September brings about the start of school, changing leaves, football and Ethics Month. An important part of our mission at PRSA is to inform and educate the public relations profession about ongoing issues and concerns regarding ethics. We look forward to this time of year and our ability to provide public relations professionals with a variety of events that highlight our Code of Ethics.

Again this year, PRSA will present a series of blog posts throughout the month addressing various topics on ethics to include: the ethical struggles facing new professionals; variances in ethical guidelines between the United States and other parts of the world; public relations professionals acting as the conscience of the organization; civility in communications; and internship ethics.

Continue reading " Ethics Month 2012 "

The latest high-profile ethical issue concerning our profession stems from reports that an agency public relations practitioner registered under a false identity to access a “closed” press conference and gather inside information impacting her client. My blog post from last week sets forth my concerns and views on this event. Of course, the question now is “what’s next?” Is this a teachable moment that creates an opportunity for our profession?

Continue reading " Closing the Ethics Gap "

PRWeek took a welcomed shot across the bow at the public relations profession with its lead editorial this month on the state of ethics in PR. Titled “Ethics mishaps of a few are a concern for the entire industry,” the piece represents a clear call to action for the profession to have an open and forthright discussion about where things stand when it comes to PR ethics.

More specifically, PRWeek’s unsigned editorial asks whether it is time for the profession to undertake a “proactive approach … that cements ethics within the very fabric of agency and in-house communications departments.”

We certainly think so. And we applaud PRWeek for shining some much-needed light on one of the profession’s most pernicious issues.

Raising the ethical standards of public relations is imperative. This is especially so in the digital age, when ethical missteps quickly gain mainstream attention and risk damaging the public’s and business community’s trust in the value of public relations.

Unfortunately, when ethical mishaps occur, what we often see is the profession engage in a swift volley of hand-wringing followed by an equally swift refusal to examine why the same issues crop up over and over. Little is accomplished but our credibility with the public and clients continues to erode.

It’s time for the profession to get serious about ethics.

Continue reading " It’s Time for PR to Get Serious about Ethics "

Editor’s note: The following is a guest post from Jane Wilson MCIPR, CEO of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, which represents public relations professionals in the United Kingdom, on why the CIPR has officially joined the “Public Relations Defined” initiative. CIPR became the 11th global partner of the international advocacy campaign that aims to modernize the definition of public relations.

I am delighted that PRSA has invited the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) to be a partner in the “Public Relations Defined” initiative. By inviting PR professionals to share their insights and perspective on what defines the modern practice of public relations, a process which has already produced some excellent contributions, PRSA is facilitating a timely debate.

The CIPR has recently completed a process of engaging with our members around the U.K. using focus groups and scenario planning, to identify the key elements for a secure future for the profession in the decade ahead. Among the recommendations based on this research is that PR needs better definitions.

Anecdotally, we know that despite a range of strong and durable definitions, including the CIPR’s own, there is little consensus among PR professionals about the way to describe the nature and purpose of our activity. Consensus would better enable those who engage with public relations to gain a consistent idea of the value of the practice and what it can achieve. It would enable PR to be more proactive, to demonstrate that it is intrinsic throughout an organization, to help those organizations develop a culture of relationship building and customer care that enables the achievement of strategic objectives.

A strong, accurate definition will help establish the organizational “place” of PR. Jay O’Connor, CIPR’s 2010 president, extended the CIPR definition by stressing the role that public relations must play at board level, helping to explore, define, plan and execute strategy. She particularly underlined its role with respect to reputational risk and opportunity, and good governance. In my view, this also needs to be taken in to account when we seek to improve understanding of public relations.

You could argue that this process betrays a lack of confidence in the definitions that already exist, or even that the process of looking again at the definitions is wasted time. In my view this is wrong. A process that draws in the widest possible range of submissions has a greater chance of producing a definition that connects more professionals to the debate about what we do and why.

That debate is stronger now than ever before.

Continue reading " CIPR CEO: Why We Joined the ‘Public Relations Defined’ Initiative "

The final PRSA 2011 Ethics Month Tweet chat, held earlier this week, demonstrated why ethical communications continues to interest public relations professionals. Encompassing a wide range of topics on the state of ethics in PR, #PRethics chat saw a spirited debate on where ethics stand in relation to a PR professionals’ daily work.

You can get a full transcript of the chat here and a PDF version here. Read on for the CliffNotes version.

The chat kicked off with a discussion on the best way for PR professionals to build trust between brands and consumers. Chatters varied in their opinions, ranging from advising companies to use brutal honesty to weighing the realities and challenges of PR and marketing in the digital age. @carolinamadrid was decidedly on the “pro-honesty” side, Tweeting that to build trust, brands must utilize “Honesty — as difficult as it may be at times” in all their communications.

@jgombita offered perhaps the most succinct advice for how PR professionals can build trust between brands and consumers when she Tweeted:

Simple: Don’t lie. Don’t spin. Ensure the organizational narrative is honest and that communication is frequent.

Continue reading " Ethics Month Tweet Chat: PR as Ethical Conscience "