The Institute for PR carried an incendiary blog post from an IPR trustee lashing into BP for "public relations blunders," accusing the oil giant of misleading the public, "lying and covering up," and ostensibly re-branding the company "Beyond Pathetic."

Stephen Dishart (pictured), a PR pro who moonlights as executive director of the not-for-profit Blue Ocean Institute, suggested the oil giant "should get some better advice if they don't want the tragedy to be fatal."

He added: "After decades working in public relations, I'm disappointed and surprised that BP tried the old mistakes of lying and covering up."

The fiery language of the piece drew a rebuke from Michael Clement, managing partner of Strait Insights, a North Carolina-based communications shop, who said the article "is more appropriate for his employer’s website, not the Institute’s."

"There will be a time to make judgments about whether the company leadership and its public relations professionals made the right calls but right now I want 100% of their focus on stopping the leak and keeping us accurately informed," wrote Clement.

The episode is out of character for the cerebral Institute for PR, a non-profit focused on PR measurement and education.