Sarah Hall told journalists: “The CIPR is calling on The Drum to rethink its decision and work with us to champion ethics, integrity and professionalism to advance the communications industry and its status within society.

“The public relations profession is often criticised for not practising what it preaches and managing its own reputation.

“We have first-hand seen the damage that publicist Max Clifford has done to the business of public relations. We believe giving Mr Hillgrove a platform to speak on behalf of the public relations profession is equally damaging.

“The CIPR will continue to fight the corner of professionals and call out poor behaviour. We will also continue to promote the value of public relations as a management discipline to employers and the business community and expect our trade media to support us in this goal.

“What is good for the industry is good for us all.”

Hillgrove had previously been denied membership of the CIPR because of his work for Charles Saatchi.

While not condoning tax fraud as a serious, it seems a bit of a stretch to compare Hillgrove to Max Clifford, a man who was convicted of a string of sexual assaults.

As for Charles Saatchi, many PR professionals work for equally (and more) loathsome characters, corporations, governments and dictatorships. Look a bit deeper and it might just be a case of people in glass houses throwing stones.

Hillgrove believes his spat with the CIPR is down to his criticisms of the industry and their role in the creation of fake news.

Hillgrove told journalists: ““Andy Coulson, who was David Cameron’s spokesman, actually served a prison sentence and he is still a member of the PR industry. Are they going to carry out a tarring and feathering of particular individuals because of their brushes with the law?”

He continued: “It’s censorship. PR has been about fakery for years. But they have to protect their own. If someone in the PR industry steps out of line they gang up on you and beat you up in an alleyway.”

Was the CIPR right to ask The Drum to sack Richard Hillgrove or should it be more forgiving to members of the profession who have fallen foul of the law?