Taking a more aggressive role to support the industry, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), which represents more than 18,000 PR professionals, is supporting the move of an advertising-based trade publication to the U.S.
In a letter to 60 PR firm executives, PRSA CEO Ray Gaulke calls London-based PR Week: "a world class publication with substantial editorial resources [that] will create a broader understanding of the power and value of public relations in the new and fast moving business climate where advertising simply can't respond fast enough."
Ironically, the endorsement is offered despite the fact that PR Week likely will compete for advertising dollars with PRSA's own ad-based publications, The Strategist, a quarterly, and the monthly PR Tactics. And it comes at a time when a fledgling PR trade group, Association of Public Relations Firms, has been formed to advocate and educate on behalf of large PR firms, indicating the industry is working to move its causes forward.
Supporting PR Week may, indeed, be one of the boldest actions PRSA has taken to create interest in a specific publication. And while PRSA appears to be acting within the realm of what is permitted for a tax-exempt, non-profit organization, some question the move.
Specifics of the Letter
Gaulke's letter, obtained by PR NEWS last week, outlines trips and discussions between PRSA and PR Week's owner, Haymarket Group, to facilitate the process of bringing the four-color tabloid to the U.S. in November.
Haymarket paid for PRSA executives to travel abroad and negotiate the partnership, says PR Week Publisher Stephen Farish, who spoke to us last week when he was in New York meeting with PRSA officials, including Gaulke.
PR Week reportedly is working to secure external support from major U.S. PR houses for advertising and subscriptions, sources say. And Gaulke also is encouraging U.S.-based PR firms to support PR Week, sources tell us.
Gaulke's letter indicates as much: "We could introduce [PR Week] to leaders in the business, we could help them meet our advertisers, we could encourage our members to subscribe..."
Farish said Haymarket has been working for about nine months toward the U.S. launch and that PRSA was "very helpful."
Association Feedback
Of four associations polled by PR NEWS, only a spokesman from the Direct Marketing Association questioned the appropriateness of PRSA's endorsement: "When you align with a single publication, it can be looked upon by other publications that you're picking favorites, which isn't appropriate," says Chet Dalzell.
Yet this isn't the first time PRSA has worked closely with trade publications, says PRSA spokesman Richard George. It has had both marketing and conference affiliations with several outlets, including Ragan Communications and Phillips Business Information, Inc., which publishes PR NEWS.
PR NEWS also contacted Magazine Publishers of America, the American Society of Association Executives and the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).
Generally, these associations indicate support for Gaulke's move - although everyone we spoke to couched comments by saying they do not have an insider's view of PRSA's relationship with PR Week. And specifics about the nature of the relationship have not been fully disclosed.
"It's not unusual for an association to do something like this because it operates with limited resources and creates support on behalf of the industry it represents," says Jeanine Moss, VP, marketing programs for the Magazine Publishers of America, New York.
But Gloria Gordon, editor of the IABC's Communication World, called the letter "puzzling" after reviewing it last week. She does not consider PRSA's support unethical, but says as an editor she would be concerned about IABC endorsing a publication because of how it might compete against its own publications.
Tax Law Specifications
PRSA's support of PR Week wasn't bought, say Gaulke and Farish. And initial queries with the IRS and the New York Attorney General's Office, where PRSA is headquartered and under whose jurisdiction it falls, also do not indicate PRSA violated tax protection regulations.
With a non-profit classification, organizations are exempt from certain tax categories under which publicly held and for-profit ventures fall. But this exemption comes with several regulations pertaining to business deals. Thus, associations historically find unique ways of whipping up industry support and positioning themselves as advocates, without being seen as partisan.
IRS laws can be fairly murky when it comes to outlining the extent to which non-profits can go to propel causes and industries. IRS regulations concerning not-for-profits can prohibit pacts and deals perceived as revenue generators or for private benefit.
PRSA, the society, is classified as a 501c (6), according to Bob Kobel, an IRS spokesperson. Under such a classification, it can embark on such industry-support missions as writing a letter. It appears Gaulke acted on behalf of the society.
PRSA Foundation, however, is classified as a 501c (3). Such organizations must follow stricter guidelines. As charitables, 501c (3)s are required to act in the public interest, according to David Marshall, a tax lawyer with Baker & Hostetler LLP, in Washington D.C. The firm provides legal counsel to PBI and reviewed documents about the PRSA/PR Week relationship. (New York Attorney General's Office, N.Y., 212/416-8060; ASAE, 202/626-ASAE; DMA, 212/790-1525; IABC, 415/433-3400; IRS, 718/488-2900; MPA, 212/752-0055; PRSA, 212/995-2230; PRSA President-Elect Sam Waltz, 302/777-4774; PR Week, Steve Farish, 44-171-413-4166)