PR industry group calls out 5WPR's Torossian for staining the profession

The Public Relations Society of America issued a blistering condemnation of Ronn Torossian, founder and CEO of public relations agency 5WPR, for secretly controlling industry news website Everything-PR without disclosing his ownership, calling it a “stain on our profession.” The condemnation called Torossian’s actions “cowardly and a blatant violation of PRSA’s code of ethics.” The move followed an investigative story published Tuesday in Crain’s New York Business. In response, Torossian apologized. The statement by PRSA-NY’s board of directors, which referenced the Crain’s account, said, “In addition to being a cowardly and blatant violation of PRSA’s code of ethics, Ronn’s actions are a stain on our profession and undermine our role as guardians of facts and integrity for those we serve. “We strongly condemn his and his firm’s direct role in perpetrating disinformation while pretending to be a legitimate industry news site.” In December, Torossian had told Crain’s, “It would be inaccurate to say Ronn Torossian owns Everything-PR.” But he now has fully acknowledged that he secretly purchased the site nearly eight years ago. “Everything-PR, a PR news site, was purchased in 2014,” Torossian said. “At that time, I regrettably did not reveal that I operated the site. I was wrong. Everything-PR was a personal initiative. “I operated the site and published op-eds in my name. Following recent media attention on Everything-PR, I added a line to the site that we own and operate the site. Today it is a PR news blog site. “It was wrong to not identify I operate this site. For this lack of transparency, I apologize.” The apology was not acceptable to at least on PR executive who was the victim of negative press in Everything-PR after beating out 5WPR for a client several years ago. “Ronn Torossian is only now acknowledging his ownership and operation of Everything-PR since 2014 because he just got outed in 2022 by Crain’s and condemned by the Public Relations Society of America,” said Ken Frydman, owner of Source Communications. “Apology not accepted for the damage Torossian did to my firm and me.” The site’s original editor-in-chief, Phil Butler, who started the site with his wife, Mihaela Lica Butler, said they sold the site to Torossian in 2014 for $2,500. Shortly after buying the site, Torossian had the founders’ names replaced with fake bylines. After his ownership started to come to light in December in the Daily Beast, The New York Times and the New York Post, the fake bylines disappeared and were replaced with the anonymous byline “By EPR staff.” Aside from using the site to boost his firm, Torossian also tried to gain publicity for clients who were under fire. One of the most prominent was JetSmarter, which claimed to be an industry disrupter. It offered super-discounted flights on private jets to wealthy client members for annual fees of $50,000 or more, including Kim Kardashian. Early investors were said to include Jay-Z and the Saudi royal family. The company was headed by Moscow-born entrepreneur Sergey Petrossov. But JetSmarter came under pressure when its president was arrested in 2017 in connection with grand-theft charges from another enterprise he undertook before he joined the company. That complicated JetSmarter’s efforts to raise new capital to offset its multimillion-dollar losses. CNBC reported JetSmarter was facing more than a dozen federal lawsuits from disgruntled customers claiming "fraud" and "bait and switch" tactics, when the money-losing company was sold in 2019 to Dubai-based rival Vista Global. Torossian was the chief marketing officer of JetSmarter prior to the sale. Another controversial longtime client of Torossian’s that received good press on Everything-PR was adult site Pornhub. The site has been sued for allegedly profiting from the exploitation of underage victims and for deals with a human trafficker who is alleged to have sold videos to Pornhub and its parent company, Mind Geek, involving a girl forced to have sex with numerous partners. But on Everything-PR, one could find praise for Pornhub’s good public relations. One Everything-PR article even insisted that Pornhub was “much needed viewing for PR professionals” because it engaged in environmental public relations by planting trees based on page views and because it supported breast cancer awareness campaigns. “Pornhub has brilliant PR,” the article stated, adding, “Their PR Agency in the U.S. is 5WPR.” After working with the X-rated site for years, Torossian said this week, “We no longer represent Pornhub.” —Keith J. Kelly spent more than two decades as the media reporter and columnist for the New York Post.This article was first published by Crain's New York Business.

PR industry group calls out 5WPR's Torossian for staining the profession

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