President of NBC Universal Integrated Media, Beth Comstock, started out as a publicist. Over the years, she has had to develop thick skin in dealing with the news media. She recently told The Institute for Public Relations that it's time for publicists to give up the idea that they have "control" over the media or the ability to command a story. Instead, she made it clear that PR has to take a stand, and that good management will respect it.

Comstock served as head of GE public relations when Jack Welch was running the company. When Maureen Dowd of The New York Times pressed Welch for his stand on a particular issue, Welch asked Comstock "What should I do?"

Comstock responded with the non-answer, "well, on one hand you could do this or on the other hand you could do that."

Welch's response: "What the hell are you saying? I don't pay you for 50-50 answers! What's your decision?"

That challenge to Comstock forced her to reckon with two questions: What do you believe? What do you think is right?

From the experience, she realized it meant being able to say, "I believe in this." She came to terms with the fact that when we really put it on the line for what we believe in, we're going to take some flak. It's something of a medal of honor to be attacked for what you believe in, and communicators understand this implicitly. Comstock told her audience that instead of saying, "well, on the one hand…" they could lead.