Crystal Borde will speak at PRSA’s ICON 2026 in Orlando, Fla., Oct. 20, where she will explore ethics and crisis communications. Details.
Communicators love to talk about crisis communications. Put “crisis,” “reputation” or “trust” in a webinar or conference title, and interest usually follows. We want to know how organizations should respond when something goes wrong, rebuild trust and protect hard-earned reputations.
But another topic deserves just as much attention from communicators: ethics.
Each September, PRSA and its chapters mark Ethics Month with discussions of ethical challenges and the PRSA Code of Ethics. Yet these programs often draw far fewer communicators than sessions on crisis, reputation or media relations.
That disconnect matters because some of the most consequential ethical decisions communicators face happen during a crisis.
Crisis communications is ethics in action
Under pressure, communicators rarely have unlimited time, complete information or consensus about what to say.
We may advise leaders focused on legal liability, financial consequences, employee morale or public scrutiny. Information may change quickly, and we may be asked to minimize or delay facts stakeholders deserve to know.
Those aren’t simply communications challenges. They are ethical ones.
- How transparent should we be about what went wrong?
- When does protecting confidential information conflict with the public’s need to know?
- What happens when legal counsel recommends saying as little as possible, but our responsibility is to communicate honestly?
- What should we do when leaders want us to make claims the evidence doesn’t fully support?
There isn’t always a perfect answer. But ethical principles give us a framework for asking better questions.
The code shouldn’t be reviewed only once a year
As I’ve been studying for the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR), I’ve been reminded how central ethics is to our profession.
The APR curriculum does not treat the PRSA Code of Ethics as something practitioners should merely know exists. Applying it to real-world situations is essential to strategic, professional public relations.
Its values — advocacy, honesty, expertise, independence, loyalty and fairness — should guide how we counsel leaders, shape strategy, engage communities, correct misinformation and respond to scrutiny.
In a crisis, those values may compete as communicators balance loyalty to an employer or client, fairness to stakeholders, confidentiality and honesty.
Navigating those tensions requires judgment developed before a crisis begins.
Ethics is reputation management
We talk frequently about building and protecting trust. But trust is ultimately shaped by behavior.
An organization cannot message its way around decisions stakeholders see as dishonest, unfair or inconsistent with its values. A polished crisis response may explain what happened, but it cannot overcome unethical conduct.
Ethics is not separate from reputation management. Our role is not only to help organizations decide what they can say, but what they should say—and sometimes do.
That matters most in polarizing moments, when organizations face pressure to speak, stay silent or take a position. Ethical decision-making helps us assess who is affected, what stakeholders need to know, what obligations exist and whether the response aligns with the organization’s actions and values.
Build the ethical muscle before you need it
We practice crisis scenarios so our first test is not when phones are ringing, social media is erupting and leadership wants an answer in 15 minutes. We should approach ethics the same way.
Ethics discussions and case studies let us wrestle with difficult questions, hear different perspectives and identify overlooked consequences before the stakes are high.
The goal is not to memorize a “right” answer; often, none exists. It is to recognize ethical issues, ask the right questions, consider who may be affected and offer sound counsel — even when leaders may not want to hear it.
If crisis communications matters to us, ethics should too
Communicators increasingly advise organizational leaders. With that influence comes responsibility.
If we want a seat at the table for consequential decisions, our value cannot rest only on predicting public or media reaction. We must also understand the ethical responsibilities of communicating for organizations and institutions.
As Ethics Month closes, the challenge is not simply to attend more programs each September. It is to stop treating ethics as a September topic.
If crisis communications, trust and reputation deserve year-round attention, ethics does too. When the next crisis arrives, the question will not only be whether we know how to communicate through it.
Crystal Borde is a vice president and community-driven communications practice lead at Vanguard Communications in Washington, D.C., and the immediate past president of the PRSA National Capital Chapter.
Photo credit: InfiniteFlow
