Ethics in public relations: a guide to best practice

Abstract

Part 1 What lies beneath... Chapter 1 Before we begin: new profession... or one of the oldest? Public relations ethics: oxymoron? A tarnished history Defining our terms A profession or professionalism? Aspiring to professionalism Measuring your professionalism quotient Chapter 2 A tangled web: the truth about PR ethics An epidemic of lying The 'truth' in public relations Predicting honesty on the job Truth telling as a principle of behaviour Chapter 3 To do no harm: the issue of trust Truth and trust The limits of organizational responsibility To whom are you loyal? Chapter 4 Whose rights are right? Rights and responsibilities When my right conflicts with yours Conflicting rights in public relations Chapter 5 The trouble with rules Rules rule our lives Those darn deontologists The real trouble with rules 'Situations alter cases' Moral relativism and situations The problem with situations Chapter 6 Robin Hood ethics What the heck is 'utilitarianism? Motives be damned Problems with Robin Hood Part 2 Ethics and the practitioner... Chapter 7 Your staircase to respect R-E-S-P-E-C-T Still the moral child The moral child grows up An ethical litmus test? More than good manners: ethics and etiquette Morality and your level of competence Chapter 8 The good, the bad and the almost ugly: ethics codes Codes as contracts Minimum standards or ideals? Who needs codes, anyway? A global code? Relying on a personal code Using personal values Developing your own code Chapter 9 Sex and the single (or not) PR practitioner: conflict of interest Defining a conflict Sleeping with... the enemy? Practicalities before ethics Outside conflicts Personal relationships and ethical principles Other conflict situations Chapter 10 You... against the world A dilemma you don't need A continuum of tattling How to be a whistleblower Tattling The temptations of moonlighting Part 3 Strategies and dilemmas... Chapter 11 Media relations: breeding ground for ethical problems Ethics of the relationship Honesty in media relations Media access and ethics Journalists have codes, too Aspects of ethical media relations Chapter 12 Persuasion -- or propaganda? Engineering consent Ethical persuasion... an oxymoron? PR for biker gangs? Any client, any time? The advocate arises The 'right' to PR counsel Sneaky propaganda A war of words The pitfalls of euphemism Doublespeak The 'controlled lexicon' The vocabulary of public relations Persuasion by lobby Transparency versus obfuscation Chapter 13 Good causes and bad taste 'Aware' of the issues A staple of community relations From good causes to good taste Chapter 14 PR and plagiarism A PR practice Defining plagiarism Crossing the line Part 4 Organizations, ethics and public relations Chapter 15 The true reality of everyday ethics: making decisions Why make a decision at all? The best you can hope for Ethical dilemmas: not all the same Decision steps Making those ethical decisions in PR A case in point Other approaches Criteria for second guessing PR practitioners as ethical decision-makers The researcher told us so Chapter 16 PR and the corporate ethics programme Organizational ethics/PR ethics: not the same thing Ethics as window-dressing Social responsibility defined Public relations' role Chapter 17 Making business accountable: the 'new breed' of PR Back to the classroom Teaching and learning Learning about ethics Drawing to a conclusion