John D. "Jack" Bergen, recently anointed head of the newly formed Association of Public Relations Firms, assumes that role this month after stepping down as senior VP of corporate relations at CBS.
So far, the trade association represents more than 50 major agencies, including the mainstay giants such as Ketchum and Hill & Knowlton. Bergen will be an educator and advocate for PR for both internal and external audiences - the latter being something the profession has sorely lacked.
PR NEWS spoke with Bergen last week from his CBS office in New York.
PRN: You've been with CBS for three years - do you think it will be difficult transitioning from representing the media to representing PR?
Bergen: Actually, I see some similarities between the two, and I think the challenges the media is facing today (challenges to its credibility, questions about journalists' ethics) will affect the future of the PR industry as well.
Historically, many people have looked at the media and PR in adversarial ways, but what's happening today proves that their challenges are parallel. If the credibility of the media is in question, then the credibility of PR is diminished. The media is a major channel through which we gain value and credibility for what we do, and without the media, we lose the most broad-reaching way to do our jobs and reach our audiences.
PRN: The ironic thing is that the media has traditionally viewed public relations as the art of spin. But now the media's being taken to task for coloring perception. Do you see the irony in that?
Bergen: I do. I see it as a challenge that both the media and PR face together. And one of my objectives will be actually to see if there's an interest on the other side, if we can find common ground and work together on how we are perceived. I want to meet with groups like the News Directors Association and the Pew Research Center on the Press to see if there aren't ways that when I write an op-ed piece or give a speech to business leaders, it can be something that relates both to the media and PR. There might even be the possibility of cooperating with media organizations on seminars for business leaders.
PRN: What have you learned about the challenges the media faces and what lessons does that provide for the trade association?
Bergen: What I've seen, in representing a media company, is the tremendous fragmentation of the media. It's created much more competition, which has forced the news media to become more commercial to maintain a share of subscribers. And as soon as the media does that, it must always question where it's stepping over the line, of factual reporting, or if it is. Again, the irony is that PR and the media are both facing outside competition. For CBS, it's cable and the Internet.
And on the PR side, competition consists of management consulting firms, ad agencies, sometimes lawyers and accountants, who are grabbing opportunities to do what we traditionally did - managing relationships and communication with publics.
PRN: What competitive services do they provide?
Bergen: Companies like Andersen Consulting, even IBM, got into the consulting business doing re-engineering and to satisfy Wall Street primarily. But now, in retrospect, we've seen that all the affected publics (customers, shareholders, employees) weren't necessarily viewed as equals...Companies need to think more along those wholistic lines and PR is a major part of accomplishing that.
PRN: Can you provide me with an example?
Bergen: When I came on board at Westinghouse, we had just bought CBS. In three years, we've had $26 billion worth of transactions tied to Westinghouse/CBS and we've moved this company from an industrial company to a media company, from a Pittsburgh base to New York. In doing so, we had to think about how that affected all our publics.
PRN: So, how do you manage that?
Bergen: Just this morning, we sent a letter to the head of the Pittsburgh United Way to outline our continued role with that organization. Westinghouse had been in that city for 110 years, and since we don't want to leave cities where we're had a presence high and dry, we want to make sure we have a gradual transition. And we also want to make sure that the companies that buy our industrial operations will fulfill their responsibility to the local communities.
PRN: A lot of that seems like common sense, but I guess it goes back to advocating PR as much more than tactical, and key to corporate reputation.
Bergen: My association role will be, in the beginning, advocacy and education. We need to help people understand that what we do is not manipulate, but help companies do a good job and do the right thing. And we need to help people understand that PR is a strategic business tool.
PRN: You must have a concern that you'll be a leader in an area few have taken on - you don't have a lot of examples, others' case histories, from which to draw guidance. Does that make you a little nervous?
Bergen: In my military career, [including being a Vietnam combat veteran and a strategic planner in the Pentagon], I used to change jobs every two to three years, so I learned how to be a troubleshooter, how to constantly take on new challenges. The main concern that I have is that I'll miss the internal stimulation of working every day with a team because the members of my team - the association members - will have to devote most of their time to their jobs. Still, I'll have to be able to find the time to interact with a range of people and to tap into their ideas. In a way, it's a lot like journalism. You work alone.
Jack Bergen can be reached at 212/448-4211. If you have a suggestion for an industry leader you'd like to see profiled, contact PR NEWS Editor Debra Zimmerman Murphey, 301/340-7788, ext. 2098, or you can e-mail her at [email protected]
Bergen's Style Includes Regularly Asking, 'How Am I Doing?'
Bergen knows that association heads can often be left high and dry should things go bad and he's aware that he's being closely watched by several audiences, including the board members who selected him. To measure how his new employers view him, he sent e-mails to several board members after editorial pieces run in trade publications ran about his new role. He invited them to offer feedback about his responses as well as guidance for the future. And during the selection process, he also created a six-page plan and handed out a copy to each of the board members, encouraging them to mail back reactions (comments, notations, insight, opinions) to his home address. Twelve of 15 responded. Bergen calls this tack: "The Mayor Koch, How Am I Doing?" approach and says it's key to how he'll operate.
The Man Behind The Association
Born: New York City
Education: Masters in English from Indiana University
Favorite PR Campaign: The Westinghouse Transition
Favorite Book: "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"
Favorite TV Show: "60 Minutes"
Affiliations: Chairman of the Institute for Public Relations Research and Education