For a man who describes himself as a “perpetual optimist,” Mr. Edelman has nothing good to say about the results of this survey. It shows that public trust in business has fallen sharply, by 20 per cent in one year, to record lows. Since the report was released a few weeks ago, he has held it up like a mirror to shake business leaders out of what he describes as “a state of shock.” So far, he frowns, only a few executives seem to grasp that they no longer control the message and that “there’s zero room for spin.” It will take years to restore consumer and investor faith in “the validity of capitalism,” he predicts and the healing won’t begin until there is “contrition” from business chiefs. …Business can help talk its way out of this mess, Mr. Edelman believes, but the old public-relations strategies won’t work. “People have to change or get out of the way.” The best business communicators he said are CEOs such as General Electric’s Jeff Immelt, who as early as November spoke publicly about what he calls an economic and social “reset” ushered in by corporate bailouts and increased government control of businesses. Mr. Edelman said the GE chief gets that taxpayers’ support is pushing companies to shift their duties away from a narrow focus on maximizing shareholder values, and toward a broader class of stakeholders that