San Francisco Chronicle reporter David Lazarus is questioning whether Marc Bien, who he interviewed as telecommunications giant SBC's vice-president of corporate communications (as Bien's business cards indicate) broke ethical guidelines when he neglected to tell Lazarus that he's actually an employee of major PR firm Fleishman-Hillard [3]. Lazarus, who's covering a potential Communication Workers of America strike at SBC [4], notes the irony that the "SBC spokesman" he quoted "defending the company's use of hundreds of outside contractors" is a "nonemployee" himself. Fleishman-Hillard senior vice-president Ed Presberg said the firm "acted ethically and appropriately.... It is no secret that some F-H employees represent SBC. Many of the reporters who cover the company are aware of it. We thought David was aware of it."