Ethics Moment: Dear New York Times: “We do not spin”
Posted on Aug. 18, 2025 / Subscribe 0
By Holly S. Ingram, APR – Ethics Director, Cincinnati PRSA Chapter
Keeping with this newsletter’s theme of recognizing excellence, PRSA is getting ready to recognize Ethics Month in September, spotlighting our Code Of Ethics and its importance in how our members conduct business each day with excellence. Preparing for Ethics Month, I came across this letter to the New York Times that should make us all proud of our Code of Ethics, how it guides our 20,000 members and how it absolutely DOES NOT stand for “spin.” The letter was written by Mark W. McClennan, APR, Fellow PRSA, and PRSA 2016 National Chair.
As McClennan has noted, the NYT Crossword puzzle gaffe earlier this year is small in comparison to all the serious things going on in our world, but I appreciate that he took the opportunity to speak to the New York Times about our PRSA ethics commitment. He notes how honesty, fairness and free flow of information (the opposite of “spin”) are essential to our Code of Ethics. His letter was also a good example of advocating for the profession, which is also a provision of the Code that has been our north star for 75 years!
#Ethics Matter. Here is McClennan’s letter to the New York Times:
Dear New York Times,
I am writing to express my strong dismay and disappointment, and to set the record straight regarding one of your clues in the New York Times Crossword Puzzle. On Jan 31, three down was "public relations pro, informally."
The answer was Spin Doctor.
Spin Doctor is *not* an informal term for a public relations professional, it is a pejorative one. A more accurate clue would have been "public relations pro, pejoratively." This misrepresentation is as misleading and insulting as if the crossword puzzle had a clue that said "reporter, informally" and the answer was hack or scribbler.
There are more than 200,000+ public relations professionals in the United States, and the vast, vast majority of them practice ethically and provide valuable services to their organizations and communities.
The best of us serve as the conscience of our organizations, ensuring leaders understand the opinions, needs, and perceptions of all stakeholders (employees, community, customers, society and more), and advocating for ethical decision-making.
We are not the caricatures often portrayed in movies or propagandists twisting facts. We do not spin.
Many of us pledge each year to follow a code of ethics, similar to the Society of Professional Journalists' (SPJ) Code of Ethics. The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Code of Ethics explicitly calls for honesty, fairness, and the free flow of information. The first principle of the Page Society is simple: tell the truth. The PR Council and other public relations associations globally also have this core tenet. These values are at the heart of the public relations profession, as they are for reputable journalism.
In today's climate where there is so much disinformation and hatred, you shouldn't insult those who will work in partnership with you to counter misinformation and advance the truth.
The New York Times has long been a standard-bearer for fairness and truth. You are better than this.
Regards,
Mark W. McClennan, APR, Fellow PRSA
2016 National Chair, Public Relations Society of America
Author of "Ethical Voices: Practicing Public Relations with Integrity"
Join the August PRSA Webinar on Ethics
Consider registering for the Aug. 20, 2 pm EST webinar by Marlene Neill, Ph,D., APR, Fellow PRSA: “Straight Talk on PR Ethics: Skills, Shortfalls and Smart Counsel”. It’s free to members of the Independent Practitioners Alliance PRSA section and $40 for other PRSA members. You can earn 0.5 CEUs and learn about:
- The Top 10 essential ethics competencies
- The 10 ethics competencies that are lacking
- Ethics Counsel in Practice (decision models, ethical frameworks, and more)
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