17 Professional Organizations Representing More Than 42,000 Practitioners and Scholars To Share Best Thinking

A coalition of 17 major national organizations for professionals in corporate public relations, investor relations, public affairs and related communications disciplines announced they will meet to discuss the issue of societal trust in corporations and other business institutions.

Entitled "Trust: Models for Action", the one-day 'summit' will be held January 14, 2003 at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Approximately 50 senior professionals, composed of up to five officers from each organization are expected to attend. They collectively represent more than 42,000 practitioners in the communications fields.

"Our goal is to bring to the forefront the most powerful and practical strategic thinking to deal with the recent collapse in public trust of business," said James E. Murphy, Global Managing Director of Marketing and Communications for Accenture, and coordinator of the coalition and the January meeting. Mr. Murphy is the immediate past president of the Arthur W. Page Society, one of the participating organizations, which is composed of senior corporate communications officers.

"Members of the participating organizations are dealing with the issue on a daily basis, advising managements and boards on strategies and programming," Mr. Murphy said. "We want to share and analyze their experiences and their best practical thinking. Our intent is to identify the half dozen or so initiatives and the philosophies behind them which can help business move forward in the face of the distrust among key audiences."

The Public Relations Coalition is an informal group composed of leaders of public relations and related organizations who meet periodically to discuss common interests. It has been active since early 1999, chaired by Mr. Murphy. The January 14 meeting will be the first with extensive representation and a single focus.

"Those corporate officers and others who have committed crimes or gone over the ethics line hopefully will be dealt with properly by authorities and their companies," Mr. Murphy added. "The summit meeting's goal is to provide constructive guidance to the vast majority of honest and ethical business leaders on whom we are relying to regain the support of a disillusioned society. Our intent is to publish position papers representing the collective views expressed at the meeting. We hope these papers will provide a clear and concise philosophical anchor to deal with these challenges. Each organization plans to promulgate the views of the group through their individual organizations and incorporate the findings in their respective initiatives.

The subcommittee of the coalition planning and organizing the meeting includes:

Paul Basista, Arthur W. Page Society
Catherine Bolton, PRSA
Kathy H. Cripps, Council of PR Firms
Julie Freeman, IABC
Dr. Michael Goodman, Corporate Communications Institute at Fairleigh Dickinson University
Douglas Pinkham, Public Affairs Council
Dr. Marion Pinsdorf, Arthur W. Page Society
Ward White, Institute for Public Relations

Coalition member organizations participating in the summit include:

Arthur W. Page Society
Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College
Corporate Communication Institute
Council of Communication Management
Council of Public Relations Firms
Counselors Academy
Global Public Affairs Institute
Institute for Public Relations
International Association of Business Communicators
International Public Relations Association
National Investor Relations Institute
National School Public Relations Association
Public Affairs Council
Public Relations Society of America
PRSA Foundation
Women Executives in Public Relations
WEPR Foundation