British academic looks at ethics in PR

This is an area study of extraordinary importance to our daily lives as practitioners, but also to the development of the profession overall.

Have a look, you may not agree but the more we debate this stuff the better.

Link: mediations: Ethics paper.

The author (Phillip Young) concludes that although practitioners may strive to act ethically they often lack the training and critical capacity to apply this in a structured manner. The suggestion is made that practitioners must first understand the model of PR in which they (seek to) operate before they can establish frameworks in which they can make ethical decisions, most notably whether they position themselves as information providers or advocates.

Crucially, Young concludes that much of what is presented as ethical conduct is merely a manifestation of prudent business practice.

PS. I recently wrote an article on a related topic - Buying Influence: Cash for comment scandals and the consequences of PR gone feral

Comments

[Philip Young]

Two points that might help... It was interview respondents who told me that they wanted more guidance on ethics - an interesting comment when a significant number agreed with the proposition that 'PR is the conscience of an organisation'.

The comment about PRs needing to understand the model in which they work seeks to distinguish between those who see themselves as advocates - only putting out stuff that reflects well on their clients - and those who opt for transparency, who strive to be impartial conduits of information (perhaps working in the public sector). I know it has its supporters but I have trouble with the latter position, and I fear those who claim such a stance have some ticky ethical hurdles to overcome. Will let you know when the full paper is available (and, hopefully, a more readable, non-academic version, too!). I do