It’s a derogatory term, and I believe there are some terms and words that can never be reclaimed (in this I differ from the hiphop artists who have ‘reclaimed’ the ‘en’ word – in my view it would be better to let that one fade away to the point that 23rd-century folk who encounter it would have to ask what it meant).

Implicit in the word spin is the idea that deception is involved, facts are being turned on their heads, and/or there’s so much fast talking going on the truth would be unrecognizable even if it were part of the mix. The ‘truth’ is, it’s as much of an insult to call a public relations practitioner a ‘spin doctor’ as it is to call a woman a ‘chick.’ And it is a female-dominated profession, although not yet at the most senior levels.

Despite the cross-fertilization that occurs between journalists and PR practitioners (since writing well is the foundation skill for both professions), there is also the perception that journalists are those who ferret out the truth and present it objectively, while PR folks do their best to deflect, disguise, and distract from the truth. The notion of the muck-racking journalist being free of bias is laughable in the 21st Century. We wouldn’t have populist, right-wing, and left-wing media outlets if bias weren’t inherent in every medium, whether it’s the way the headline is written, the fact that the story is covered at all, or the selective presentation of facts. The notion that objectivity is in disrepute is, thankfully, permeating the zeitgeist – and not a moment too soon.

The inspiration for this post came not from the field of public relations, however, but rather from some tweets by Portuguese journalist and science communication PhD candidate Andréia Azevedo Soares (BordadoIngles on Twitter) re Mike Hulme‘s ideas on the climate change debate. Hulme is the author of Why We Disagree about Climate Change and recently gave a lecture at Imperial College London. (The book will be out in paperback in early 2010.)

Here are her tweets from Hulme’s Dec. 7, 2009, lecture (rearranged to appear in chronological order and edited into paragraph form):

Mike Hulme suggests there are six different ways to frame the climate change debate: market failure, technological hazard, global injustice. overconsumption, climate change as mostly natural and finally as a planetary ‘tipping point.’ Hulme shows that those different frames lead to different solutions to climate change. They relate to our various worldviews, beliefs, and values. Different framings suggest we need to recognise pluralism in our approaches to make climate change policies.

Oddly, I’ve rarely heard the term ‘framing’ used by a public relations practitioner. But it struck me as something that should be a integral part of the PR lexicon, since it is precisely what we do. From the Wikipedia definition, framing is ‘…an inevitable process of selective influence over the individual’s perception of the meanings attributed to words or phrases. A frame defines the packaging of an element of rhetoric in such a way as to encourage certain interpretations and to discourage others.’

Framing is inevitable, an involuntary reaction that is part of our effort to make sense of the world around us, its people and its problems. I particularly like the example used in the Wikipedia article of a wink vs a blink (although I’d argue both eyes close during a blink). The glass half full/glass half empty analogy probably works better, since by definition half means equal portions.

Whether you view the world through rose-coloured glasses or not, whether you think all politicians are dishonest or revere those who occupy the corridors of delegated power, whether you’re a MacHead or a PC fan, we all have filters we apply to information, and these filters affect our decision-making processes.

There is nothing illegal, immoral, or unethical about choosing a frame. You need to be aware that there’s more than one framing choice. You need to consider the fact that others won’t choose the same frame as you. Ultimately, though, you will have to either pick one or leave the picture unframed. Choosing a frame and developing a strategy for its presentation is the heart of public relations. As a practitioner, aligning yourself with clients whose framing aligns with your beliefs and values is the soul of a successful PR consultancy.

Perception has never been reality. It just appears to be. That, I suspect, is a natural consequence of the human condition.

To find any of these chats, log on to Twitter and use your search function to search for them by hashtag (on the far right, under your profile you’ll see a search function – type in #solopr or #litchat). Scroll through the tweets and you’ll discover the chat moderator, whom you can then start following, and the regularly scheduled time for the chat.

When Twitter grinds to an almost-halt, the chats can be a frustrating experience. But that doesn’t happen all that often these days, and the wonderful thing about the chats is the commitment the moderators make to ensure they happen on a regular basis. My hat is off to the lovely Kellye Crane, for instance, who not only organizes the #solopr chat every Wednesday from 1-2PM EST, but ensures she’s got a backup if she’s travelling that day so the chat can continue.

New to Twitter as of Tuesday, November 24 is #askdrstu, a series of five scheduled chats led and moderated by Dr. Stuart Clark, author of the award-winning The Sun Kings: The Unexpected Tragedy of Richard Carrington and the Tale of How Modern Astronomy Began.

Five chats are planned for 2009, on Tuesdays beginning November 24 at 1PM EST (10AM PST, 6PM GMT).  Each week the chat will focus on a different popular astronomy topic. The first relates directly to the subject matter of The Sun Kings: “What level of influence does the Sun have on climate change?” Stuart will share what he’s learned from fellow scientists Henrik Svensmark, Mike Lockwood and : Kalevi Mursula in Bruges, where he recently moderated a debate on space weather and its effect on earth’s climate.

The other four chats are scheduled for December 1, 8, 15 and 22. Subjects could/will include topics he explores regularly in his role as a science journalist: ‘What is dark matter?’ ‘What defines a planet?’, and ‘Why isn’t Johannes Kepler better remembered?’

Whether you’re an astronomy buff or neophyte, you’re guaranteed to learn something by participating in the #askdrstu chats.

And if astronomy’s not your cup of tea, check out the hashtags used by the smart, funny people you follow on Twitter and find a chat that does make you want to join the conversation.

Within minutes of our arrival at the Waazubee Cafe it was also apparent that our mutual passion for strategic marketing communications and our love for the kind of technology that makes your life easier can only lead to good things.

I tried to order the butternut squash tortellini and was dismayed to hear that it hadn’t actually been on the menu for six years. That seemed odd to me, since I’d only checked the web site Saturday and it was on the downloadable food and drink menu then. I’m not actually a picky eater, but the online reviews I’d found were confusing – at one point I saw a reference to the cafe as a Japanese eatery and then saw another comment that asked why the cafe was listed as a Japanese restaurant, since it’s not. (Disclosure: I don’t eat uncooked fish, meat, or poultry and I have a few food allergies.)

When I mentioned the web site and the reviews to our server, she rolled her eyes and said, oh yes, that’s because we can’t access our own web site or find our web designer to change anything on it. Mhairi and I immediately began to think of solutions to this problem: switch your hosting provider, said Mhairi. Educate and inform clients that when they contract with a web designer, all files created are their property, not the web designer’s, I said. And don’t pay the final web design bill till you’ve received the files via email!

It was a nice example of how well we work together and of the kind of rich and deep knowledge and skills we can offer clients. Marketing communications, one of the many areas of public relations specialization, cannot possibly succeed or benefit clients who don’t actually have both a business strategy and a marketing strategy in place. Since marketing in general and internet marketing in particular are Mhairi’s specialities, No Spin PR clients who don’t have marketing plans can benefit from her knowledge, expertise, and results-oriented approach to create cost-effective strategic marketing plans. And Out-Smarts clients will be able to broaden their reach and ensure they’re not failing to reach all their target markets. There isn’t a company in existence that can’t benefit from public relations, whether it’s a traditional media relations campaign that results in print, radio and television coverage, a comprehensive, integrated social media strategy, or managing internal communications to help attract and retain employees or position you as a thought leader in your industry.

Public relations supports both business and marketing strategies. Make sure you’ve got yours in place. Get in touch and we’ll start to make it happen for your company: mhairi[at]out-smarts.com; ruth[at]nospinpr.com.

P.S. The Out-Smarts blog is rich source of info and tips on social media, and internet marketing. Sign up for the feed. I’ve learned a lot from reading it, and chances are you will too.

I too, remember wondering at how few marcomms clients we had when I first joined the Toronto office of a full-service global PR firm. In fact we had more than I’d first realized, high tech clients were pretty exclusively marcomms clients. Their primary goal was to garner positive media coverage that supported marketing efforts and ultimately drove sales. The health practise was all about selling more drugs.

But corporate communications was about exciting, real things like corporate reputation management and issues management and community and stakeholder consultations and crisis communications. And then corporate social responsibility and now, about social media and the way citizens have been universally empowered through interactivity.

We worked closely with our public affairs colleagues, because they were the ultimate source of information about what was really going on. We got reports the instant they were transcribed. We’d sometimes get oral briefings that would guide us in our approach. It’s all about communicating persuasively, baby.

So many of these listening tools are now provided by social media, whether it’s live blogging or Twitter, news aggregator or citizen journalism sites – the opportunities to acquire information are now available at warp speed.

But back to the PR/PA debate: no one ever had better brainstormers, or more of them, or more varied formats for brainers, than the marcomms people. I was delighted to be invited to many of them, where we could eat candy, get silly, and come up with some amazing ideas.

Which is why I hope to build a PR practice that includes a variety of clients with a variety of needs.