This edition of Shoot the Messenger is fueled by the Scott McClellan gun fight of last week, with CBS Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen taking time out of the staid and steady Sunday Morning program to lambaste the PR industry as inherently built on a foundation of lying. Cohen used the McClellan tell-all as a launching pad for poking fun at the notion of the PRSA’s Code of Ethics for PR, likening it to the Burglars Association (complete with fake logo) espousing Thou Shall Not Steal.

PRSA Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Julin was quick to issue a response.

While the PRSA rebuttal, and even Cohen’s attack have merit, it’s too easy to use one big brush over the whole industry. What Cohen is talking about the ends of the spectrum of solo flacks on one end, and multi-million dollar corporate suppression efforts on the other. There is a big, bell-curve middle of PR people doing good honest work. Those endpoints though, make for the most salacious PR blogging.

See Shel Holtz’s post on the subject of shining a light on the good work for more.

In the meantime, watch the clip above while we look to see which messenger gets shot next.