In defense of PR

In a lot of blog posts I read, a common theme is that PR pros are flacks and hacks and serve little redeeming value. They obfuscate and spin, and in the world of web 2.0, there is no need for them if only companies and CEOs would only just speak their minds and “tell it like it is.”

Yesterday, as I listened to and watched the owner of Murray Energy in Utah, I could not disagree more. If you haven’t seen it, here’s a clip: 

In a passionate and obviously heartfelt speech, Robert E. Murray, Chairman of Murray Energy Corp., covered a wide range of topics, including: global warming, the need for coal powered plants, the mineworkers’ union, seismic activity, and the inaccuracies in media reports of the mine disaster. He also discussed the missing miners and the obvious concerns of their families.

He was all over the place, and not at all “on message.” Live television covering a mine disaster was not the place for political messages; it might be how he feels, but this was not the appropriate forum to relay his feelings on these topics.

Staying “on message”–discussing the missing miners–would have relayed a much stronger presence, and conveyed the sense that the company was doing all it could to be a resource in an obviously very difficult situation.

I don’t know if Murray has a PR firm or an internal PR group, or if he’s inclined to listen to them. I get the sense that yesterday’s performance was a missed opportunity for Murray.