Crisis manager: Dr. Walter Palmer deserves PR representation

Blog post counters new 'PRWeek' survey that shows nine out of 10 PR practitioners would walk the other way

Crisis expert Glenn Selig: 'As a PR industry we need to stand up. If not for cases like Dr. Palmer, what are we around for?'

(PR NewsChannel) / August 19, 2015 / TAMPA, Fla.

crisis management expert, crisis communications firm

Crisis management expert Glenn Selig, founder of the crisis communications firm The Publicity Agency, appears live on ITV News in Great Britain. (Jan. 06, 2015)

Despite a new survey that shows nearly 90-percent of PR practitioners would run the other way if the Minnesota dentist accused of killing Cecil the lion called, The Publicity Agency, a leading national public relations firm, published a blog post from its chief strategist that argues why Dr. Walter Palmer deserves PR representation.

(Read the Dr. Walter Palmer related PR Blog Post: http://thepublicityagency.com/2015/08/18/why-dentist-walter-palmer-deserves-pr-representation/)

“Like a defense attorney who is hired to represent a client in the courtroom, I represent clients in the court of public opinion,” writes Glenn Selig, an experienced crisis manager who has handled high-profile cases and appears on TV as a commentator. “And right now I believe Dr. Palmer needs help. And deserves that help. Isn’t that what it’s all about? Or do we, as an industry, take the position, yes that’s what it’s about, but only when it isn’t controversial.”

According to an online survey by PR Week, nearly 9 out of 10 PR people won’t touch him or the case. PR Week asked readers whether they’d “rep the dentist who killed Cecil the lion” and the overwhelming majority of those who answered said they’d turn him away.

“The PR community has been in universal agreement that this crosses an ethical line,” the magazine reports. “Many believe no amount of PR can fix the damage caused by Palmer’s own actions.”

Dr. Walter Palmer has been in hiding since the shooting of Cecil the lion went public. Yesterday, the beleaguered doc re-opened his dental practice but without him.

The first photographs of Dr. Walter Palmer since the killing also emerged.

“When people’s reputations are at stake, I believe they deserve vigorous representation,” says Selig. “It’s bad enough Nancy Grace and other pundits are passing judgment without due process. As a PR industry we need to stand up. If not for cases like Dr. Palmer, what are we around for?”

Read the entire Dr. Walter Palmer related PR Blog Post: http://thepublicityagency.com/2015/08/18/why-dentist-walter-palmer-deserves-pr-representation/

Direct link: https://prnewschannel.com/2015/08/19/crisis-manager-dr-walter-palmer-deserves-pr-representation/

SOURCE: The Publicity Agency

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KLAS

No amount of PR will negate the facts. Walter Palmer’s claims are deceptive to say the least and he “may” not have known beforehand but he certainly knew that Black Mane Lion King was legally protected via that collar when he beheaded and then skinned him – period.
Rick

The average person is already forming the impression that the PR industry is just another slimy business operation. If you want to further cement that perspective by representing a sociopath like Walter Palmer, go for it.
Joe Main

Public Relations Agents are too often nothing more than “Spin Doctors.” Too often hired to cover wrong doing. In this case the facts are already public knowledge. Baiting, luring, night hunting and spotlighting (which by the way is illegal in the United States (at least to my knowledge) wounding, killing, skinning and beheading a semi-tame, protected animal is a bit difficult to spin into anything other than what it is, vile. Then there is Cecil’s collar. After the killing, it was moved around to make it appear that Cecil was still alive. The collar was not turned over to the authorities and has not been found. Palmer traveled to Zimbabwe on July 1, did the deed and got out of the country on July 4. He was in Zimbabwe less that 3 full days. That is a long trip for such a short stay. He is a doctor, therefore, not an unintelligent person. He would have done his homework before paying a whupping $55,000 and going on such a short trip. He would have known what he was going to Africa for. He went, got what he wanted and got the h#!! out of the country. He just got caught. It would be a bit hard to spin those facts. But, I agree with Rick. go for it.
NormanWells

There’s a lot a good PR firm could work with here. Mistakes may have been made on this particular hunt but Palmer maintains he acted ethically and all permits were in place.
Most hunts on permit in Zimbabwe result in dangerous or other problem wildlife being removed with very poor local people, as individuals or villages, getting permit, guiding and lodging fees as well as fees for tracking, skinning, photography, carrying or driving. They can get meat in some cases as well. It is lucrative enough that locals prefer to have hunters come in and leave money instead of turning a blind eye to poaching. This poaching control is what helps conserve populations. The locals’ benefit from what is in effect ownership of animal populations.
In Zimbabwe and Botswana, where paid hunting has been used for the last generation or so, elephant numbers, for example, are increasing by 4-6% per year compared to Kenya, here hunting is prohibited and elephant numbers have steadily declined. Zimbabwe has a surplus of elephants. Mugabe wants to sell 40-60 thousand live to other countries. It would bring in $2 billion. Why shouldn’t a poor country benefit from its wildlife? For us in the west to make demands to influence wildlife management for our selfish purposes is environmental imperialism
NormanWells

Nothing a little PR work won’t take care of.
NormanWells

But exactly what are the facts? There has been much conflicting information about this hunt. Proper PR will introduce a whole new set of facts. Compelling facts that anyone with an open mind will weigh against the claims of hunting detractors.

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