The PRSA and PRCA ethics months are over. Does that mean we are going to stop discussing ethics? Heck no! That is not how we roll at EthicalVoices. Please note: this week we will not be discussing the ethics of tax returns or sharing confidential documents – others are doing that quite well. Rather I decided to build a cornucopia of the most interesting ethics stories of the past week including effective ethics training.
This week PR ethics issues revolved around the slippery ethical slope of intent. From TikTok’s social media coalition to the ethics of the Social Dilemma, media buying, and corporate donations to non-profits…there is a bit of insight for everyone. To cap it off, the PRCA has a great, free, upcoming webinar on ethics and government relations.
COVID and culture dominated the ethics headlines this week. There were articles on COVID and ethics that looked at everything from when do you share information, to the decline of trust, and the increase in pressure to act unethically. Beyond COVID, there were great articles on managing conflicts in a cancel culture environment, and a brilliant call to action to take concrete steps to end racial inequality in PR.
This week in PR ethics there was not one stand out issue (aside from the breaking COVID topics), but a number of interesting and brief reads. There were a number of examples this week reinforcing that words are not enough. Plus, with the Helsinki Conference and PRCA’s Ethics month, there were some great global perspectives on the topic.
September is Ethics Month for PRSA and PRCA. While I believe we should talk about ethics more than one month a year (one reason I created this blog and podcast), the good news is, there should be a ton a content for those that are interested. This week there are interesting articles on meaning, character and the rise of moral leaders. I also liked Tim O’Brien’s piece on ethics and AI.
This week the PR ethics discussion is all around ethical leadership. From a new model detailed in the Harvard Business Review, to a new ethics guide for leaders implementing AI in PR, to ethical leadership in purpose driven conversations. Some great reading to bring the month to a close.
This week, there were a number of profound and eminently debatable ethics issues including a number of articles looking at ethical issues in advocacy and technology. The most fascinating discussion for me though deals with potential virtue-based ethics failings around the pardon of Susan B. Anthony.
This week is chock full of high-profile ethics issues. I can’t wait until I start teaching my PR Ethics course again at Boston University in less than a month as we will have great discussions on these and other issues. Some highlights (or lowlights) include the ethical use of money, bad behavior and inspiration from Marilyn Laurie, the first female CCO.
This week I came across three different but interesting stories looking at ethical issues around virtual people. Authenticity was a theme that wove through most of the articles as well. Plus, we get to look at payola in sports media and a really fascinating article on the communication metaverse which introduced a few new areas of concern to me, including brain computer interface data.
This week we discuss the perils of wokewashing, see training resources for ethics classes courtesy of the Page Center, and discuss the article on how hedonism and teleology helps you live a happier life.