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.