The Ethical Landscape: The Public Relations Society Of America

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Claudia Palmer JRL 428 Professor Stewart 11 February 2015 Ethical and Legal Landscapes of Public Relations Section 1: The Ethical Landscape: The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) created a code for their members to use as a guide while practicing as professionals in the public relations field. “The Code,” as they call it, provides examples of how to act when dilemmas arise, examples of misconduct, and the core values that those in the profession should hold. According to the PRSA website, these values include advocacy, honesty, expertise, independence, loyalty, and fairness(http://www.prsa.org/AboutPRSA/Ethics/documents/Code%20of%20Ethics.pdf). PRSA defines advocacy as acting responsibly for those you represent when communicating. …show more content…

The following examples of dilemmas are from the (IPRA). The first that they describe is “Churning,” this asks whether it is ethical to create work, the example they give is a press kit, that is not necessary to make more money. Next is “Playing Client Pool,” this asks whether clients should also be able to tell you how to carry out the objectives they set. A second part to this dilemma is whether or not to comply if their tactics go against your values. “Client Ceveat Emptoris,” questions whether it is ethical to agree to an assignment that you know you cannot carry out. “Plant and Sow” asks whether it is ethical or not to release negative information about a competitor, even if it is true. One of the most common ethical questions public relations professionals face is referred to as “Read My Lips.” This asks whether issuing statements that are not technically false but will mislead the audience to believing them to be facts is ethical. Lastly, and also common is the “Just Say No,” dilemma. This asks whether it is ok to go against your values and not say “no” to a client because you do not want to upset