Jacquie Mcinish, The Globe and Mail, March 2, 2009
WHAT TO DO WHEN THERE’S ZERO ROOM FOR SPIN.

Toronto — Edelman public relations has prospered for 60 years by coaching titans of industry and government on how to remain steadfastly on-message in the face of crises. That strongman tactic is a hard sell at a time when trust in business leadership has been shattered by failures and scams at some of the globe’s most-admired financial institutions. These days, it seems everyone from television talk show hosts to political columnists have decided that it’s time to shoot the messenger. Richard Edelman isn’t blaming the media for the outrage. No, the 54-year-old president and son of company founder Dan Edelman, the man who advises global giants such as Hewlett-Packard Co. and Starbucks Corp., points the finger of blame at business leadership. “There is a disconnect,” said Mr. Edelman, slouching his thin frame over a boardroom table in the company’s Toronto office. He has left his New York office to visit some of the firm’s 52 international offices to explain the results of Edelman’s 10th annual “trust barometer.” The survey checks the attitudes of thousands of people in 20 countries toward business, government and the media.