Week 6

When reading the set readings I was overwhelmed by the amount of legal and ethical issues that needed to be considered when working within the public relations industry. I found that legality was a major consideration when practicing public relations in a modern context. In summary, the key points I learnt from this week's readings were that the reputation of an organisation is a key interest for PR practitioners and to ensure this reputation is upheld laws are put into place. Defamation laws limit what public relations practitioners can publish but also protects them against opposing defamation threats. Defamation is only accountable when the defaming material is published, where the organisation or person being defamed is identifiable to a person of average intelligence and the publication is defamatory (Breit 2006). However to counteract defamation it must be shown that the facts published were true or absolutely privileged. Copyright is another major factor that PR practitioners need to be concerned about. The Copyright Act 1968 gives copyright owners exclusive economic rights to copy, publish, adapt and communicate their material (Breit, 2006). However it is essential that practitioners are aware of copyright requirements such as registering business names and logos. Contracts also need to be considered when working in public relations. Contracts act as proof of an agreement and need to be signed by both parties. Contracts are a widespread device used by PR professionals and legal action can be taken if either party does not abide by the contract requirements.

The Legal Environment (Breit 2006) chapter was extremely helpful in describing and identifying legal aspects that effect the day to day operations of public relations. The examples of legal cases used within the text such as the McDonalds case and the Slater and Gordon case were very beneficial to my understanding of what the legal aspects of PR entailed and what needs to be considered when practicing public relations.

My learning builds upon previous learning about public relations in that not only does legality play a major role in public relations but the role of ethical practice is also extremely important. I found it interesting to read that Public relations practitioners have constantly been labelled by media and stakeholder groups as spin-doctors. To oppose this view it is imperative for PR professionals to act socially responsible and respect and value others. Sieb and Fitzpatrick (1995) explain the five duties of PR professionals: oneself, the client, the employer, the profession and the society. Being aware of these duties should guide PR practitioners to make ethically sound decisions within and organisations. However I found it interesting that in order to act ethically PR professional also have to face challenges. These include interpersonal challenges occurring between PR practitioners and peers or superiors, organisational challenges between practitioners and an organisation’s internal policies and stakeholder challenges arising between an organisation and publics. I found that in order to avoid unethical practice it was vital for the CEO to present an ethical example working within an ethical framework.

Throughout both readings it is emphasised that in order to act as a socially responsible PR practitioner it is vital to work within a legal and ethical framework built on decent moral and legal values.