Week 6

Week 6

This weeks readings aimed to shed some light on laws and ethics the PR practitioner should consider.
Chapter 4 on laws built on my previous knowledge of the types of laws media practitioners (particularly PR) should be aware of for example defamation and copyright laws and relates them back to Public relations. The My key learnings for this chapter were that not only is essential to have good communication with a legal practitioner but to have a sound knowledge of these laws yourself. Particular laws to be aware of are: Defamation (a tort) and also the Defences to Defamation, Copyright Law, Contract Law and Negligence claims.
The chapter aimed to outline potential legal hazards practitioners should be on the look our for. For example, in defamation cases, as PR practioners we must be able to acknowledge whether something is defamatory and decide what the best action against that is. Could taking legal action have more of a negative effect on an organisations reputation than the defamatory article?
Without having a sound knowledge of these laws we wouldn’t be able to identify legal hazards ourselves.
We also need to be aware that laws are different in each state and also each country and there is no single regulatory body. This can be particularly problematic when publishing articles on international companies. What may not seem defamatory here or what may not be breaking Australian copyright laws may be breaking another countries. This chapter made realise how essential it is to have knowledge of these laws and ignorance of them could result in some ugly law suits or failure to recognise damage to your own company’s reputation. This chapter built on my knowledge of these laws as I have studied them before (hence the reason I haven’t listed them or the legislation that governs them!) but not within a Public Relations framework.
Chapter 5 focused on Ethics in Public relations. From this reading we can see that due to public scrutiny and demand for moral accountability corporations are responsible “for a wide range of stakeholders rather than just shareholders” (pg105). Meaning that we need to be aware of our obligations to not only our oranisation but to the public to. It is a common opinion that public relations practitioners use “spin-doctoring” and bends the truth to suit there needs. Therefore its is important we understand our ethical obligations.
Ethics is clearly defined in this reading as: “personal values which underpin the behaviour and moral choices made by an individual in response to a specific situation” (pg 106). This means in every decision we make as practioners we need to consider our own ethics, the clients, the employers, the professions and societies ethics.
The reading also brought to my attention that ethical dilemmas may exist on three levels: interpersonal, organisational and with stakeholders.
The reading pointed out that PR practitioners should encourage corporations to tell the truth and be open with communication in a crisis as this will improve it’s ethical image. It also stresses that public’s expect a corporation to be socially responsible which involves a corporation to commit to ethical behaviour.
I also thought of particular importance in this reading was that the profession of Public relations is governed by a code of ethics. This vary depending on the organisation but aim to maintain high ethical standards in PR. It is important to recognise these organisations: PRIA, MEAA, PRSA, IABC.
This particular reading built on my knowledge of Public relations as I am now fully aware of ethical dilemmas we can face and the importance of conducting oneself in an ethical manner. Because Public Relations is still a misunderstood practice by not only publics but companies it often has a bad reputation. It is for this reason we ensure in every decision we make we consider its ethical implications.

References: Chapters 4 and 5 of Public relations: theory and practice / edited by Jane Johnston and Clara Zawawi. Crows Nest, N.S.W. Allen & Unwin, 2004. 2nd ed