Public Relation Professionals are often
under the misconception of being “spinners.” People who don’t have a solid
understanding attribute public relation professionals to Olivia Pope from
Scandal. Realistically, hiding affairs and crime that the president of the
united sates is committing is not very common.
The ultimate goal of a public relation
professional is to reach the goals and objectives of an organization through
earned media and reputation management. Although their ultimate goal is to
protect whatever organization they are working for, they know that remaining
transparent is what will keep the public happy and will help maintain a
positive reputation.
With that being said, I think a good,
professional public relation practitioner will remain ethical.
In the power point, one of the issues
listed is that public relation professionals are seen as unethical because they
“withhold information.” In some situations, PR professionals WAIT to provide
information until they have received all the facts. In crisis management,
specifically, situations have the potential to change quickly. Stories change
and facts are continuously unraveling. Therefore, it is best to wait until the
situation is sorted out before reporting all of it to the media.
Another issue that was listed in the
power point was that PR professionals send inappropriate messages via social
media. Tweets and posts are not always considered inappropriate because of the
content but more because of the timing of the post. Social media is something that is still
considered fairly new and with it how it continues to rapidly evolve; PR
professionals are still learning how to use it. Automated tweets and posts used
to be seen as this convenient tool but now it is highly discouraged. Many companies
face a lot of flack when a tweet promoting their business is sent out in the
midst of a tragedy.
With all this being said though, public
relation professionals are needed and should be valued. There are just some people
who do not know how to properly communicate. A good PR professional will remain
ethical because that is what they know is good for their company.
Sources:
Class
Powerpoint