Ethical Responsibilities in PR

Tess Woodyard

tw330817@ohio.edu

When you think of public relations, you expect them to hold a set of ethical values. Many PR professionals face challenges within these ethical responsibilities which can cause them to be portrayed in a different light.

Source: playbookpublicrelations.com

According to Ethical Voices, they made a top ten list of the main issues employers and PR professionals face. This list includes transparency, disclosure, verifying facts, deceptive practices, and more. These are all things that we would expect PR to uphold, but in many cases, it has become difficult to do so. 

Employers need to uphold these ethical practices. PR professionals also need to have a set of moral and personal values to guide decision-making and behavior. They need to obtain core skills in public relations when it comes to ethics.

According to an article by PRSA, there are factors that can cause even honest and decent people to break the rules. This can include intense pressure by management to reach unrealistic goals or targets, demands that they must consistently beat their competitions, management's willingness to overlook small but persistent breaches of policy or ethics if the employee gets results, as well as fear of job loss or internal competitive disadvantage.

Leaders of larger companies may not know everything that is happening between the ranks. However, employees know what is acceptable versus what is not and how much deviation is possible.

So how can PR professionals help make a more ethical environment? To start, according to an article by PRSA, PR professionals should reveal the hazards of having lax ethical standards or enforcement. They should also encourage management to set up a way to report malpractice so employees can report serious violations anonymously. They can also suggest bringing in an outside firm to look at the standards and practices. Finally, they can promote the development of a clear set of standards and practices that the organization can convey and post on their website.

It is important to note, we all share the responsibility to create an ethical framework for practices. It is important to protect and maintain your credibility because once you have fractured it, it is hard to gain it back.

When you have concerns about ethical responsibilities within your organization, it is important to voice your concern and be honest. At the end of the day, PR professionals and journalists face ethical problems and responsibilities that need to be looked at so they can continue on.

Who is Behind our shared posts, or should I say What?

Jaiden Tabor jt283118@ohio.edu We all scroll through our Tiktoks, Instagram feeds, and Twitter feeds carelessly. Although we know something must be responsible for the origin of the posts, we trust that the fate of our for-you-pages and feeds show us credible content with reason. But this is not always the case. This relates to journalism and ethics because most of the news that is consumed by younger generations comes from easy accessibilty. It is easy to post a news article to Snapchat and trust that someone will be reading it because it's right in that person's hands. This has caused a lot of disruption in the journalism community not only due to credibility issues but reputation as well. In the case of Josh Shaw, university-run media at the University of South Carolina rushed to conclusions to post a story about their cornerback and how he sprained both his ankles. The story that was written read that he twisted them rescuing his 7-year-old nephew. The story went on to become a heartfelt lie and when the truth was revealed, not only was Shaw at fault but the news source as well. When the truth came out, it was Shaw who had made up the story and lied. The reason why the journalists were at fault was because they posted an inaccurate story. It is safe to say that many times, journalists are writing to protect. Protect the subject, protect the story, but it seems it can be lost in translation that it is important to protect yourself as a writer and the news outlet you work for.

To come full circle, this relates to the content that you consume on your social media. Many times, when reading, the common population does not worry about checking credibility and reputable sources. It is important for the new age journalists to educate and teach about how trolls and bots on the internet can post fake news, which yes is a real thing not just a term coined by former president Donald Trump. This is called digital civility . This term is used to describe said diversion. Teaching the younger generation that someone and something is writing their media is very important. This also relates to media bias and teaching the difference between a truthful article and a trendy article is crucial. It is also important because it creates healthy disputes online. Instead of trolls starting riots on posts, educated individuals can share their truth and opinions with information to back it up. In no one is social media a bad thing for news. The consumption rates of media have gone up significantly due to the accessibilty of social media and news shares on it. The conflict that is created is the dependability. When media consumption goes up so does a need for new stories. This can sometimes cause journalists to create false narratives in order to produce and meet a quota. This may have been the case for the Josh Shaw story. In conclusion, as a journalism student, it is not only my responsibility to create and share information but to share the resources that are credible for other consumers. This can decrease foreign involvement in our news and decrease problems for future writers and news outlets.

John Quiñones: The practices of a great journalist showcased

Audrianna Wilde

aw455919@ohio.edu

audrianna.wilde@gmail.com

    The E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University gave their Carr Van Anda award to ABC correspondent and "What Would You Do?" TV show host John Quiñones on Tuesday, Oct. 18. The award, which is named after the former Ohio University student and managing editor of The New York Times who used his writing and editing skills to transform The New York Times into the highly regarded international newspaper that we see today, is awarded each year to journalists recognized for outstanding work in their field.

John Quiñones gave his talk to journalism students Tuesday night. Photo courtesy of OUSPJ.

    While John Quiñones is mainly known for his hit TV series, his work as a journalist is outstanding, and his career's journey is one that is inspiring and a true tale of hard work and determination. John Quiñones spoke with journalism students about his work and his goal to depict the great human mosaic of our lived experiences in his stories. 

    John Quiñones grew up in Texas. His ancestors were immigrants from Mexico, and although his family had lived in the U.S. for decades, they were poor, and did not know any English. However, Quiñones did not let these factors stop him from pursing his dream to be a broadcast reporter. Quiñones said in his talk, that he always was taking "little steps forward". Any opportunity he got, he took. 

    Today, Quiñones has a long career behind him of almost 40 years in journalism. His stories, which can be found on his website, range from coverage of Jane Goodall's work in Africa studying chimpanzees, to heartbreaking yet eye-opening stories of homeless children living in the sewers of Bogota, Columbia, and modern day slavery in the Dominican Republic, where children were forced to cut sugar cane with no pay.

    During his talk, Quiñones also talked about a story he covered by posing as an immigrant wanting to cross the border, all while secretly recording and videotaping his whole experience. According to the SPJ code of ethics, undercover reporting should be avoided unless open methods of information gathering will not yield information vital to the public. Quiñones' story showed the emotionally and physically challenging act of crossing the border fully and truthfully, in a way that was never before seen. 

    Quiñones' work is a prime example of the journalist's job done the right way: ethically. Quiñones has told stories that tell the whole truth, opening up the public's eyes to their right to know about the stories of marginalized people in the Hispanic community, giving a voice to the voiceless. 

Ethical Behavior in Public Relations

Audrianna Wilde

aw455919@ohio.edu

audrianna.wilde@gmail.com

    Is ethical behavior in PR something employers want from their employees, is it something that they need to demonstrate, or both?

    Public relations is often seen as the industry of strategically lying. Oftentimes, when people think of public relations, they envision a management team trying to cover up a celebrity's latest leaked scandal, or a representative of a company telling white lies to gloss over egregious business practices. While this is not what PR is for, it has become a common misconception due to the fact that the industry may be lacking in stressing the importance of ethical behavior. This has, in return, led to individuals failing to meet the ethical standards of the industry, such as the PRSA code of ethics, and therefore creating a bad reputation for the entire industry.

    According to a three-year study done by the Commission on Public Relations, employers in the PR industry identified areas of skill that they expected people working in PR to be competent in. These employers ranked ethics among the top three skills that they desired in public relations professionals, however, the study also found that this skill, the ability to make ethical decisions and behave ethically, was among the hardest to find in potential employees. This was due to a number of factors, some of them being a lack of disclosure and transparency, selective truth-telling, the absence of consequences for unethical behavior and a lack of ethics training in general in the profession. The question is, how can employers fix these issues and find the people with the skills they desire?

Clipart Stock Image from pikpng.com

    Ironically, the root of the issue could actually be found in the very employers who want to hire people with skills in ethics. According to an article by PRSA, the corporate culture of PR can influence how PR professionals choose to behave. Executives should ask themselves: Are they addressing problems head-on by taking responsibility and acting with transparency by reporting such issues? Or do they reward cutting corners and covering up problems that arise? The truth is that employees' behaviors will follow the culture that management creates and rewards. If executives want ethical employees, it is important they take into account their role, holding themselves to the ethical standards of the profession to create an example worthy of admiration to those under them.

    So, what are some ways an ethical environment can be fostered in PR, to avoid perpetuating the negative stereotypes that follow the profession? According to PRSA, promoting a clear set of standards and practices that the organization can hold itself to, as well as holding people accountable for their actions is a start. Modeling the correct behavior for employees and posing consequences for unethical behavior can discourage unwanted actions. Other, preventative practices can include setting up a way for employees to report serious violations anonymously and bringing in outside firms to look at the standards and practices of the organization from an outside and unbiased standpoint. While it may not entirely be up to employers to set the standards of the PR industry, since all PR professionals should look to their own morality alongside professional codes of ethics, employers must recognize their immediate and impactful influence on the behaviors of their subordinates and act accordingly.

Ethical Responsibilities are Important in Organizations

 Payton Szymczak 

ps692718@ohio.edu

notyap5968@gmail.com

                               Source: https://www.wework.com/ideas/professional-development/business-solutions/what-makes-a-company-successful

    

    It is exceedingly important that the highest end of companies, the CEO, creates an environment for their employees valuing morally correct codes of ethics. Following ethical responsibilities in the particular company is important to stress, and hopefully if the CEO follows an ethical code, the employees trickling down the line of the entire company will as well. 

    In the article, Follow the Leader: Ethics and Responsibility, the idea of following ethical responsibilities is stressed. For example, as quoted in the article, the author, Virgil Scudder, stated, "One of a CEO's most important jobs is to create, foster and communicate the culture of the organization." This comes from words and from actions, and is hoped to be further communicated throughout the organization in order to create a well kept community and culture for employees. 

    The article also touches on red flags that could potentially expose the real culture of the organization. For example, the article explains how it is important to find out whether or not the corporate culture tries to face the particular issue head on and solve it or not and furthermore creating steps to fix them. Another factor explained in the article is whether or not a corporate culture rewards behavior that tries to cover things up which would be an example of a red flag. 

    The article progresses into further detail about what behavioral activity could potentially cause dishonesty in the organization, such as intense pressure towards the employees to meet unrealistic goals, the constant demand to beat their competitors, and the intense fear of losing their job. These factors can all create a dishonest organization and can possibly result in employees breaking the rules. 

    All of these factors lead into the topic of another article, Bits, Bytes and the Ethics of Data, the problem with the scientific methods to get insights from data. As Karen Swim, the author of this article, states, "In their quest for research funding, some data scientists might forego scientific rigor and ethical considerations." There needs to be responsibilities to make an ethical framework for data use and practices, as also explained in the article. People universally use data and statistics to trust certain sources and stories that they are reading their news from. The data collection should be accurate. 

    All in all, companies and organizations need to make sure they are displaying an ethically responsible and honest environment to instill trust. 

Building Ethical Environments from Top to Bottom

 John Steitz

js810618@ohio.edu

john.steitz.ou@gmail.com

Source: sloanreview.mit.edu

In a PRSA article titled Follow The Leader: Ethics and Responsibility, author Virgil Scudder dove into the 2011 ethics scandal that engulfed Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid, News of The World.

Scudder’s main point is that the company’s culture and ethical practices start from the top down. In Scudder’s own words, “employees will almost always behave in the manner that management expects from them.” Part of the job of an executive is to establish and cultivate the organization’s culture. Therefore, what employees see as ethically acceptable and unacceptable depends on the expectations that have been established and upheld by the organization.

There are a number of internal and external influences originating from leadership that may encourage unethical behavior. Organizational pressure to succeed at all costs is a large contributing factor to ethical violations that take place. Being under a lot of pressure to meet unrealistic goals or outdo the competition may also push someone to break the rules. A willingness by management to look the other way regarding small breaches of ethics in favor of positive results may also influence employees to violate or continue to violate our codes of ethics. Fear of losing one’s job may also encourage an employee to stretch the limits of ethically acceptable behavior. 

All of these possible influences will come from organizational leadership, and it’s our job as ethically and morally upstanding PR professionals to rise above these factors. Terry Goodrich said it best in his 2013 article on facing ethical pressure in a professional environment. According to Goodrich, PR professionals who provide ethical council must be as fervent to serve the public interest as they are to with regards to their organizational responsibilities. A public relations professional must consider oneself to be an “organizational conscience” and view themselves as an independent voice within the organization without being mired by its perspective or politics. 

Part of our job as public relations professionals is to be an advocate for the public good, which I discussed in my previous blog post on ethics. An effective PR professional disagrees with their organization when they need to and holds it accountable for its actions. “Yes men” have virtually no value whatsoever in public relations because of this. A good public relations professional doesn’t just view their position as a marketing tool- they also consider themselves problem solvers. With access to an organization’s legal counsel and key decision-makers, public relations professionals can engage in what Goodrich refers to as “fire-prevention,” as opposed to engaging in damage control which is more akin to fire-fighting. Clearly, the best plan of action is to avoid starting fires in the first place.

It’s in this role that public relations professionals can most impactfully contribute to their organization’s culture of ethics. By taking a more traditional “watchdog” approach to public relations work, we as professionals can ensure that the organizations we serve abide by our codes of ethics and engage in ethically and morally upstanding practices. In this way, we can contribute to our organizational cultures and keep them from being established exclusively by organizational leaders, while simultaneously keeping the public interest firmly in mind.

Journalism and PR in the Time of COVID-19

 Alex Semancik

as477018@ohio.edu

COVID-19 has altered virtually everyone's lives and the way society as a whole functions. The world has moved toward increasing digitization but the pandemic has appeared to extrapolate this digitization on a level that no one was expecting. This rapid change in how the world functions did not spare the fields of journalism and public relations. COVID-19 has changed these two industries and how they operate completely.

Reporters and those in the journalism and PR professions will tell anyone the same. On the journalism end of the spectrum, reporters are tasked with covering a phenomenon the likes of which no one living has ever seen before. According to an article from Agility PR solutions, "Nearly every reporter out there has had their beat shifted to include coronavirus coverage. As opposed to events like the infamous 9/11 attacks in the U.S. that have already happened or have a definitive beginning and end, COVID-19 is unique as it has no definitive end in sight. The pandemic is an ongoing issue that must be considered with every decision a journalist makes. As a reporter interviewed in the article from Agility PR Solutions states: "I don't think this is really comparable to any other event I've covered or any that's been covered in history."

Photo courtesy of istockphoto.com

Public relations specialists, social media coordinators, advertisers and everyone else under the PR umbrella are equally as impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as their journalistic counterparts. The power of social media and advertising was truly unleashed as a result of the pandemic. In the early stages of lockdown in March, April and May of 2020 when people could hardly leave their homes, social media was essentially the only thing connecting a lot of people and fostering relationships (business or otherwise) that would normally be delegated as an in-person activity. Advertisers certainly took advantage of the pandemic as well, making sure to incorporate the COVID-19 pandemic into branding, messaging and the like (as if we weren't sick of hearing about it already).

Although COVID-19 has impacted nearly everything and everyone in the world in some way, I believe the fields of journalism and PR were specially altered. Reporters and broadcast journalists were required to add pandemic coverage to their already complex and long list of stories to report on. Nearly every story covered unrelated to COVID-19  could also have some sort of pandemic spin or impact from the pandemic. Those in the fields of PR, advertising and social media were given the reigns of powerful tools in a time of limited social contact and witnessed firsthand how those tools can shape an ever-digitizing world.