Ethics and Professionalism - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

About This Presentation
Title:

Ethics and Professionalism

Description:

It focuses on questions about what is ... Ethical Dealings. with News Media. The idea that, in dealing with the media, 'anything less than total honesty will ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

Number of Views:2937
Avg rating:3.0/5.0
Slides: 10
Provided by: harwo
Category:

less

Transcript and Presenter's Notes

Title: Ethics and Professionalism


1
Ethics and Professionalism
  • Chapter 3

2
Ethics Defined
  • Ethics is concerned with how we should live our
    lives. It focuses on questions about what is
    right or wrong, fair or unfair, caring or
    uncaring, good or bad, responsible or
    irresponsible, and the like. (Jaksa and
    Pritchard, Methods of Analysis)

3
PR professionals have the burden of making
ethical decisions that satisfy
  • The public interest
  • Their employer (or client)
  • Their professional organization (PRSA for
    example)
  • Their personal values
  • In an ideal world, these four areas would not
  • conflict but in reality they often do. (see
    examples, page 76)

4
Professional Codes of Ethics in PR
  • The Public Relations Society of America (PRSSA)
    Code of Ethics (page 78)
  • The Codes core values
  • Advocacy Independence
  • Honesty Loyalty
  • Expertise Fairness
  • International Association of Business
    Communicators (IABC) Code of Ethics (p.80)

5
Personal Ethics
  • Be honest at all times
  • Convey a sense of business ethics based on your
    own standards and those of society
  • Respect the integrity and position of your
    opponents and audiences
  • Develop trust by emphasizing substance over
    triviality
  • Present all sides of an issue
  • Strive for a balance between loyalty to the
    organization and duty to the public
  • Dont sacrifice long-term objectives for
    short-term gains

6
Licensing Accreditation
  • Licensingthe debate continues over whether
    public relations should require professional
    licensing (such as the medical, legal and real
    estate fields have). There are strong pros and
    cons on each side (pages 86-87)
  • Accreditationprofessional development
    certification programs help improve standards and
    professionalism in the field

7
PR Professionalism Act like a professional in
the field, by having
  • A sense of independence
  • A sense of responsibility to society and the
    public interest
  • Be concerned about the competence and honor of
    the profession as a whole
  • A higher loyalty to the standards of the
    profession and fellow professionals than to the
    employer/client of the moment.
  • The reference point in all PR activity must be
    the standards of the profession and not those of
    the client or the employer

8
Ethical Concerns include
  • front groups
  • video news releases (VNRs)
  • Internet Public Relations
  • Each involve possible deceptive omission of who
    or what is truly behind the PR initiative.

9
Ethical Dealings with News Media
  • The idea that, in dealing with the media,
    anything less than total honesty will destroy
    credibility and, with it, the PR practitioners
    usefulness to an employer.
  • Gifts, of any kind, according to the PRSA, can
    contaminate the free flow of accurate and
    truthful information to the public.
  • Shades of Gray in the News Business the
    relationship between automotive writers and car
    manufacturers, for example (on payroll at car
    company as a consultant) magazines are
    increasingly blurring the line between news
    features and advertisements celebrities
    appearing on talks shows and endorsing products
    product placement is growing and growing
Write a Comment
User Comments (0)
About PowerShow.com