EthicalVoices - Real Ethics Stories from Real PR Pros

Ethical Issues with Celebrity Foundations and People Plagiarizing Your Mother’s Obituary – Bonnie Upright

By Mark McClennan, APR, Fellow PRSA • July 15, 2019 • 2 Comments

Joining me on this week’s episode is Bonnie Upright, the vice president of corporate communications for Coldwell Banker Vanguard. She is a former agency owner who has done outstanding work with celebrity foundations.

Bonnie discusses a number of key ethics issues including:

– Grappling with difficult ethical issues early in your career
– Ethical issues and best practices for managing celebrity and athlete foundations
– The story behind her mother’s viral obituary and how it has been plagiarized more than a dozen times

Twelve Ethics Words of Wisdom

By Mark McClennan, APR, Fellow PRSA • July 8, 2019 • 0 Comments

I figure everyone is either still gone for the long July 4th weekend, or is insanely busy covering for those that are out, so Ethical Voices this week will be a snapshot of exclusive content normally only available on the podcast.

How to Hire Ethical People – Patrice Tanaka

By Mark McClennan, APR, Fellow PRSA • July 1, 2019 • 2 Comments

Patrice Tanaka, co-founder of three award winning PR and marketing agencies and currently the Chief Joy Officer at Joyful Planet discusses number of key topics including:
• What questions should you ask to make sure you are hiring ethical people?
• How can you really demonstrate to your employees the importance of living your ethical code?
• Should you only hire people that know ballroom dancing?

Ethical Challenges in Environmental Communications – Gary McCormick

By Mark McClennan, APR, Fellow PRSA • June 24, 2019 • 0 Comments

Gary McCormick discusses ethics challenges in environmental communications with Ethical Voices

Joining me this week on Ethical Voices is Gary McCormick, APR, Fellow PRSA. He is a past president of PRSA, owns his own consulting firm, previously worked in marketing and public relations for Scripps Networks Interactive, the parent company of cable networks HGTV, Food Network, and the Travel Channel, and

Ethics, Communications, Business and Fake News – A Conversation with Fred Cook

By Mark McClennan, APR, Fellow PRSA • June 17, 2019 • 1 Comment

Fred Cook discusses ethics and thriving in an era of fake news with EthicalVoices

In a wide-ranging conversation, Fred Cook, the Chairman of Golin and the Director of the USC Center for Public Relations discusses a number of important issues, including:
• Why understanding communications is not enough for ethical PR pros
• Where there is a disconnect between CEOs and PR pros
• Thriving as the challenge of fake news increases
• The business impact of ethical lapses by agencies

Why Ethical PR People Must Be Careful Who They Trust And Always Be Skeptical – Lou Capozzi

By Mark McClennan, APR, Fellow PRSA • June 10, 2019 • 1 Comment

Lou Capozzi discusses with Ethical Voices why PR pros need to be careful who they trust

Lou Capozzi, the former chairman of MSL, and former president of the PRSA Foundation, shares some great insight including:
• Why you must be careful who you trust
• What every in-house PR pro needs to be ready to do
• How to determine what brands you will represent
• The importance of being skeptical

How Organizations Can Learn From Ethical Challenges – Matt Kucharski

By Mark McClennan, APR, Fellow PRSA • June 3, 2019 • 6 Comments

Matt Kucharski discusses how good organizations can learn from ethical challenges

Matt Kucharski, the President of Padilla, a public relations agency that builds, grows, and protects brands worldwide discusses how good organizations can learn from ethical challenges. He also shares some great advice on:
• Four ethical challenges PR agency employees can face
• How to use agency values to work through client conflicts
• How to best deal with unethical client behavior
• Why ethics training should not be an annual checkup

Ethics on Memorial Day

By Mark McClennan, APR, Fellow PRSA • May 27, 2019 • 0 Comments

The Gettysburg Address: Ethical Voices remembers

Rather than have a regular post, I’m asking people to take a moment and reflect and think about what we complain about regularly and how that right to complain was bought by the people that served and came before us. Then spend the time with your loved ones and be thankful.

For those that want to read more, following are two of the most moving texts I have ever read.

Avoiding Ethical Pitfalls in Media Relations: Michael Smart

By Mark McClennan, APR, Fellow PRSA • May 20, 2019 • 3 Comments

Michael Smart, a leading media relations trainer and coach discusses ethical pitfalls PR pros may face in media relations and shares practical advice on how to avoid them, including:
• Why you should always choose ethics over revenue
• Ethical challenges in media relations
• Why every PR pro needs a freedom fund

Tips for Creating an Ethical Decision Framework: Cheryl Procter-Rogers

By Mark McClennan, APR, Fellow PRSA • May 13, 2019 • 0 Comments

Cheryl Procter-Rogers discusses creating an ethics framework with Ethical Voices

Cheryl Procter-Rogers, APR, Fellow PRSA, a PR and business strategist discusses:
• What to do when you are asked to spread bad information about a competitor
• Tips for creating an ethical decision framework
• How NASCAR helped her fight confirmation bias