"Ethics in Public Relations: Responsible Advocacy" by Kathy Fitzpatrick and Carolyn Bronstein
by: Kristin Bussell
I found "Ethics in Public Relations: Responsible Advocacy" to be a very insightful book for the field of public relations as a whole. The book is a collection of essays, divided into chapters, which each focus on either a particular field within public relations, a common element of PR campaigns, or an issue that frequently surfaces in the field of PR.
For example, the book includes a chapter that focuses on ethics within public relations efforts of nonprofit organizations. I found this chapter especially interesting because I feel like this semester’s work (meaning all the campaigns formulated by our class) was equivalent to working in a nonprofit organization.
An example of an issue this chapter discussed was the temptation to not uphold responsible advocacy by “twisting” information organizations present to news media. Though this temptation exists across the board in all PR fields, the chapter argued that because non-profit practitioners are both passionate about their organization and on an especially tight budget, the temptation is perhaps more prevalent.
Another chapter I found interesting, and very pertinent to our semester’s campaign, was the chapter on the Internet as a newly emerged medium and how to ethically utilize it. The chapter pointed out that because the Internet is essentially commonplace to every working environment it is thereby virtually just as accessible to lower income organizations as it is to larger companies. In other words, the Internet provides a level playing field while at the same time enabling anyone to become an “authority”. As the chapter discussed, this pertains to ethics in PR because since such things as anonymity are achievable there is temptation to, for example, falsely accuse competing companies or falsely promote your own and not take responsibility for the wrongdoings.
For example, the book includes a chapter that focuses on ethics within public relations efforts of nonprofit organizations. I found this chapter especially interesting because I feel like this semester’s work (meaning all the campaigns formulated by our class) was equivalent to working in a nonprofit organization.
An example of an issue this chapter discussed was the temptation to not uphold responsible advocacy by “twisting” information organizations present to news media. Though this temptation exists across the board in all PR fields, the chapter argued that because non-profit practitioners are both passionate about their organization and on an especially tight budget, the temptation is perhaps more prevalent.
Another chapter I found interesting, and very pertinent to our semester’s campaign, was the chapter on the Internet as a newly emerged medium and how to ethically utilize it. The chapter pointed out that because the Internet is essentially commonplace to every working environment it is thereby virtually just as accessible to lower income organizations as it is to larger companies. In other words, the Internet provides a level playing field while at the same time enabling anyone to become an “authority”. As the chapter discussed, this pertains to ethics in PR because since such things as anonymity are achievable there is temptation to, for example, falsely accuse competing companies or falsely promote your own and not take responsibility for the wrongdoings.
1 comment:
Yes, I agree. It may be very tempting to "twist" the information we present, but it is not ethical. It is very important for us as Public Relations students and future professionals to not "twist" information. We have the responsibility to present information regarding our clients honestly. The PRSA code of ethics is a valuable tool we should all use for our future in Public Relations.
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