Abstract
Talk of ethics in public relations (or lack thereof) seems to have escalated in recent years among journalists, other professionals, and the broader public. The subject is not a new one for public relations practitioners or educators who have advocated for ethics as a foundational distinctive of the profession for decades. However, current events and rising public opinion demand a more intentional and deeper approach to ethics in the practice of strategic communication. Ethics can no longer be a token topic in the classroom or the professional association meeting.
Regina Luttrell, assistant professor of social media and public relations at Syracuse University, and Jamie Ward, assistant professor of public relations at Eastern Michigan University, have produced an accessible and methodical resource that is suitable for aspiring and emerging professionals. Even mid-career and seasoned practitioners might benefit from the “introduction to the principles of making ethical decisions,” as the authors describe this new book (p. 8). There are only a handful of textbooks devoted to the subject of ethics in public relations and most are plagued with cerebral concepts and dated examples. Luttrell and Ward add a fresh and straightforward perspective to the familiar and often convoluted conversation about ethics.
Upon reviewing the table of contents, one will quickly see that the three-part book is organized around the six values espoused in the Public Relations Society of America’s Code of Ethics. After making the case for ethics in public relations (Chapter 1) and laying a basic framework (Chapter 2) in Part I, Luttrell and Ward unpack the values of advocacy (Chapter 3), honesty (Chapter 4), expertise (Chapter 5), independence (Chapter 6), loyalty (Chapter 7), and fairness (Chapter 8). Chapter 9 wraps up Part II and ties together the book’s original content with a summary and call to action. Finally, Part III gives readers the opportunity to apply their ethical decision making and analysis using five winning case studies from the Arthur W. Page Society Case Study Competition.
The clarity of purpose is simple and guides every bit of the content in Parts I and II. Luttrell and Ward promise and deliver to readers the knowledge and tools to help recognize, understand, and resolve ethical dilemmas “in a way that results in an ethical outcome” (p. 7). As a former practitioner whose clients are now students in the classroom, I appreciate how the authors frame the power of public relations at the beginning of their book: “PR practitioners play an integral role in issues management and in the development of society as a whole through the shaping of perception” (p. 8, emphasis added). This reminds readers that the values, principles, and decisions made my strategic communication professionals have the potential to affect much more than an organization’s successes or failures.
Chapter 1 includes a brief overview of ethical theory that should be a sufficient introduction for the beginning student or a quick review for those who previously may have studied consequentialist and nonconsequentialist theories and virtue ethics. This is only a starting point for deeper, graduate-level study of ethical theories, which is beyond the scope of this text. The first chapter concludes with a practical exercise that challenges readers to create their own code of ethics, which may serve as a valuable guide for situations they face in the future. As Luttrell and Ward point out, we rarely reference a textbook when we are faced with ethical dilemmas. Instead, we “will likely evaluate and choose among ethical alternatives in a manner consistent with [our] personal moral code” (p. 127). For years, I have encouraged students in my introductory course to identify the values that guide them and that might inform their future decision making. We revisit these documents during the senior capstone course right before the students graduate. Luttrell and Ward’s exercise and the informative content that follows in the book would be the perfect resource for this written assignment.
The second chapter guides the reader to the specific application of ethics to the practices of public relations. The bulk of Chapter 2 reprints the professional codes of ethics from five communication-specific organizations, including the Public Relations Society of America, American Marketing Association, Chartered Institute of Public Relations (the United Kingdom), Society of Professional Journalists, and Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa. While each document is available in other print and online sources, this aggregate delivery allows for quicker comparisons of values and principles that have been adopted by professional associations in the United States and abroad.
Chapter 2 also introduces two features that reoccur in the six subsequent chapters in Part II: Experts on Ethics and Solving the Ethical Dilemma. Each chapter begins with a Q&A-formatted feature where readers discover the perspective from a communication professional. Each respondent answers the same set of seven questions. Their answers to these three questions in particular gives readers some good insights:
Can you provide an example of a time when you had to disagree with what the client felt was necessary and guide them in another direction?
How do you balance loyalty to the client and loyalty to society?
What types of ethical issues are entry-level public relations practitioners likely to encounter?
Most of the featured professionals come from health care or insurance companies or are affiliated with a firm. However, their voices represent a variety of career levels from an associate and specialists to vice president and principal. The consistency of questions and answers across the chapters emphasize the salient themes that reinforce the ethical challenges that young professionals can expect.
Chapters 2 to 8 conclude with a brief dilemma where readers are asked to engage with a situation demanding ethical decision making. A visual decision tree shows multiple ways to identify the specific issue, influential factors, key values, obligations to affected publics, and the principles that best guide the response. Ultimately, the reader is challenged to decide on a solution and justify it. The illustration is an exceptional way to visualize ethical decision making, and the modeled process can be adapted and applied to assignments for class or real-life situations. I would ask my students to create similar decision trees for original cases they present in class.
The third chapter, which begins the exegesis of the six values from the PRSA Code of Ethics throughout Part II, also introduces Luttrell and Ward’s model for ethical decision making alongside other existing approaches, including TARES test, Potter Box, and Bowen’s Model for Strategic Decision Making. The authors suggest an approach that “is intentionally simplified to allow entry-level practitioners the opportunity to identify both sides of an issue, apply a multitude of theories, and easily assess outcomes” (p. 59). They use the acronym PURE to identify four considerations to guide ethical decision making:
Principles, both personal and organizational;
Universal standards;
Rights are applied to both client and consumer; and
End result is justified by the persuasive actions behind it. (p. 61)
While the use of the PURE model is encouraged throughout Parts II and III, it is a subtle thread that does not preclude the use of other decision-making models or processes.
A Practical Guide to Ethics in Public Relations is a solid option for educators seeking to deepen the examination of ethics in existing undergraduate public relations courses, especially the introductory and/or case study classes. In addition, the text could be an introductory reading for a stand-alone ethics course or a supplement in a graduate-level course.