In late January 2026, the Public Relations Society of America sent an email to its members reaffirming its “apolitical” stance.
Background information
- PR Week: PRSA stresses ‘apolitical stance’ after Minneapolis shootings
- PRSA National Advocacy Framework (saved to Google Drive, but the document is still posted on the “About” page of the website as of 3/1/2026)
- PRSA Code of Ethics
- PRSA homepage displaying Black History Month (saved to WayBack Machine shortly after announcement)
Responses
- The PR industry makes headlines, we can’t pretend we’re not in them by Toni Harrison
- When ethics require us to speak by Kelliann Amico, APR, Fellow PRSA
- An open letter to the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) by Shel Holtz, SCMP
Past items
- “New code needed for new conversations: A critical textual analysis of the PRSA Code of Ethics and practitioners’ responsibility to the public good” by Sandra Boone
- Silence is not golden when there is an expectation of caring from Alyssa Badalamenti, PRSA Orlando
- The ethics of silence and of speaking up by Emmanuel Tchividjian on PRSay (PRSA Blog, 2018)
- Public relations association rebukes Trump’s White House on ‘alternative facts’ by Madeline Conway (Politico, 2017)
- PRSA Professional Standards Advisory PS- 15 Looking the other way (August 2010)
- PRSA responds to CBS story challenging public relations from PRSA (Link from WayBack Machine, 2008)
Sandra Boone 
Leave a comment