The central purpose of this article is to provide an overview of ethics in public relations. I review the evolution of public relations ethics, the current state of practice, and the thoughts of ethicists.
Executive Summary
The central purpose of this article is to provide an overview of ethics in public relations. I review the evolution of public relations ethics, the current state of practice, and the thoughts of ethicists. Definitions will be provided and key areas of evolution and debate within the field will be addressed. Implications for practitioners are discussed, including the research showing that a strong sense of ethics and of how to arrive at ethical decisions can enhance the career prospects of public relations professionals. Recommendations for public relations practitioners are made, including topics such as gaining access to an organization’s top decision makers, promotion to an ethical counselor role, on-the-job ethics training or ethics study, and approaches to ethical analyses. Finally, practical guidelines for dealing with ethics will be offered, followed by an annotated bibliography with suggestions for further reading.
Defining Ethics
The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy explains: “The field of ethics, also called moral philosophy, involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior” (http://www.iep.utm.edu/e/ethics.htm). Definitions of ethics normally have in common the elements of requiring some form of systematic analysis, distinguishing right from wrong, and determining the nature of what should be valued. In the public relations discipline, ethics includes values such as honesty, openness, loyalty, fair-mindedness, respect, integrity, and forthright communication. This definition of public relations ethics goes far beyond the olden days of “flacking for space” or spinning some persuasive message, but this view is not shared by everyone.
Is There Such a Thing as Public Relations Ethics?
Current research supports a historical trend of associating public relations with all things unethical – lying, spin-doctoring, and even espionage. Many critics argue that there can be no ethical public relations because the practice itself is akin to manipulation and propaganda. An unfortunate belief among many journalists, policy makers, and laymen is the belief that the term ‘public relations ethics’ is an oxymoron: either an unreal possibility, or smoke and mirrors to hide deception.
Groups like the Center for Public Integrity (http://www.publicintegrity.org/default.aspx) criticize the public relations industry for a lack of ethics, counting the influence of public relations and lobbying as one of the primary threats to truthful journalism. Other groups like Corporate Watch (http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=1) are less restrained in their criticism and consider public relations firms and professionals as deliberately unethical:
There is a considerable body of evidence emerging to suggest that modern public relations practices are having a very significant deleterious impact on the democratic process … by giving vested interests the opportunity to deliberately obfuscate, deceive, and derail public debate on key issues the public relations industry reduces society’s capacity to respond effectively to key social, environmental and political challenges. (http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=1570)
Are these critiques justified and warranted? Adding fuel to the fire are the actions of some public relations firms themselves. One of the most notable headlines was the representation of “Citizens for a Free Kuwait” by well-known public relations firm Hill and Knowlton, who created false testimony delivered to the Congressional Human Rights Caucus (http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=377). News broke later that the Kuwaiti government sponsored this front group in order to convince the US to enter the 1992 Gulf War. Critics (Stauber & Rampton, 1995) charge that Hill and Knowlton was successful in this effort because of its disregard for ethics. In the wake of this controversy, one Hill & Knowlton executive notoriously reminded staff: “We’d represent Satan if he paid” (http://backissues.cjrarchives.org/year/92/5/pr.asp).
Amid the scandal caused by the lack of honest and open communication during numerous corporate crises, such as Enron (Bowen & Heath, 2005), and the ethical blunders of public relations firms themselves, public relations faces an identity crisis. Is ethical public relations even possible? Are public relations professionals really “the ‘invisible men’ who control our political debates and public opinion, twisting reality and protecting the powerful from scrutiny” as charged by P.R. Watch (http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/prwatch.html) and similar groups?
Evolution of Public Relations Ethics
In the US, early public relations practices introduced many ethical concerns because the press agentry (J. E. Grunig & Hunt, 1984) approach prevalent then emphasized hyperbole, sensationalism, and often lacked truth. The so-called “father of public relations,” Edward Bernays, called this time period of 1850-1905 “the public be damned era” (Cutlip et al., 2006). Press agents were concerned with generating publicity at almost any cost, and this approach engendered the unethical reputation of modern-day public relations. Ethics as a consideration entered the development of modern practice in about 1906, with prominent practitioner Ivy Lee’s declaration of principles. His declaration moved the practice into “the public be informed” era with his emphasis on telling the truth and providing accurate information.
One of the earliest public relations executives to argue for the role of acting as an ethical counsel to management was John W. Hill (Heath & Bowen, 2002). Hill had a very developed philosophy of corporate responsibility and issue management, and this recent analysis found that ethics pervaded both his work as executive counsel and his books about public relations (Hill, 1958, 1963). Hill’s grasp of the interaction between ethics, issues management, and “far-reaching effects of corporate policy” (Hill, 1958, p. 16) made him not only one of the most successful practitioners of his century. John W. Hill was a progenitor of what scholars called public relations as the “corporate conscience” (Ryan & Martinson, 1983, p. 22).
As the civil unrest of the 1960s called both government and businesses to a higher level of accountability, their communication functions responded with the creation of more open, ethical, and socially responsible forms of public relations. The function of issues management (Chase, 1976) began to advise executives on ethically responsible policy decisions, and symmetrical public relations (J. E. Grunig & Hunt, 1984) began to incorporate the desires of publics for more fair and balanced decision making. Although research (Bivins, 1989; Pratt & Rentner, 1989) showed that scant attention was given to ethics in major public relations textbooks before this time, the last decade has shown an improvement. This interest in teaching and discussing public relations ethics is good news, especially for new practitioners so that they do not inadvertently limit their prospects for promotion. As newer data (discussed below) reveals, job promotion options may be constrained for practitioners who do not know ethics or feel prepared to advise on ethical dilemmas.
Despite the strides made in modern public relations toward becoming ethical advisors in management, the field holds “a tarnished history” in the words of one scholar (Parsons, 2004, p. 5). Like any young profession, the historical development of public relations shows a progression toward more self-aware and ethical models of communication. By reviewing this development, the historically negative reputation of public relations, as well as its potential for encouraging ethical communication, we can see the maturation of the profession from one engaged in simple dissemination of information to one involved in the creation of ethical communication.
