Dr Mohamed Kirat
By Dr Mohamed Kirat
Ethics are considered an important factor for the success of any public relations work. Public relations practitioners must be ethical; they have to be honest, credible and trustworthy. They should act at all times in public interest, which also represents the interest of the organization they work for.
Are there ethics in public relations?
The question is very relevant and should be posed because current research supports a historical trend which associates public relations with lying, bluffing, spin-doctoring and all kinds of unethical practices.
Some critics argue that public relations cannot be ethical because its practice is the art of manipulation, propaganda and persuasion by all means. This is an unfortunate belief among journalists, politicians, decision-makers, businessmen, and people from other walks of life.
The public relations sector lacks ethics because its strategic goal is to influence public opinion through persuasive messages and lobbying that considers only the interests of the client or the organization. According to some, this is a threat to responsible and committed journalism and communication. Some critics argue that modern public relations practices are having a very significant negative impact on the democratic process by obfuscating, deceiving and derailing public debate on key issues and focusing on the other hand, on what clients and organisations would like to have on the agenda of the media and public opinion.
Modern public relations is facing an identity crisis, and itself needs some public relations to improve its image and react to the various stereotypes and criticism it is getting.
PR Watch raises the following questions: Is ethical public relations possible? Are public relations practitioners professionals? The question is: Are these criticisms and claims true? If they are, how is the PR industry emerging rapidly throughout the world and gaining in the fields of education, research and scholarship.
Indeed, public relations is based on ethics and believes in ethics. The ethics of public relations consist of values such as honesty, loyalty, social responsibility, fairness, respect, integrity, and responsible and forthright communication. The PR industry has professional societies and associations; it also has codes of ethics that lay down the duties, rights and responsibilities of PR practitioners and their accountability to their clients and society.
Since the early days of public relations, the issue of ethics has been raised in the circles of the profession and the media. Media professionals as well as those concerned with ethics have raised the issue of the credibility and morals of those working in public relations. Many voices have been raised against the allegedly vicious and malicious motives behind the majority of public relations initiatives.
Many critics argue that there can be no ethical public relations because the practice itself is akin to manipulation and propaganda.
Critics complain about the partiality of PR practitioners when they market their organisations or clients to the media and the public. They usually emphasise the positive and hide the negative side of their clients. According to critics, public relations is becoming the profession of manipulating the media to influence public opinion to be positively receptive to the client and its activities. Core ethical challenges to the practice of public relations include manipulation of stakeholders, consumers, the public and the media. The case of the US misuse of PR and public diplomacy during the third Gulf War is relevant here. Other challenges include lying, bribery, and distorting public communication channels.
Why should the issue of ethics be addressed by scholars, practitioners of public relations and the general public? Why are critics claiming that public relations is unethical and cannot be ethical? The general public thinks that governments are corrupt, and businesses and all other entities in society are using public relations to lure the general public and to crystallize public opinion in the shape they want.
Ethics demand personal engagement, a search for best practices, an understanding of rational decisions to be taken and a good understanding of the consequences. Ethics can’t be legislated, they come from within and are nurtured by life’s experiences and the standards and codes of conduct followed in our chosen fields.
Ethics in public relations deal, basically, with ethical thinking. Debating the issue of public relations ethics is exposing the dilemmas inherent in media relations, and confronting ethical problems in organisational communication, employee and peer communication, corporate social responsibility, lobbying, and community relations.
The emergence of public relations as a profession is essentially a twentieth century phenomenon, although its roots can be traced to ancient civilizations. From an early stage the practice of public relations has raised many concerns related to ethics. In its report, “A Port of Entry: Public relations Education for the 21st Century”, the Commission on Public Relations Education recommended the teaching of public relations ethics and law as an essential topic for a strong undergraduate education. Public relations ethics and law introduces students of PR to codes of ethics in public relations and other professions; legal issues related to privacy, defamation, copyright, product liability, and financial disclosure; legal and regulatory compliance, and credibility. Public relations professionals and other stakeholders must admit that without ethical behaviour there is no credibility, and without credibility there is no business.
(The author is a professor of Public Relations and Mass Communication at the College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University.)
By Dr Mohamed Kirat
Ethics are considered an important factor for the success of any public relations work. Public relations practitioners must be ethical; they have to be honest, credible and trustworthy. They should act at all times in public interest, which also represents the interest of the organization they work for.
Are there ethics in public relations?
The question is very relevant and should be posed because current research supports a historical trend which associates public relations with lying, bluffing, spin-doctoring and all kinds of unethical practices.
Some critics argue that public relations cannot be ethical because its practice is the art of manipulation, propaganda and persuasion by all means. This is an unfortunate belief among journalists, politicians, decision-makers, businessmen, and people from other walks of life.
The public relations sector lacks ethics because its strategic goal is to influence public opinion through persuasive messages and lobbying that considers only the interests of the client or the organization. According to some, this is a threat to responsible and committed journalism and communication. Some critics argue that modern public relations practices are having a very significant negative impact on the democratic process by obfuscating, deceiving and derailing public debate on key issues and focusing on the other hand, on what clients and organisations would like to have on the agenda of the media and public opinion.
Modern public relations is facing an identity crisis, and itself needs some public relations to improve its image and react to the various stereotypes and criticism it is getting.
PR Watch raises the following questions: Is ethical public relations possible? Are public relations practitioners professionals? The question is: Are these criticisms and claims true? If they are, how is the PR industry emerging rapidly throughout the world and gaining in the fields of education, research and scholarship.
Indeed, public relations is based on ethics and believes in ethics. The ethics of public relations consist of values such as honesty, loyalty, social responsibility, fairness, respect, integrity, and responsible and forthright communication. The PR industry has professional societies and associations; it also has codes of ethics that lay down the duties, rights and responsibilities of PR practitioners and their accountability to their clients and society.
Since the early days of public relations, the issue of ethics has been raised in the circles of the profession and the media. Media professionals as well as those concerned with ethics have raised the issue of the credibility and morals of those working in public relations. Many voices have been raised against the allegedly vicious and malicious motives behind the majority of public relations initiatives.
Many critics argue that there can be no ethical public relations because the practice itself is akin to manipulation and propaganda.
Critics complain about the partiality of PR practitioners when they market their organisations or clients to the media and the public. They usually emphasise the positive and hide the negative side of their clients. According to critics, public relations is becoming the profession of manipulating the media to influence public opinion to be positively receptive to the client and its activities. Core ethical challenges to the practice of public relations include manipulation of stakeholders, consumers, the public and the media. The case of the US misuse of PR and public diplomacy during the third Gulf War is relevant here. Other challenges include lying, bribery, and distorting public communication channels.
Why should the issue of ethics be addressed by scholars, practitioners of public relations and the general public? Why are critics claiming that public relations is unethical and cannot be ethical? The general public thinks that governments are corrupt, and businesses and all other entities in society are using public relations to lure the general public and to crystallize public opinion in the shape they want.
Ethics demand personal engagement, a search for best practices, an understanding of rational decisions to be taken and a good understanding of the consequences. Ethics can’t be legislated, they come from within and are nurtured by life’s experiences and the standards and codes of conduct followed in our chosen fields.
Ethics in public relations deal, basically, with ethical thinking. Debating the issue of public relations ethics is exposing the dilemmas inherent in media relations, and confronting ethical problems in organisational communication, employee and peer communication, corporate social responsibility, lobbying, and community relations.
The emergence of public relations as a profession is essentially a twentieth century phenomenon, although its roots can be traced to ancient civilizations. From an early stage the practice of public relations has raised many concerns related to ethics. In its report, “A Port of Entry: Public relations Education for the 21st Century”, the Commission on Public Relations Education recommended the teaching of public relations ethics and law as an essential topic for a strong undergraduate education. Public relations ethics and law introduces students of PR to codes of ethics in public relations and other professions; legal issues related to privacy, defamation, copyright, product liability, and financial disclosure; legal and regulatory compliance, and credibility. Public relations professionals and other stakeholders must admit that without ethical behaviour there is no credibility, and without credibility there is no business.
(The author is a professor of Public Relations and Mass Communication at the College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University.)
