Communication ethics issues this week ranged from the right and duty to speak out, to the growing importance of purpose during a pandemic and how must political campaigns change.
Mark McClennan, APR, Fellow PRSA
Mark W. McClennan, APR, Fellow PRSA, is the general manager of C+C's Boston office. C+C is a communications agency all about the good and purpose-driven brands. He has more than 20 years of tech and fintech agency experience, served as the 2016 National Chair of PRSA, drove the creation of the PRSA Ethics App and is the host of EthicalVoices.com
Hasan Zuberi, the President of the PR Council of Pakistan, shares great global ethics insights and advice, including situations many of us in the U.S. never have to face including:
1) What to do when your client is accused of espionage and his life and property are threatened
2) The ethical challenges of fake news and the coronavirus
3) The evolution of public relations in Pakistan
4) Expense report ethics
While media coverage and discussions focused heavily on COVID-19 and social distancing (and rightly so), there were a few notable, interesting and fun communication ethics topics this week including how our codes of conduct may be sabotaging ethical behavior, fake news, AI and coronavirus, and fun with ethics
Cheryl Goodman, the head of Corporate Communication for Sony Electronics North America discusses:
1) The key communication ethics challenges for today and tomorrow
2) How to fight back against the trend toward unethical vaporware
3) What we can do to move diversity, equity and inclusion from talk to action
4) How thinking like a global citizen can improve your ethical decision-making
If you told me I would be using Cardi B as a communication ethics example two weeks in a row, I would have told you that you were out of your mind….but here I am. This week we will look at coronawashing; Coronavirus, Cardi B and IP; and Ethics and Birth Death
Ray Kotcher, the former CEO of Ketchum and the Professor of the Practice of public relations at Boston University discusses:
1) How to navigate situations where your values and your organizations values differ
2) Why good managers think of themselves as the mayor of a small town
3) Will GenZ succeed where the Boomers failed?
4) What we need to do to thrive ethically in an era of disruption
While it seems strange to be writing or discussing anything but the coronavirus, ethics and ethics issues continue on. This Week in PR Ethics (3/12/20): Astroturfing, Cardi B and the FTC, politics and coronavirus
Col. Ann Knabe, PhD, APR+M, discusses the growing threat of disinformation. She also discusses:
1) Taking a stand for PR ethics – is licensing the answer?
2) The importance of education and accreditation to ethical behavior
I found five public relations and communication ethics issues of note this week that could also lead to some interesting discussions. The topics ranged from Facebook fights back, to positive stories from Page, Paula Pedene, Deloitte and Malawi.
José Manuel Velasco, the Past President of the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management discusses global ethics and taking care of the truth. Specifically, he addresses:
1) How to respond ethically when your company is caught making illegal payments
2) The most important PR job: Taking care of the truth
3) The importance of emphatic listening
4) How to ethically deal with emotions
5) What skills do PR pros need to be great advisors