The definition of public relations... time for a revision?

I was reading an interview with Cheryl Procter-Rogers in January's issue of Tactics, distributed by PRSA. When asked what was one of the biggest problems facing public relations, she said that practitioners really need to work to define their role in the marketplace, especially in the business sector. She went on to comment that "Because our profession is so complex, it begs the question if it’s even appropriate that we have one definition of public relations."

That really made me start thinking... Investor Relations, Crisis Communication, Fundraising, Lobbying, Community Affairs, Government Relations, Media Relations, and the list goes on and on....

Is it fair to classify all of these very different functions under the same umbrella?

Excess Marketing Expenses at the Red Cross?

Did you catch the Washington Post article on the Red Cross in Monday's paper?

Apparently, the American Red Cross spent more than $500,000 over the last three years for a marketing and public relations firm to get the organization placed into television shows ("The Real World" and "The West Wing") and media interviews for its former CEO, Marcia Evans.

Do you have any problems with this expenditure? Is this a good use of charitable donations?

Former employees airing dirty laundry...

I recently ran across an interesting blog, http://queenofsky.journalspace.com/, by a former employee of Delta airlines. It seems she was fired for posting pictures of herself in her flight attendant's uniform online. Her story is pretty interesting. From her blog:

-Remember, I had removed all of the uniform pics from my blog once Delta suspended me without warning (on Sept. 25), and they still fired me a month later.
-I had also filed a sex discrimination complaint with the EEOC three weeks PRIOR to being fired. That's called retaliation, folks.
-There are TONS of Delta male employees in uniform on the Web, none of whom have been disciplined. Delta's firing policies are arbitrary and discriminatory.
-SEXISM is ALIVE and WELL in 21st century America!

You can read about her interviews with CNet News, Time and other media on the site. She also has a book coming out detailing her experience.

Just imagine the public relations nightmare for Delta--an airline already teetering on bankruptcy. What do you think? How would you have handled the situation?