Transparency is Not an Option, It's a Necessity

 Maya Morita

mm294318@ohio.edu

Ethics is defined as governing morals that depict one's thoughts, behaviors, and activities. The concept of ethics is vastly promoted throughout the world of journalism. However, when in such a field, conflicts may arise. Therefore, professionals strive to maintain an honest, ethical, and unbiased approach to their work within public relations and journalism. With this approach, they must avoid possible conflicts of interest, meaning averting from involvement in areas that may produce biased decision-making. Although they are inevitable, these conflicts of interest must be handled professionally and transparently.

Photo by: New Mexico State University

Familial and Social Factors

A family and social presence are imminent within every person. However, these ties may threaten to produce ethical work within public relations and journalism. These conflicts may arise in the form of the marriage between a journalist and a politician, family members working for opposing public relations firms, etc. However, many companies instill the obligation to be open about any conflict of interest. For example, the New York Times insists "any staff member who sees a potential for a conflict or a threat to the paper's reputation in the activities of spouse, friends or relatives must discuss the situation with his or her supervising editor and the standards editor or the opinion editor or the managing editor." In addition to disclosing potential conflicts of interest, journalists and public relations professionals are meant to avoid work that correlates with the conflict. However, in some cases, these conflicts are unavoidable based on one's clients, beats, or organizations, ultimately forcing them to withdraw from their work. Ultimately, conflicts of interest with familial and social connections are unavoidable. However, they can be solved with transparency and professional avoidance.

Favors and Gifts

Conflicts of interest can also come in the form of favors and gifts to sway the professional's viewpoints and/or their work. This practice is commonly seen in public relations and journalism professionals. Clients or sources will offer to cover travel expenses, housing, and food while covering a particular story or working with a specific client or organization. However, in most ethical codes, organizations condemn the acceptance of gifts, which may produce biased work. For example, the National School Public Relations Association advises public relations professionals to "not accept fees, commissions, gifts, from clients except clients or employers for who services are performed without their express consent, given after a full disclosure of facts." Unlike conflicts of interest in terms of family and social life, the acceptance of gifts or favors is an avoidable conflict of interest that directly opposes the idea of truth, ethics, and neutrality that is instilled within media professionals.

Political Involvement 

In today's society, most people must choose a political party when registering to vote. And at the young age of 18, many do not know they may enter media fields in the future and do not know the ramifications of political involvement with those fields. This conflict of interest heavily pertains to unbiased work for public relations professionals and journalists. With political parties, there is ultimately no medium; either you sway one way or another, which is damaging to the career of these professionals. Unlike journalists, public relations professionals commonly obtain political candidates as clients. Therefore, in this case, the representation of political affiliation is required. However, public relations professionals are often advised to act within the interest of the company or the client. Thus, if they do not possess the same political views of either, they are required to suppress those viewpoints in the public light and deny affiliation. For example, the Public Relations Society of America states all members must "act in the best interests of the client or employer, even subordinating the member's interests." When entering media fields, it is known that politics resemble bias. And even in professions like public relations, where politics are a large part of your job, one must consider the ramifications of preconceived biases. Therefore, to avoid this conflict of interest, it is best if the public relations profession seeks a job at a firm that possesses similar views to their own. 

Photo by: College Media Association

Many conflicts of interest pose ethical threats to the world of journalism and public relations. However, there is a fine line between unavoidable and avoidable ones. One cannot dictate the professions of their family members or spouses, but they can remain transparent with potential conflicts and acknowledge when to avoid stories, clients, or beats. On the other hand, accepting gifts is an unethical and avoidable conflict of interest that holds no power over preconceived notions of the professional and ultimately tarnishes their credibility. Lastly, although one's morals and values may not be avoidable, they can be used to choose clients, employers, and stories to avoid conflicts of interest and moral conflicts. Transparency and avoiding bias are ultimately the critical factors for one to refrain from a conflict of interest. These dilemmas are inevitable within the media fields. However, ethical judgment can be resolved to produce accurate, authentic, and unbiased work.