Truth and Ethics in Public Relations

 Josh Matney

cm735716@ohio.edu

obtained from: masscommunicationtalk.com

According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "The field of ethics, also called moral philosophy, involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior" (IEP). When discussing the importance of ethics in public relations, the role of a PR practitioner or agency is to use these processes to respond to public outcry, protests, or any situation capable of poorly affecting the economic success and overall image of the organization at hand. However, the image and financial success cannot override the importance of transparency with the public. 

One common problem in public relations - especially in recent years with social media and COVID-19 - is crisis communication. Similar to the previous mentioning, the goal for public relations is to fight and alleviate any crisis that arises using ethical decision-making. Unfortunately, this process is much more difficult in practice than in concept. Tactics to falsify information such as photoshop, staged videos, or "hoaxes" combined with social media's ability to spread information quickly have become the biggest obstacle for PR agents. How does one control response from hundreds, thousands, or even millions of misinformed people?

Lars Voedisch, council member and author at Forbes, gives some perspective from her experience in the communications trade and offers some guidelines for future publicists. In the article, Voedisch recommends PR practitioners first 'face the music when confronting and responding to a crisis. Some might attempt to make subtleties of unethical decisions that caused the crisis or "sugarcoat" any details that could make the issue appear less severe (Voedisch, 2021). Instead, take the opportunity to explain the situation, give full context, and admit the mistakes. Presenting all the information can void the opportunity for counterarguments and hopefully maintain the organization's image. 

Another recommendation from Voedisch is to understand the moral responsibility one has as a PR professional. As the definition of ethics, PR pros must use their moral responsibility to analyze information or behavior, determine its ethicality, and address it to the public no matter how it might the business or image of the organization. This game of balancing one's loyalty to their client with transparency with the public can be complex and delicate at best (Voedisch, 2021). 

Moving forward, journalists or communications specialists that desire to pursue public relations should constantly remind themselves of guidelines such as these. When the truth is nearly impossible to determine due to the mass of online content, professionals have the opportunity to use technology, their colleagues, and their moral responsibility to uphold truth and ethics in their organizations.