Garland Stansell, the Chief Communications Officer for Children’s of Alabama, and the 2020 National Chair of PRSA shares his insight on a number of key ethics issues, including:
• Why sharing the bare minimum is often not the best course
• Why you must address issues head on when you are considered guilty by association
• Why we must resist the tyranny of urgency
• How every ethical PR professional can counteract negative perceptions of the profession
On Monday, I thought it might actually be a quiet week in terms of PR and ethics challenges. Boy was I wrong. This Week in PR Ethics (2/6/20) looks at spruiking, Iowa, plagiarism, free speech and censorship
Joining me on this week’s episode is Craig Silverman, a reporter at Buzzfeed, who along with two of his colleagues in January wrote one of the most chilling articles I have read in a while, “Disinformation for Hire: How a New Breed of PR Firms is Selling Lies Online”. I wanted to have him as a guest to discuss the article and its implications for communication professionals and society.
There were almost too many PR and communication ethics stories to discuss this week. My PR Ethics class discussed the following topics for more than an hour last night. We addressed cancel culture, Kobe Bryant, bad pitches, public health and trust.
Jessica Graham, president of Fionix Consulting discusses what to do when your boss asks you to spread dirt on a competitor, how to ethically handle a public health crisis, what we can learn from the Rotary Club and other ethical issues.
Today starts a new chapter in EthicalVoices. Every Thursday I will share ethical issues of the week. The objective is to highlight key issues for educators to use in their classrooms and professionals to use in their organizations.
This week we look at the corporate ethics gap, disinformation and how cheating is not condoned.
Paul Omodt, the principal of Omodt and Associates and crisis expert discusses a number of key ethics issues, including:
1) Why speed is not always your ally
2) Ethical challenges with the growing “cancel culture”
3) How to seek forgiveness for an ethical lapse
4) How one man gained forgiveness after saying the N word and losing his job
Yesterday Weber Shandwick released a study: The State of Corporate Reputation in 2020: Everything Matters Now.
The study found ethics was a top 10 driver of corporate reputation and market value
Shonali Burke, a growth strategist and social expert discusses a number of ethical challenges. Including:
1) What to do when you are asked to protect a large donor’s reputation
2) Will public relations ever overcome its legacy of spin
3) New challenges with transparency and disclosure
4) How PR agencies need to adapt
Erica Sniad Morgenstern, the vice president of marketing communications of Welltok, discusses a number of important ethical issues, including:
1) Challenges of talking a tough stand with senior executives to keep your organization on message
2) Data permanence and one thing to never do if you issue incorrect data
3) Ethical issues created by the decline of original reporting
4) Ethical issues in the healthcare/HCIT industry
5) Why the best ethics advice may come from the TSA