Response of Jack O’Dwyer to letter to PRSA members in the September issue of Tactics that accused O’Dwyer of “attack journalism.” 

O’Dwyer denies this charge but welcomes the opportunity to tell members about the O’Dwyer Co., which has provided  fine journalistic and research products to PR for 40 years. Its weekly newsletter and monthly magazine have been archived in full text on Lexis-Nexis since 1989, one indication of the authoritative nature of its reporting .odwyerpr.com will have as of 12/31/08 eight full years of a searchable database of tens of thousands of PR stories, editorials, reader comments, features, instructional articles, book reviews—everything that has been on the site.

I did not step “far beyond the bounds of accurate and professional reporting” in March in writing about the appointment of Dr. Gail Baker of the University of Nebraska as chair of the Board of Ethics and Professional Development. She was not a member of BEPS and her appointment was a break with the tradition of picking a chair from among the board of BEPS. Story is at www.odwyerpr.com/ethics.html (no codes needed).

When Dr. Baker would not return either my phone calls or e-mails, I called and e-mailed Dr. John Christensen, Chancellor of the University of Nebraska. I sent him and the PR department PDFs of articles that have been in existence for years and not one word of them has ever been challenged by the Society.
Within four hours after I sent him these materials, Dr. Baker resigned as chair of BEPS.

One of the PDFs sent is a four-page article published in February 1995 in O’Dwyer’s PR Report that documented the Society’s more than 15-year practice of creating information packets out of copied articles and selling them to members for $18 and non-members for $55.  Story is at www.odwyerpr.com/copying.html. No codes needed.

A dozen authors, whose permission to copy had not been obtained, tried to collect royalties but this was rejected by the Society which claimed “fair use.” The authors, including three professors who were members of the Society, hired a law firm but legal costs were prohibitive. While the statute of limitations on this has run out, the moral statute of limitations has not.

Another PDF quoted critical comments by three college accounting professors about the annual audit of the Society. They said it should be deferring a substantial amount of its dues income like most associations and should also show on the balance sheet the more than $5 million owed on the 13-year lease of h.q. at 33 Maiden Lane. Story is at www.odwyerpr.com/accounting.html. No codes needed.

I told Dr. Christensen that 80% of the Society’s membership (those not accredited by taking a one-day test) have been barred from seeking national office since the 1970s and that I did not think this was a democratic practice.
I noted that the Society’s first Strategic Planning Committee in 1999 recommended that the APR rule be dropped but the SPC has been ignored.

Some Good May Come of This
The board’s letter attacking me implies that I am a journalist working alone whereas in reality I head a 40-year-old company with a number of products that has been an immense force for good for the PR industry.

The O’Dwyer staff has five full-time writers and more than a dozen contributing editors including Fraser Seitel, former editor of Strategist and author of one of the leading PR texts, The Practice of PR. O’Dwyer’s Directory of PR Firms, 38th annual Edition, listing nearly 2,000 firms, has helped bring literally billions of dollars in business to the firms. Rankings of 204 firms are documented by top pages of corporate income tax returns and W-3s.

The PR firms and others recognized this valuable service by buying more than 500 ads in the 2008 Directory including 420 expanded agency listings. The Directory is often called the No. 1 source of job leads for PR pros.

The expanded PR firm listings are also on odwyerpr.com, which for many years has been one of three PR news sources that garner the biggest web audiences as measured by Google. Other products are our weekly Jack O’Dwyer’s Newsletter and annual PR Buyer’s Guide listing more than 1,000 products in 57 categories.

We only want good things for the Society’s membership such as:
--The right of all members to run for national office, which has been denied to about 80% of the members since the 1970s on the ground they have not passed the one-day accreditation test.
---The right of all members to be able to read on the Society website Central Michigan’s reasonable proposal in 2006 that the Society adopt the governance of the American Bar and American Medical Assns. and make the Assembly its supreme governing body. This is even more relevant now since the 2007 Assembly was repeatedly told that the Assembly cannot issue any commands to the board under New York State Law.
--The right of members to see the well-reasoned 14-point essay of several PR professors demanding that the Society hold an open discussion and then a vote of all members on bringing back the printed members’ directory.
--The right of members and the press to have a copy of the transcript of the annual Assemblies, which were provided in 2002, 2003 and 2004.

Society Supposed to Be Non-Competitive
I want the Society to stop regarding the O’Dwyer Co. as competitors and accept us as a partner. As a 501/c/6 non-profit, the Society supposed to act like a Chamber of Commerce and be a resource for its entire community. It should not be in competition with what any private business would do according to the Association Law Handbook published by the American Society of Assn. Executives.
The Society has compiled its $4.9 million in cash and investments because it has escaped the 40% annual federal and state taxes that a regular business would pay. It should recognize its debt to the public including non-member PR professionals.

Above all, its relations with the press should set a good example for the entire profession. It should live up to its Code which promises “fairness” to the media and others and to “respect all opinions and support the right of free expression.”

Cordially,
Jack O’Dwyer