Ethics and the Workplace

Lindsay Lowy
LL875114@ohio.edu

My time at Ohio University is coming to a close, which means it's time to prepare myself for the job search process. All throughout my time at Scripps I have been given tools to make myself stand out from other applicants. However, I never thought about the qualities a company should have to stand out to me.

Media ethics should play a huge role in the decision making process when choosing which companies to apply to. Whether that be at a public relations firm or at a newspaper, each has a unique ethical code.

At Fahlgren Mortine, a marketing and communications agency based in Columbus, OH, their ethics code can be found within their easily accessible mission statement.

Although Fahlgren Mortine puts emphasis on culture and care within their workplace and campaigns, there are many times where PR and advertising firms find ethical obstacles to get through.

At a recent PRSSA meeting, two employees came in to speak on such. One talked about how she wanted to pitch a story about one of her clients to a national news organization but decided not to due to the importance placed on the recent hurricanes in the news.

Even though she wanted to help her client gain attention for something exciting their company just accomplished, she respected what was important in today's culture and showed empathy towards the situation.

For me, although this seemed like an easy decision to make I tried to look at the situation from her shoes.

I tried to imagine being on a deadline where my job could be on the line if I disappointed a client. Seeing how this employee was able to reach her decision by aligning her ethical code with her company's really inspired me to consider ethics as a deciding factor in the job search process.

It's important, especially with a career in the media, to find a place of employment that allows you to feel as if you are doing the right thing.

For me, I know I would feel uncomfortable working at a company where the emphasis was on solely making the most money and pushing out the most content. Quality is much more important than quantity to me.

I encourage you to consider doing some research on a company's ethical code before applying during your job search.