One of the concerns in public relations industry is many critics argues public relations practitioner (PRP) with all things unethically, acts as a “spin doctor” or “propagandist” to maintain a favorable image of a client and manipulate public (Callison 2011). Yet, PR industry has practiced and established ethics code to regulate all practitioners counsel their clients in ethical direction (Broom 2005, pp. 152). PR pratictioners as a attorney model to clients, must perform professionally with faithful and loyalty behaviour to those represent without reveal the organizations information to the public (Seitel 2004, pp.151-152). PR practioner works with different people, follow ethical to respect free-speech among public and be honest and accurate
Early PR practices were deemed "press agentry" and were thought of a group that fell into a comparison with propaganda. This was because of the use of hype and manipulation of information. For the most part during development of the practice, there was little to no ethical boundaries. In the early 1900's however, there was a major focus on using factual information and labeling it public information, though somewhat manipulation, in order to help gain the public's interest or trust. This factual information however, was based solely around one-way communication, where the information was published simply for the knowledge of others, and not necessarily with the expectation that any action would come of the information. Of course the name of the game in public relations was always to convince someone to change or solidify their opinion on a topic or issue, in the
Although codes of ethics have become part of the public relations profession, Newsom et al. (2013, p. 49) state that not all practitioners adhere to their respective standards. Bernays (1998, p. 29) notes that unlike most other professions, public relations lack an ethical code that gives the state the power to restrict the practice of those who breach any such code. Bernays (1998, p. 32) believes the public relations profession should have ‘…registration and licensing by the state…’ so that both the practitioners and publics can be confident in the profession’s ethical standards. The Public Relations Society of America’s code of ethics was first implemented in 1950 but is essentially unenforceable (Fitzpatrick, cited in Sha 2001, p. 122).
Some theorists such as Botan and Hazelton (1989) expressed in Yeomans (2009:5) argue against this and believe that PR present biased communications and reflect authentic practice that results in PR representative to “manipulate public opinion for the benefit of the organization.” This could be the case for many company’s, however when running an organisation like Virgo it is based around communication which results in reputation and profit, if the reputation is shattered like Virgo then PR consultants are needed to re-build trust to regain its publics.
Job Outlook explains, “Public Relation Professionals plan, develop, implement and evaluate information and communication strategies that create an understanding and a favourable view of organisations, their goods and services, and their role in the community.”
2. Advocacy: Since a public relations professional works as an advocate for the public, it is important to provide the public with pertinent information so that people can make informed decisions. For instance, when presenting information to the public, it's important to provide views from different sides and/or people, as well as all of the relevant facts.
The definition of ethics in the public relations is controlling the ethics which includes values such as honesty, openness, loyalty, fair-mindedness, respect, and forthright communication. The ethics in public relation need to evolve also the advertising of some company need to be more ethical and trustworthy when they are advertises their product in television or radio or newspaper. The Public Relations are an essential element in the activities of the organizations and they need to impose on
What is public relations (PR)? It might be one of the most difficult question to answer and define, for the definition of PR is individual difference. It is commonly thought that PR has inseparable connection with media, communication, news, advertising, marketing and even other fields, meaning that with the evolution and development of the society, science, technology and media, the definition of PR is changing as well. Nowadays, the prevalence of information age and the rise of the new media age may become key factors of defining what is PR and how PR is applied. Shirley Harrison who is a famous person in the history of PR, she claims that “Public relations is a persuasive activity, undertaken to change people’s views or to get them to do something (2000, p.4).” According to Harrison’s definition, the purpose of public relations is used as a tool to manipulate and persuade the public. This essay attempts to analyse the relationship between Harrison’s perception and other theories of PR. And it shows current PR examples to evaluate different theories.
According to McNamara, journalists commonly take a dismissive and moralising position on public relations (McNamara, 2012). When asked her opinion on PR as ‘spin’ Eleanor explained that it depended on the type of PR. She went on to say “as a rule I’ve often found the ‘agency’ PR people calls come with rapid pitches – puffy corporate claptrap – without giving much thought to who they are speaking to or what those people might be interested in,” (Whitehead, 2016). Journalists have generally been vocal on their opinions on this topic, for instance, in 2001 the Good Weekend magazine published and article which stated that PR is “the invisible hand behind much of the
Media relations can be defined as one of the most significant areas of the practice of public relations. (Shaw&White, 2004) It enhances the practice of public relations by serving a systematic, strategized and mutually beneficial relationship between journalists and the public relations practitioners to build credibility, understanding and respect between the two parties. (Supa&Zoch, 2009) It is essential to cultivate a positive and healthy relationship between public relations practitioners and journalists because journalists tend to look at public relations practitioners in a negative way where they believe that they spin information to get free publicity which making it difficult for journalists to report legitimate news and at the same time, against the basic rules of news writing. (Fedler and DeLorme, 2002) Another study by Kiranjit and Halimahton (2006) also suggests that public relations practitioners and journalists are very much sceptical about each other’s role and the relationship between two of them is doubtful and uncertain. From the point of view of public relations practitioners, they complaint that journalists do not understand the role of public relations. On the other side, journalists tend to think that public relations
Public relations (PR) is defined as ‘the way organisations, companies and individuals communicate with the public and media.’ (IPR, 2012) It is essential for an organisation to have a strong public relations team as they are the ones who helped the organisations to build relationships and mutual understanding, to create a positive image for the organisation and to communicate effectively to its public. The term ‘public’ used here refers to not just members of the public, but also involves internal and external stakeholders such as the organisation’s employee, shareholders, clients they are working with, government bodies etc. There are no exact rules on how an organisation should practice PR. However, organisations should view the excellence
Amid the scandals caused by lack of honest and open communication are the ethical blunders of public relations firms themselves. There is a considerable body of evidence emerging to suggest that modern public relations support trends of unethical practices such as lying, falsifying documents, and even espionage. Current research shows that there can be no ethical public relations because the practice itself is known for its manipulation and propaganda. Public Relations, Inc. (PRI) a disguised U.S medium-to-large PR consulting firm is a perfect example of an organization faced with ethical dilemmas (Weiss, 2006).
The Ethical Dilemmas article discusses the competitiveness in the public relations arena and how a client-company relationship is reached. When reading the article one understands how difficult it is for companies to maintain strict adherence to ethical guidelines. There are 7 dilemmas covered in the article that calls for an in-depth review of the difficulties clients, employees and employers face in the highly competitive public relations environment; which entails understanding when and where to disseminate information in regard to the advertising of a company or an individual. Public relation firms also manage the careers of high profile individuals and are also known as damage control consultants.
Because they have a large degree of understanding of the public relations is an image of the establishment of business or put more persuasion efforts for business. The reporter general agree PR is in a public image, propaganda, persuasion activities, as well as marketing efforts, and promote the organization 's position. As the role of public relations become more diverse and important, public relations progress toward becoming the subject of strategy management, it is essential for public relations to the strategy. And to a wide range of business functions integration marketing communication (IMC) concept of the functions of public relations as a commitment to development a of an organization and its product, the image and the impact of the public or the consumer in the campaign of behavior(Ha, JH, & Ferguson, MA 2015).
PR professionals must broaden their market to adapt to the globalizing economic environment. Everyone knows about China’s impressive economic charge into the global market. But it makes sense to learn about reputed and veteran PR firms who know the ropes of the state-run media and regulated markets. Government affairs always intertwine with PR, so PR strategies must adapt to this fact. PR work is as much a relationship with the government as it is with the people.
Only recently being recognized as a discipline in itself, modern day professional public relations practices can trace its roots to the early 1900s where the first public relations firm, the Publicity Bureau, was founded in Boston. In 1923, Austrian-American public relations pioneer, Edward Bernays, identified three fundamental concepts of public relations. In 1984, American theorists, Grunig and Hunt, conceptualized the now-famous four models of public relations and the excellence theory that were generally adopted by public relation agencies across the globe. With so many significant milestones and theories of public relations established in the United States, it stands to reason that public relation practices would naturally adopt a western perspective.