EPR Editorial Team2 min read
Everything-PR has learned that J. Austin & Associates was hired as the public relations firm for Dr. Walter Palmer — the Minnesota dentist at the center of one of the most viral international news stories of the summer.
Media reports indicate Palmer paid $55,000 for the right to hunt in the area and worked with a guide who lured Cecil, a collared and locally recognized lion, out of a protected zone before Palmer killed him.
Palmer issued the following statement:
"I hired several professional guides, and they secured all proper permits. To my knowledge, everything about this trip was legal and properly handled and conducted. I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favorite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt. I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt. I deeply regret that my pursuit of an activity I love and practice responsibly and legally resulted in the taking of this lion."
J. Austin & Associates describes itself as "a full-service communications firm with expertise in crisis and issue management, special situations, transactions and transitions." CEO Jon Austin has positioned the firm as available to clients 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Austin founded the firm in 2006 after roles at Fleishman-Hillard and Northwest Airlines. His client list has included 3M, Target, Comcast, Digital River, ILFC, Sun Microsystems, and Best Buy.
The story broke across national and international press within 48 hours, with commentators across outlets from The Daily Mail to network broadcast excoriating Palmer in some of the most aggressive language directed at a private individual in recent memory. The reputation exposure — for both Palmer personally and any firm representing him — was immediate and severe.
Update: Within days of the initial engagement, J. Austin Group publicly stated it was no longer representing Dr. Palmer. The reversal was one of the fastest crisis-PR client exits of the year and became a working case study in what happens when a client's brand risk exceeds the firm's own reputational capacity.
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
Denny Griswold (1908-2001) — founder and editor of PR News in 1944, the first weekly trade publication covering public relations. EPR In Memoriam canonical record.
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