Ethical Responsibilities of PR Professionals

Claire Schiopota 

cs123719@ohio.edu

Public Relations, known by many as PR, involves an ethical balancing act, which professionals still struggle with in today's media. According to the Public Relations Society of America, or PRSA, PR is the strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics. While the goal of PR is clear, the way it has been accomplished has pushed ethical boundaries. 

The PRSA is the nation's leading professional organization in serving communications to the public; they are often cited for their PRSA Code of Ethics. The codes identify several main ideas including advocacy, honesty, expertise, independence, loyalty and fairness. They also have a code of conduct for their members to follow in order to carry out their work ethically.

While each person who conducts PR work may not be a dedicated member of PRSA, the expectation is that those with the power to use PR, respect the public and behave with similar values in mind. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

(Graphic courtesy of Ken Jacobs, PRSA)

Under the direction of Rupert Murdoch, the News of the World tabloid was brought to their knees for unethical practices. According to an article titled "Follow the Leader: Ethics and Responsibility," author, Virgil Scudder, said, "employees hacked the phone of a missing 13-year-old year and hampered the police's investigation of her murder." 

While this event occurred in 2011, the point remains clear: those with the power to conduct PR work must be held accountable and act ethically or real people can be severely hurt. Where the real blame lies though is up for debate. Since Murdoch lead the charge, is he fully to blame for the misconduct? Or do these individual PR workers hold just as much, is not more, responsibility for the mistakes made?

In "What Are the Top Ethics Challenges, Skills and Deficiencies Facing Public Relations Professionals?" Dr. Marlene Niell from Baylor University said, "Having that competence and willingness to speak up, especially to people who outrank you. And that can be something that can be quite intimidating, especially early on in your career, is having that courage to raise a concern and ask the questions when something doesn't seem right."

Based off that conclusion, I can understand and see how it may be challenging to speak up and defend ethical standards in the face of a person who has the power to ruin your career and livelihood. Still, I believe PR professionals have an obligation to the public to uphold the truth, and this cannot attained through remaining silent and complicit. 

In an article titled "PRSA Chief Blasts Hope Hicks' Self-Confessed 'White Lies'" from PR News by Seth Anderson, a noteworthy quote is said by PRSA Chairman Anthony D'Angelo: "All members (of PRSA) sign a pledge to 'conduct myself professionally, with truth, accuracy, fairness, and responsibility to the public.' That tenet is essential for the organizations, clients and the public we serve because it protects our most precious asset: trust."

D'Angelo focuses on pointing out members of PRSA here, but I believe this points to the bigger picture and an ethical code all PR professionals should follow. Trust can only thrive in our nation if everyone in PR remembered to practice truth, accuracy, fairness, and responsibility.