Richard Edelman: The Buck Stops Here

Richard Edelman accepts responsibility for the lack of transparency in the Wal-Mart imbloglio:

[from A Commitment]

For the past several days, I have been listening to the blogging community discuss the cross-country tour that Edelman designed for Working Families for Wal-Mart.

I want to acknowledge our error in failing to be transparent about the identity of the two bloggers from the outset. This is 100% our responsibility and our error; not the client's.

Let me reiterate our support for the WOMMA guidelines on transparency, which we helped to write. Our commitment is to openness and engagement because trust is not negotiable and we are working to be sure that commitment is delivered in all our programs.

Richard

Okay, everyone, move along, there's nothing to see here.

But... Edelman needs to do a bit more explaining about the sock puppets, the finances, and so on. It is not sufficient to say "we accept complete responsibility." There has to be a real discussion of what was going on if Edelman is to get back its credibility.

tags: richard+edelman, wal+mart, working+families+for+wal-mart, imbloglio

Comments

[Lee]

what credibility? If you are in the business of PR, you are in the business of manipulation. Walmart, sockpuppets, lack of transparency ... what's the surprise? Just because PR agencies are also starting to "use" blogs etc, doesn't mean they are doing something qualitatively different from the low-rent job of pimping those who pay them into the media, where those remaining schmucks who still believe what they read might think it is somehow for real.

cynical ... moi? mais oui!!

[Stowe Boyd]

Yes, you are, Lee. It can be done better, at the very least.

[Andy Sernovitz]

Stowe --

We've opened a public forum for transparent discussion of the issue. We hope you'll weigh in. http://www.womma.org/blog-disclosure/

Thanks,

Andy Sernovitz
CEO
Word of Mouth Marketing Association