IABC Advocacy Commons

When we ask what people feel IABC should “do about advocacy,” one of the more frequent responses is “take a position on key issues.”

That’s a valid suggestion, but it’s difficult getting a consensus on just what some people have in mind. For example, should IABC limit itself to taking “official” positions on issues in business communications — or business in general? Ethics within our profession — or in general? Political events? Global current events? (BTW, this isn’t meant to be an inclusive list — just some starters.)

This is more than a question of relevancy — we also have to consider whether “taking a position” is in the best interests of IABC’s mission and values.

But that’s only part of our quandary. Assuming that we can define what, an even more important question becomes: who decides what our position is?

Maybe this will help…

Recently, we received a press inquiry: “What is the stand of IABC on the firing of Don Imus. Was it justified?”

An ad-hoc “flying squad” that included several Executive Board members, IABC staff and lay members developed a response in a little more than 24 hours. Here’s Glenda’s reply to the inquiry:

While I don’t think it’s appropriate for IABC to pass judgment on the business practices of CBS and MSNBC, this is a situation in which IABC’s Code of Ethics, which is the standard that guides business communicators, could help guide organizational responses, as well.

IABC created its blogs — the IABC Commons and the IABC Café — to provide a forum for lively discussions of current news stories and issues, without necessarily taking sides. Whether the topic has been Imus, Virginia Tech or any number of others, the opinions have been as diverse as our membership.

Nothing in the Imus controversy has changed our position: We will continue to promote IABC’s code of ethics as a “way of life” for communications professionals.

Is this how it should work?

Would this example fit within your overall view of Advocacy for an organization like IABC?

What do you think?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007 at 3:09 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.