Keeping Advertising as Transparent as News Reporting

Bridget Ward 

bw085717@ohio.edu

 

With the booming age of technology and social media leading this generation in a number of positive directions, people are able to earn a living simply off of creating and distributing advertisements for different companies. Similar to a celebrity endorsement, which is an advertising campaign or marking strategy that uses a celebrity's fame or social status to promote a product, everyday people can sign agreements to work with companies and get paid to promote their products on their social media page if they have a good number of followers that the advertisement will reach. 

While this job may seem like a great and fun idea and an easy way to make money, companies are running into real problems with the Federal Trade Commission's rules. These people with these decently sized following on their accounts are called "micro-influencers" and they are a new concept, so the rules for creating fair and ethical ads are a little shaky. In Garret Sloane's "Ad Age" article, he includes a quote from Public Citizen's Commercial Alert campaign coordinator, Kristen Strader, where she states that micro-influencers are a new thing and they have realized that and she says that "many posts from micro-influencers do not include disclosures of any kind." 

A lot of these influencers are getting too caught up in the idea of creating advertisements for an audience of people and then getting paid for it, and they forget to give credit where it is due. Just as in normal journalism reporting and advertising, we must be honest and transparent when reporting the information that we have collected because the story is going to be published to a wide audience and we have to make sure that we account for the public in what they want to see. We must report accurately in order to have good consumer loyalty. 

As it is stated in the SPJ Code of Ethics site, if journalists choose to act independently, they must "avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived and disclose unavoidable conflicts."  With that being said, reporters must also be accountable and transparent to the stories they are reporting about. Being accountable is very important because it means you are an ethical and trustworthy reporter and the general public will trust and be loyal to your news station because of your honesty and professional news reporting. 

Picture source: Ad Age

The FTC Act prohibits unfair advertising in any medium, so advertising must tell the truth and not mislead consumers. Sloane's article basically talks about how advertising produced by micro-influencers is unethical because it does not follow rules that it should be following. In his article, he states that "Advocacy groups led by Public Citizen on Wednesday wrote U.S. regulators to express concern over Instagram posts that hawk products but don't wear labels such as '#ad' or '#paid.'

Sloane also discussed how the companies called people out for this, as they should, because people cannot take advantage of something that they are getting paid for. Not only is it important to promote the fact that you are doing advertisements, but it is also the ethical thing to do when partaking in paid advertising and is a rule that is stated by the FTC. If a micro-influencer fails to abide by the FTC rules when advertising, then they risk suspension from Influenster. The article states that they have suspended people before, further showing that this is a real issue that the FTC has dealt with before. 

The issue of giving advertising credit where it is due was discussed by the FTC in an article in 2017. This article called FTC Staff Reminds Influencers and Brands to Clearly Disclose Relationship states that "after reviewing numerous Instagram posts by celebrities, athletes, and other influencers, Federal Trade Commission staff recently sent out more than 90 letters reminding influencers and marketers that influencers should clearly and conspicuously disclose their relationships to brands when promoting or endorsing products through social media." 

The same article further discusses how these micro-influencers are not doing part of their job and how they need to be called out for it or they should stop producing ads. This is a serious issue that seems to be on the rise because as more people find success through social media, more people will be drawn to this sort of work. Therefore, everyone that chooses to dabble in this sort of work must abide by the written rules or they should not engage in this at all if they choose not to disclose that they are working with a company and getting paid to produce an advertisement.

When Civic Duty Becomes a #Ad

Isabella Philippi Cámara

ip383316@ohio.edu

 

The 2020 presidential elections are coming up and it's all everyone can think about- with the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court and so many states that were once considered a safe red now having the possibility to turn blue, people are hoping for the best for whatever side they support.  However, with the surge of eligible voters for this election season all across the country, political campaigns and social justice movements are now turning to social media to get every single vote counted. It makes me think, someone who has had US citizenship since my birth but cannot vote for President due to the colonial status of Puerto Rico, what does this say about our political system that we have to rely on influencers to help push a civic duty?

 

Picture source : Vote Like a Madre

In the era of social media, politicians endorsing candidates just won't cut it for this new generation of voters, these campaigns have to find those influential figures that can be role models or seem like your next-door neighbor to help encourage voters to check for their candidate in the voting booth. It wasn't until a few days ago that I realized how far these organizations and campaigns had gone until I saw my friend (who has a few hundred TikTok followers) posted a TikTok video where she filmed her mother making a 'pinky promise' to vote for candidates who'd fight against climate change and wrote in the caption that the video was sponsored by the Latino Victory Project. 

#VoteLikeAMadre (translated to Vote Like A Mother) is one of Latino Victory Project's latest PR initiatives to get Latinx voters involved in fighting climate change through the election of progressive candidates. It's a genius way of involving Gen Z first-time voters within the Latinx community that prioritize the issue of climate change through social media and also involving older Latinxs (who make up 11% of the 2020 electorate) to vote for progressive ideals. 

You also see organizations like Headcount that have teamed up with big-name influencers to get people registered to vote, like YouTuber David Dobrik. Dobrik, who's known for giving away cars to his friends, family, and fans through his biweekly vlogs (which he has stopped producing due to the pandemic),  used that to get his followers registered by giving away 5 Tesla cars if they shared his Instagram post to their story, tagged a friend in the comment and confirmed their voter registration via the link to Headcount in his bio. Those who may not use social media frequently may find this type of PR ridiculous, but Dobrik's post received 3.6 million likes and 1.8 million comments; Headcount pushed for so many to either confirm their registration or for younger voters to get registered, even if they didn't win a fancy car!

And it's not just apolitical or minority-centric organizations that are teaming up with influencers, it's also the main candidates for President. The Biden-Harris campaign has teamed up with Village Marketing, a rising influencer-led marketing agency, to create content to appeal to its younger voters. Whether the former Vice President is talking with rap star Cardi B for ELLE magazine or he's alongside his running mate Senator Harris receiving an endorsement from WWE Superstar and actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (which was his first public political endorsement in his career) on the latter's YouTube channel. Though the Trump campaign hasn't used any influencers in their advertisements and campaign events, rapper Kanye West was a big figure for the President's supporters, before he sought a presidential bid this year. 

It's certainly great to see these campaigns move to modern strategies, and if this election season has taught those in the strategic communications market anything is that PR agencies need to seize the opportunity to influence their fans into doing their civic duty.

Ethics, Wellness, and Influencers

Alli B. Westbrook

aw263116@ohio.edu 

                                                       

Beauty has been effectively branded as wellness through the strategic use of social media. But, the two remain distinctly different. Media professionals, specifically those who work in PR and advertising have an obligation to be transparent about products. Journalists have an obligation to come forward about the practices that skew our perceptions when transparency fails. 

The false correlation between beauty and wellness has been made through association fallacy. To generalize something you may have heard before, we see images of beautiful individuals as they discuss how they plan to achieve their "best self" while holding up a bottle of supplements that are made to "balance your hormones","increase the length of lashes" and do other amazing things. 

But behind the photo, the things that stand out as beautiful are perfectly curated. Everything down to the eyelashes that are most likely a result of eyelash extensions and not a cure all supplement. Which has a negative impact on self-image and mental health. A study by the National Institutes of Health stated that Depression for young women after viewing social media is much higher for young women because of this. 

Picture source: Whitney Lauritsen Afluencer.com & @rootandrevel

 

Wellness has become a new marker of the upper class and the beauty that comes with it does not align with reality. Leaving the standards to become almost impossible to reach, what people can reach for are the products they are holding which is what makes influencer marketing so effective.

Professor and author Elizabeth Currid-Halkett defined the wellness promoting new elites of our society as the "aspirational class". The two most important themes that become skewed as influencers do their best to endorse and advertise are health and beauty. Her article in MarketWatch states that this class is defined by its cultural collateral and not by the size of their diamonds. This cultural collateral is something the followers want to emulate. They are called "followers" for a reason. Which then creates an outlet where things that were once defined as niche marketing can become mainstream. 

Companies seek out influencers because people simply no longer trust ads. Journalists and other communication professionals despite working by codes of ethics, are also no longer trusted. Influencers, who work under no code of ethics besides their personal ones and have hardly any regulations are as Forbes described in 2015, "the most powerful way to place a brands message...through a voice they trust". 

When it comes to influencer marketing, advertisers find individuals from the aspirational class who can best promote the Three R's: relevance, reach, and resonance. The most powerful way to advertise has a chink in its armor and it directly targets resonance. If Influencers are not careful, they will brand themselves into being just another idea and image.  People will no longer trust them for their inherent humaneness because what they represent it is most likely unattainable. Their followers could easily stop reaching for the products they hold.

Journalist have an ethical obligation to call out the entire practice example by example as influencers begin to brand themselves into oblivion if they do not find sustainable and healthy ways to mass market. Advertisers and P.R. professionals have an ethical responsibility to maintain a healthy relationship between influencers and their followers as well as influencers and the brands they work for. If advertising and P.R. professionals jump into action soon and a code of ethics for influencers is embraced then the one "trustworthy" marketing tool that is left can flourish.

All the Rage with Robots

Mia White

mw964917@ohio.edu

 

It is no secret that social media practically runs society today, but the circumstances have changed a bit in the past few years. From Myspace to Facebook and now to Instagram and TikTok, not much has changed except the platform itself. That being said, now social media influencers are huge in today's day to day life. 

According to Influence Marketing Hub, a social media influencer is defined as "people who have built a reputation for their knowledge and expertise on a specific topic. Brands love social media influencers because they can create trends and encourage their followers to buy products they promote." 

There are some social media influencers such as Kylie Jenner, Brad Mondo and Liza Koshy, who are all different but at the same time all have one thing in common. They are living humans. Meanwhile, one of the biggest social media influencers today, Lil Miquela, is not human in the slightest. 

Lil Miquela debuted on Instagram in 2016 and now has over 1.6 million followers on Instagram. She? It? Lil Miquela made a post telling her fans that she is not human but in fact a robot. 

Picture source: CR Fashion Book

Despite not being human, Lil Miquela still has many followers and fans who look up to idolize her. Why is that? According to The Honey Pop Website, she "doesn't shy away from taboo topics; from social justice (LGTBQ+ and race issues, feminism and, yes, even human rights) to mental health and politics, she is using her platform to encourage people to be more real."

It is possible that her involvement in current events and passionate posts keeps people engaged, but there could be other reasons as well. Lil Miquela seems to be made flawless, in some people's eyes. Lil Miquela has no blemishes, an hourglass figure, shiny hair and so on. 

Lil Miquela has become so popular that she was used in a Calvin Klein campaign with famous supermodel Bella Hadid. 

It is interesting how social media as well as society changes and evolves over time. Now we may have some robot social media influencers but where will we be five years from now? Will robots take over social media or even more so, will they take over the world?

I think it is fair to say that digital influencers are giving typical influencers a run for their money. Especially with the world going through a pandemic, digital influencers and advertising may be the new wave of marketing.

Are Digital Influencers Taking Over?

Taniah Stephens 

taniah11stephens@gmail.com 

Social media influencers have started to become the new trend. Our 21st century source of pop culture information. Everything comes and goes through them now. With the election, pandemic, protest and so much more, influencers tie in with what they give to urban society and what is going within the world. 

Influencers like Kim Kardashian uses her platform to free wrongfully convicted felons and gain justice for them. Or Kayla Itsines, a personal trainer and entrepreneur who has around 12.6 million followers. With the pandemic and the incapabilities to go to gyms across the world, people have come resulted in doing workout through Itsines instagram page. 

But just as the media continues to grow on a everyday basis, so does the virtual world. Sims stimulation game has become a popular game as far as the virtual world has started to become popular. The influence of the Sims stimulation game, has seemed to create another virtual idea--virtual influencer. 

Companies have started to go that route as well. With the pandemic happening, it is starting to look as if that maybe the new wave for advertising. 

Lil Miquela, a computer-generated character who has 1.6 million followers on instagram, is well known as the the most popular virtual influencer. 

Picture source: The Cut

In the picture above, there is Bella Hadid, a social media influencer and fashion model, is taking a picture with Lil Miquela. She is operated by a company, Bud. She gets together with influencers and artist across the world, and some people interact with her social media as if she is existing. Along with working with music artist, she has also been involved with designers, such as Balmain and Calvin Klein. 

This virtual influencer could start to raise questions around the industry as if this may be the new development of advertising for businesses and attracting followers and viewers. 

Lil Miquela is not the only digital influencer that has been created. In an article written about millions of followers are following digital influencer by Tiffany Hsu in the New York Times, she explains that there are more out there, than just Lil Miquela. 

"Human simulations have existed for years. They have dealt cards in Las Vegas, made music in the band Gorillaz and lived approximation of real life in the Sims video game. But lately they have become more realistic and more engaging," says Hsu. 

Companies like KFC, have used a virtual actor. And many companies will start in that way as well. 

The benefit for this new world of influencing that you can have with this is that you have control of what this digital influencer does. 

So who knows, we could be seeing digital influencer waiters and waitresses next!

Social Media Necessitates Transparency

Hardika Singh

hs152416@ohio.edu

 

In today's age of social media, it is easier for brands to show transparency during any decision-making or for a response. They can craft a quick tweet and interact directly with the customers. The constant communication makes it harder for brands to lie and holds them accountable. 

It is a commonly known fact that showing transparency can help build trust and deepen connections. It also helps to enhance a company's brand image, said David B. Grinberg in an article for Medium. Trust drives loyalty, especially when around 86% of Americans believe transparency has become more important than ever, according to a survey conducted by Sprout Social. Nearly nine in 10 people said in the same survey that they are more likely to give second chances after bad experiences. Starbucks is one of those companies that was given this chance.  

Picture source: Agility PR Solutions

In 2018, two Black men were removed from a Starbucks in Philadelphia for using the bathroom without buying something. The video went viral on Twitter and garnered more than 11.4 million views. People called for the boycott of the famous coffee shop. Starbucks' CEO responded around three days later, saying that the company will start "unconscious bias" training for employees. The company even admitted the mistake and said it will look to fix it, USA Today reporter Zlati Meyer said in an article. By addressing the topic on social media quickly, Starbucks carried out "damage control" and retained its image, an example that other companies can follow. 

While social media is a great tool to put out fires, it can also be utilized by companies to create a bigger positive presence, as seen in the case of the meal-kit delivery company Blue Apron. The company demonstrated how to provide more information on food sourcing by publishing vendor and supplier profiles online and on social media. They also published videos on how ingredients are made, allowing them to build greater trust with customers who are worried about sustainability practices. These transparent posts on social media made Blue Apron stand apart from competitors and pushed their brand of sustainable practices forward.

Transparent communications are essential to PR professionals. Understanding what topics a customer wants more information on can help companies protect or benefit themselves, while simultaneously gaining the trust of consumers. If brands want to improve their relationships with the customers, they need to build more transparent images. Otherwise, they will be held accountable by the customers. PR individuals need to utilize social media for transparency, especially when it is as quick and easy as sending a tweet. 

How Companies Digital Influencers Miss the Point of Influencers

Charlie Savidge

cs351916@ohio.edu   

Over the past two decades we have seen the rise of not just social media, but the people who become popular because of it as well. These people are usually known as influencers, content creators, or streamers. Their reach is far as they often have large audiences that they interact with and work to build relationships and trust with their fans. These influencers often work with brands in order to market their products with them. These influencers have a platform to promote the product or service and are reputable and trustworthy for the consumers. These consumers also, like any group have demographic and psychographic data that influencers can use to sell to brands in order to get paid promotions.

Picture source: Verdict.co.uk

 

However there are companies that look to not pay the influencers but rather use technology to create an influencer. In Tiffany Hus's New York Times piece, "These Influencers Aren't Flesh and Blood, Yet Millions Follow Them," she addresses the ethical issue that could arise out of this. A lot of the article is spent explaining Lil Maquela, a virtual influencer, that does not physically exist. She interviewed Bryan Gold, the CEO of #Paid, a company that connects influencers with companies, who said, that virtual influencers could lead companies into “a dangerous area,” adding, “How can consumers trust the message being put out there?” This question is critical when understanding the point of influencers.

The answer is quite simple, they can't. Influencers rise to prominence through commit to themselves or at least an entertaining persona of themselves. A lot of them become popular because of the effort the put into their content, showing their charisma, and having similar interest or opinions to that of their audience. Any semblance of trust or realism is lost with a corporate animation or artificial intelligence because they are not sentient. They're just a product of a company. They ultimately will do whatever the company wants and says, in spite of any possible ethical concerns. They exist solely to sell a product or service to consumers.

While this may seem weird to people in western society, this isn't the first time it has happened. however it is more common and popular in Japan as they have anime idol characters. A popular one is known as Hatsune Mikku and is a character based out of vocaloid software and is known for being a music artist and performs real life concerts as an animated projection. She often works as a part of the companies greater public relations. Recently she has been enlisted by the Japanese governments list of celebrities' to make videos about preventing the spread of Covid-19 as seen in this Kotaku Article that Brian Ashcraft wrote.

The Toxic Influencing Culture and the Effect on Young People

Larissa Beriswill

lb657516@ohio.edu

 

In today's world, technology and social media are becoming big components in the lives of young people. For example, baby toys are being updated with time. 30 years ago, a child would be seen playing with a baby doll or a teddy bear. Today, there are fake cell phones and tablets for babies to play with. Additionally, some technology companies are making kid friendly electronics, like tablets. 

What happens when younger kids start making social media accounts? The most popular social media apps for kids in recent years are Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. Young kids will follow social media influencers and celebrities because they will feel in touch with that person's life and what they are doing. On the other hand, these influencers may have an unhealthy effect on children's lives. 

Picture source: https://medium.com/the-influence-of-social-media-culture-on-subjectiv

According to this article published by Frontiers, children spend a lot of time watching their favorite influencers interact on social media. When they turn to these influencers for entertainment, they'll start turning to them for advice, information, comfort and company. When these children are watching every move the influencers make, they'll start mocking the behavior, even the more mature behavior like drinking and smoking. Not only do influencers post entertaining content, they will also post pictures suggesting what a perfect physique should look like.

Everyone goes through an awkward phase, typically in middle school or the start of high school. We all want to fit in and be up to date with the latest trends. Children turning to influencers for these trends can send the message that if they are not doing as the influencer is doing, they are doomed for life. We, as adults, know that this is not the case. But as for children, they are looking for guidance and what better way to do that than see what the popular influencers are doing?

There are a lot of negative effects that play a role if a child is following exactly what people on social media are doing. In this article published by Her Campus, there are many studies that have determined that a lot of the mental illnesses among young people in developed nations are due to the influence on social media. Additionally, children are seeking more attention on their social media, which leads to them determining their worth by the amount of likes they can get on a post.

As these children grow up, all they will know is how to perfectly pose for an Instagram picture or how to completely photoshop their face to look perfect. We need to teach these young people that there is so much more to life than what their favorite influencers are showing them.

Strategic Communication Adapts to Social Media

By Keri Johnson

kj153517@ohio.edu

In 2009, the New York Times ran a headline that said: "Video Prank at Domino's Taints Brand". The article was reporting on a "prank" by Domino's employees in North Carolina that went viral on YouTube. The video showed a Domino's employee putting cheese up his nose, covering sandwiches with mucus and violating other health codes; another employee provided voiceover narration.

The video caused outrage -- from media, consumers and Domino's itself. The two employees were fired and charged with distributing prohibited (unsanitary) food. Domino's found itself facing a huge public relations crisis and in need of quick, immediate and careful response.

Picture source: prweek.com

 

In order to do that, Domino's joined social media -- specifically, Twitter, under the handle @dpzinfo. Domino's chief executive also appeared making a statement on YouTube. Though Domino's Twitter account was borne out of crisis, now, in 2020, @dominos is the company's current handle, and its tweets have a different purpose. 

Domino's uses Twitter to post giveaways, deals and jokes. It posts on Twitter somewhat casually, sometimes only a couple tweets per day. It uses emojis and plays on contemporary memes. What it does not do is solely, defensively advertise a company; though Domino's created a Twitter account for crisis management, it now uses the account to interact with customers and encourage sales.

It is interesting to look at the role social media has in strategic communication. Strategic communication, like journalism, needs to be ethical and truthful. It is also interesting how social media has changed strategic communication, and how businesses, corporations, nonprofits and others who rely on strategic communication have adapted their messages and channels to social media.

Another business that has adapted its social media presence to social media, and more famously, is Wendy's. @Wendys Twitter description reads: "We like our tweets the same way we like to make our hamburgers: better than anyone expects from a fast food joint." @Wendys has 3.7 million followers and is known for its funny and absurd tweets. 

Wendy's is known for "roasting" or being "savage" on Twitter, meaning the account interacts with Twitter users, often playfully poking fun at people or other businesses, such as Burger King and McDonald's. A simple "Wendy's Twitter" Google search brings up photos and many listicles about Wendy's tweets, such as ranker.com and boredpanda.com. 

Where ethics comes into play here is, how ethical is it for Wendy's to tweet: "Hey, @McDonalds, roast us." Does Wendy's strategic communication come off as ethical or unfair? Or is it simply just fun and effective? Wendy's is not violating the PRSA's Code of Ethics; in that, Wendy's is not lying on social media (honest and accurate), it is arguably promoting healthy competition, as well as informing the public. However, the professionality of the account still seems questionable; is Wendy's risk-taking, or is it innovative? Perhaps both. 

Importance of Transparency in Public Relations

Taniah Stephens 

taniah11stephens@gmail.com

Public relations and advertising is big on always being honest with their consumers, being an advocate to the public, being truthful. Another huge attribute that holds value to Public Relations code of ethics is transparency. 

While those attributes do apply and have their own rules of further detail on what core values to consider within each asset, transparency has their own rules as well. 

Transparency plays a vital role in public relations and advertising because it allows the professional to be honest with the consumer. In an article written by Millennium Agency, it goes into detail about the Importance of Transparency in Public Relations Strategy. It states that with being transparent with your consumers, it gives a level of loyalty and makes the brand that you work for become likable.

A great equation for transparency is: Transparency + Honesty = Loyal and Likable consumers. 

In going into more detail on how important it is that transparency is shown through the public relations and advertising business, I came across an article that went into detail about 7 important rules of being transparent. 

According to the article written by David B. Grinberg on the rules of being transparent, he states that if you don't follow these rules, "you might be tempted to bury a damaging story, your efforts can backfire, ruining your credibility and turning essential media contacts into enemies. When reading the rules, you can tell that the importance of getting the truth out has to be right, be accountable for being wrong and giving information out in a timely manner. 

Picture source: https://www.prdaily.com/7-rules-for-being-transparent/

                                     

With the world changing everyday through the media with this upcoming election and the COVID-19 pandemic, it is evident that PR agencies that they have to disclose information to the public, as their form of being transparent for the public eye. 

The PRSA Code of Ethics  core values in their Code of Ethics that disclosing information is a key role in their code of ethics. It states that in order to obtain to their duty of disclosing information, that they must "be honest and accurate in communications." 

The PRSA.org gives a document that shows an example of disclosure and transparency and how it shows the simple ways of giving complete, full disclosure of what is needed throughout the platform that you are using to give to readers and viewers and it must be transparent. 

No matter if you're in the PR and advertising field or the reporting field, just generally as a journalism as a whole, transparency is a key factor. Public relations makes transparency vital because you want consumers to trust in what you have and be able honest in what is necessary for the public. 

Ethical Reporting in Sports

Scott Thomas 

st610417@ohio.edu 

 

It's not a secret that ESPN gives a lot of money to the leagues that it covers. ESPN owns the SEC Network, and the PAC-12 Network. It televises the National Football League on Monday nights. It gets several tennis tournaments and basketball games and more. In 2013, Dean Starkman of the Columbia Journalism Review wrote a scathing column on the problems that ESPN reporters might have due to the financial ties that ESPN has to the sports world. His story was flawed and used false logic to justify his argument. 

 In the beginning of his column, he talks about how the parent company of the Boston Red Sox now owns the Boston Globe. He compares this relationship to the one that ESPN has with the NFL and college football. This is flawed because in this example, the people that supply the money to the Red Sox also supply the money to the journalists that are supposed to cover the team. ESPN itself has no say in the actions of college football or NFL programs in the same way that the parent company might have a say in the Red Sox. Starkman also says that in a traditional media landscape, the media company makes its money in advertising. He says of ESPN, "The media company's main source of income is the very thing its newsroom is supposed to cover." He says this as if the NFL or college football teams are directly paying ESPN. 

Picture source: The Spun

 

ESPN gives money to the organizations for the right to broadcast their games. It then makes its money on advertising during the time that it is broadcasting those games. Similarly, advertisers give money to television stations to advertise during more highly watched television slots, like during a premiere of a popular show. 

One of the principles of ethical journalism, according to OpenPR is asking journalists to act on their own accord. The spots companies are not putting money directly into the pockets of ESPN and other sports journalists. While it is impossible to completely absolve ESPN of conflicts of interests since its money lies in these companies, but it doesn't trickle down to the individual level. ESPN reporters are able to cover and report on the teams they cover fairly and balanced, just like other reporters from other publications.

Building a future of ethical PR practices

Emily Walsh 

ew845717@ohio.edu

 

In researching ethics in the field of Public Relations, I have found that it is a common notion that ethical public relations is an oxymoron. It is often believed that ethics is left for the news and reporting world, and the public relations world functions and thrives on bending the truth and covering for their stakeholders. However, this is a misconception that needs to be changed. Although in the past the field has been unethical, this is not a standard that should be acceptable today. 

According to Axia Public Relations, the three golden rules of PR ethics are be honest, respect confidentiality, and be competent. Seems pretty straight forward, right? Well, these golden rules are, at times, easier said than followed. PRSA points out specific factors that create challenges for public relations professionals to act ethically. These include: pressures by management to meet unrealistic goals, expectations to always beat their competition, and a fear that they will lose their job or fall short of internal competition. 

According to the Institute for Public Relations, in the early years of the modern public relations industry, ethics in the field was of no concern. The industry's focus was to get results, regardless of what the process to those results entailed. Today, the ethics of the public relation field is primarily shaped by membership in professional associations that have codes of ethics. However, membership in these associations is not required and compliance with these ethics codes are not followed and monitored the best they could be. 

So as future public relations professionals, we must ask ourselves, "What do we need to do to create a culture of ethical practices in the public relations field?" Assuming we will be entering the work force at entry level positions, we must not be afraid say no. 

  Picture source:  https://www.commpro.biz/our-future-in-public-relations/

According to Bulldog Reporter, it is important how we bring our ethical concerns and information to our bosses. If we as young professionals do our homework, and are prepared to defend our inclinations that certain actions are not right, we can slowly, but surely start to change the culture of the field. That entails that we are brave enough to hold our management accountable and, yes, sometimes say no. 

So then what? Once our generation of public relations professionals are higher up in our companies, it is our responsibility to implement new practices that encourage ethical practices. PRSA suggests places to start and can include, but aren't limited to: creating a safe way to report unethical practices, hiring a third party to monitor ethics, and developing clear and valued ethical codes.

I Can't Answer That

Cassidy Wilson 

cassidyleighhh@gmail.com 

 

Seeking relevance is key in the world of reporting and public relations. The entirety of our jobs as journalists and public relations experts is to provide information to the public. 

Luckily, there is a code of ethics to follow in both professions that helps us decipher right from wrong when there is a challenge at hand. However, what happens when you are put in a difficult situation regarding confidential information? 

The article, PRSA Chief Blasts Hope Hicks' Self-Confessed 'White Lies' is an example of a tough situation in PR where a professional went wrong and was called out for their actions. 

Hope Hicks, the White House communications director was working for President Trump and was caught covering up information and lying to the media. 

When other PR experts found out about her wrongdoing they were appalled and said her activities were an obstruction of justice. 

At the end of the article PRSA chairman Anthony D'Angelo said that every PR professional should reference the Code of Ethics. 

When dealing with the privacy of others and handling a difficult situation, D'Angelo believes it is professionally acceptable to say, "I can't answer that, and here's the reason why." 

I found it very interesting that instead of trying to put out some type of story or release information, it is professional to simply say you cannot answer something. 

It makes sense in the long run because you are being ethical and cannot get blasted for your wrongdoings like Hicks did. 

I suppose I would rather not have information on something than be caught lying. As stated in the PRSA Code of Ethics, "The level of public trust PRSA members seek, as we serve the public good, means we have taken on a special obligation to operate ethically." 

Source: https://agraham6.wordpress.com/author/agraham6/

 

The field of PR seems like it could be challenging for many reasons. You are essentially trying to maintain a positive reputation of a well-known company/person despite the challenges you face. 

News and information journalism is also a challenging career path, but I am glad it is the route I chose because after reading various articles on PR, the roles are very different. 

In PR you are specifically targeting an audience whereas in journalism you are publishing the news in interest of the public. 

One similarity between the two is that they both have a code of ethics in order to carry out ethical responsibilities. 

Ethics in Public Relations

Emma Stefanick

es421018@ohio.edu

It's no secret that when people think of public relations, the first things that tend to come to mind are manipulation, deception and lies. And the public relations industry gets a lot of flack for it too. Every slip up, mistake and cut corner in the business is scrutinized under the public's eye and just about every person out there, believes it is the job of public relations professionals to sell their product, service or client to whatever ends. While most industry professionals don't actually fall into this category, just the mere existence of this belief shows a need for strong, universal ethics in public relations now more than ever. 

To become unethical in the public relations industry is to lose all credibility, and lose credibility is the end of an individual career, and potentially the organization by association. This means that there is no wiggle room when it comes to being transparent. The job of a public relations professional is not to misinform or twist truths, but rather to make the facts of a product or service appealing. If you have something to hide, then you're doing it wrong. 

 

 

Picture source:

https://aryaprblog.wordpress.com/2017/02/04/ethics-in-public-relations/

 

So if transparency is the utmost important aspect of any media relations industry, how do we get there? Transparency encompasses many things, such as telling the full truth, disclosing processes and background information, avoiding deceptive practices, disclosing conflicts of interest and honesty, among many others. To reach full transparency, you have to incorporate universal ethics throughout the workplace. According to PRSA, this means that corporate management must hold people accountable and create an ethical workspace. 

PRSA suggests strong enforcement of ethical standards, encouraging an anonymous whistleblower line, having an outside firm evaluate ethical practices and promoting ethics online. Some other factors that, when eliminated yield better ethics are, pressure to reach unrealistic targets, consistent demands to beat competition, fear of job loss and overlooking small breaches of policy. By just implementing a thorough and consistent ethics training program within the organization, all of these problems can be addressed and rectified. It is often the lack of awareness of ethical issues that creates the most problems within a company. 

Since there is no universal standard for public relations ethics, it is easy to assume that this profession is nothing but a mumble jumbled mess of propaganda meant to progress our own agendas. But public relations on its own is not unethical. This industry holds power and works behind the scenes to influence, change and challenge societal norms. With power comes responsibility and if we don't start implementing ethics programs in our organizations, completing regular training and following a clear-cut disciplinary action plan, then how are we going to handle the responsibility of public opinion? News flash! We can't handle it. That path only leads to abuse of power and, consequently unethical behavior across the board. Unethical behavior starts from the top down, but so does change. 

COVID-19: Relevant News Reporting

Bridget Ward 

bw085717@ohio.edu

 

News is one of the most important outlets in the world; keeping us informed about all of the things happening in the world that we live in, we are intrigued to find out what is happening to our neighbors, our country and our world on a daily basis. News keeps the world spinning; if we did not have news stories, the general public would not only be bored to death, but they would also be uncultured and uneducated about the world that they live in, as well as feeling confused and disconnected from other parts of the world. Local, national and international news stories keep the world entertained because it also reminds us that there are worldly things happening that are of importance, which is especially integral in a time like this. While we are living through a pandemic that is going to be taught as a history lesson when this twenty first century generation has become grandparents, so news is one of the most important outlets right now. 

There is news happening all day, everyday, everywhere, and any kind of news, no matter what scale, is bound to be covered by most to every company, brand and PR practitioner that wants to be apart of this story. Brands and all kinds of companies are all constantly seeking relevance and are all trying to be at the forefront of the story, as are all journalists and reporters. What is the point of your story if it is not relevant? People want to read and absorb the news that is important, relevant, and timely. They want to read the news that is important to them and important to the time era. If you are writing a news story that has no relevance to the most important news story of the time/place, then there is no point in writing it because it will not get nearly enough attention or recognition in comparison to a more important story that is simultaneously happening. 

The COVID-19 pandemic is unlike anything anyone has ever seen before and is throwing a lot of news companies out of line because they are supposed to be reporting about a global issue that is currently happening, which is a difficult thing to do in fullness and correctness. Nobody knows when this is going to end, making it even harder to report about. When things like this happen, news reporters have to find the most important, most relevant information to report about to the public. They also have to do it in a quick and efficient manner in order for the viewers to receive their news and respect the news companies work. While it is most important to report about the safety of the world, it is also just as important to report the most pressing issues that the world is facing through this time period, regardless of if it scares viewers or not. 

While reporting about an issue this large and this pressing, it is important to be as helpful and unbiased in your report as possible. The general public is just as confused about this issue as the rest of the world, but they are relying on the news companies to report the correct information to them during this time. News companies are some of the most important outlets at the moment because of this issue. News companies need to effectively communicate their message through their news report. Relevance is the number one most important key aspect to informed ad ethical reporting. Being relevant and on topic makes the news story that much easier to read and understand, making the general public much more satisfied. 

There are many things wrong with the world today, which makes it that much more important for news companies to be on topic and on task with everything they write and report about. Relevance is one of the most important factors of today's issues in news and should be the one thing that all reporters master before reporting a full news story. 

Practicing Advertising and Public Relations Ethics on Social Media

Sarah Volk 

sv673116@ohio.edu

 

With the rise in social media and online media content, the ethics practices in public relations have changed drastically.

While journalists adhere to several codes of ethics, the codes public relations and advertising professionals should follow aren't as clear-cut as journalism ethics codes. 

Many public relations and advertising employers look for strong ethical reasoning skills in their employees, and many struggle to find candidates that meet their expectations. This is, in part, due to the fact that ethics training is rarely required of employees in public relations and advertising professions.

The need for ethical guidelines in public relations and advertising is at an all-time high with the surge in digital and social media.

This explosion of internet and social media use within the last 15-20 years has been a complete game changer in the fields of advertising and public relations. It has had an enormous positive impact on companies within the two fields, but with new opportunity comes new risks.

The rapidly changing digital environment has taken a toll on the practices of advertising and public relations. Ethical practices on social and digital media have become wildly more important.

Picture source: The Goss Agency

Public relations and advertising professionals must be open, honest and transparent in the same way that journalists must be. Establishing trust with consumers is essential to digital advertising and PR.

There must be a recognizable line between advertising and content. Social media users must be able to distinguish between the two without having to take a closer look.

In addition to establishing a clear distinction between ads and content, user/data privacy on social media is also a major concern.

For social media sites such as TikTok, there have been concerns about data privacy. With TikTok's algorithm, it is easy for advertisers to reach their target audience; however, there is a very fine line between TikTok marketing and user content that often gets blurred on users' "For You Page."

In an article by Kaya Ismail titled "Why Should the Potential TikTok Ban Matter to Marketers?" he states, "While data collection can help consumers, the use of personal data can be classified as an infringement on consumer privacy, which calls for much more responsible management of user data."

There are many ways advertising and public relations professionals can practice ethics on social media. One of the major things these professions should avoid is raising any privacy concerns. 

In an article by David van der Ende on Social Media Explorer, he states, "Privacy is very important for social media users, and marketers should never lash out at users, fans or consumers on their social media accounts. If your company leaks any personal information, this can lead to a tarnished reputation or backlash that can ruin a business."

In the advertising and public relations professions, practicing good ethical reasoning is essential to the current, ever-changing digital landscape. Transparency is essential to social media advertising and public relations.

Trust in PR During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Max Semenczuk

ms498517@ohio.edu

 

When the terms 'truth' and 'ethics' occur in conversation about journalism and the media, its application is usually only implied to be important in hard news and traditional reporting. This is as far from the truth as the reality is, however.

 

Truth and transparency is highly important to public relations and the well-being of all companies, agencies, governments, etc., as the public knowing the truth behind a companies mishaps is what truly creates a positive relationship between the public and the company or organization in question.

 

When or if a company is to mess up, the reason a public relations firm is in place is to do damage control and relieve any tensions between the company and the public. Doing so is not done by lying or being deceitful, but instead by being transparent and honest. People dislike being lied to and often just want an apology from a company if something were to go awry.

 

Picture source: University of Wisconsin-Madison

 

 

During the times of the COVID-19 Pandemic, public relations has seemed to take a new role. During a time of mass layoffs and mass unemployment, as well as fears of entering a recession, many are upset at both the government and those that participate in its economy, the businesses. On top of this, many are quarreling in the United States over the importance of COVID-19 guidelines as defined by the CDC. More so, the business applications of instilling these precautions has led to many Americans to become upset. 

 

During this time, public relations as a whole has hap to adapt and take a new role of spreading true information regarding the virus and to ensure that as many people will continue to be safe as possible. To make sure this is the case, they must defend businesses' decisions to enforce the rules that come with a pandemic, that being social distancing, mask wearing, etc.

 

There is still a lot of uncharted territory for PR agencies to navigate during this time, as it has only been a reality for 6 months, but their new role as helping public health must not go unnoticed. There must be truth in the statistics PR agencies choose to highlight, as well as truth within where they get information regarding COVID-19. Thankfully during this time, interests have been in the good of the public from those in PR, and as the pandemic goes on, we can hope that this is a trend that will continue.

How PR Professionals Can Contribute to Ethical Action

Emma Skidmore

es320518@ohio.edu

 

It's fairly common knowledge that there are multitudes of unethical situations one can find themselves in when working in media. With current trust in the media being so low, it's crucial to act ethically. Most media professionals are well-trained in how to use their best judgement in sensitive situations, and there is a lot of overlap between PR and news. With scandals like White House communications director Hope Hicks admitting to "white lies," PR professionals can suffer a reputation tarnished by the few "bad apples," so to speak, in the group.

PRSA Ethics Codes

Ethics codes are incredibly valuable to both PR professionals and journalists alike. Naturally, there is a lot of overlap including the values of independence, fairness and honesty. The PRSA website states, "We adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth in advancing the interests of those we represent and in communicating with the public." However unlike news and information journalists, PR professionals have to consider how their actions will affect both their client and the public. According to the PRSA code of ethics, PR professionals must be faithful to the companies and people they represent, while simultaneously serving an obligation to the public. There is also overlap between news and PR in cases like conflicts of interest, where all parties need to be aware of what the conflict is and how to avoid it. In both instances of news and PR, the employee must act in the best interest of their client or employer and avoid serving their self-interests.

What can lead to unethical behavior?

Leadership can play a large role in how people can act. Intense pressure from leaders can cause people to act unethically in an effort to beat competition, reach unrealistic goals or secure their job. It is also important for PR professional to feel they can disagree with their employer if they see something is being done wrong. A stressful environment could lead people to act in unethical ways and place their own interests above anything else. This is harmful to everyone involved and can have serious repercussions for your publication

Photo credit: https://www.transparency.org/en/news/world-whistleblower-day-2019-is-this-a-landmark-year-for-whistleblower-prot

 

How can PR professionals act ethically?

Seth Arenstein wrote for PR News that creating trust between the public and PR professionals means playing the long game. It requires trusted relationships formed over time. Distrust in the media includes PR agencies, and acting ethically will help build that trust with the public. PR agencies can avoid acting unethically by creating an environment where it's okay to speak up if there is something wrong going on. PR professionals must be educated on how to act ethically and be aware of the consequences should the break rules. The guidelines for acting ethically should be clear and well-promoted, and everyone in the media sphere should work together to treat sensitive issues ethically. Whether it's PR or news, every journalist and professional has a responsibility to be upheld to the highest standards of ethics possible.