PR Ethics Month: Our Wagging Finger Moment
A long time ago, in a college PR class far, far away—not really, it was in southwest Michigan—I found myself at the business end of a professor’s wagging finger.
“The audience survey you proposed in your assignment is wrong,” he scolded. “You aren’t using it to gather data to guide communication and serve your audience. You’re using it as a marketing piece. That’s deceptive.”
After my fluster faded, I realized he was right. And I’ve been grateful for that dressing-down ever since. My first hard lesson in ethical PR practice remains a lasting one.
From its earliest days, our profession has wrestled with the misconception that it lacks ethical and moral footings. Public relations is often blamed for misguiding, deceiving and deflecting. And it’s true that the tools of PR have sometimes been (and sometimes still are) misused. Thankfully, leaders in the field realized this long ago, and they set out to change things.
The first PR code of ethics came out of Britain in 1924. Other codes have emerged at national and international levels over the decades. When the Public Relations Society of America formed in 1947, it set out to raise the standards of PR professionalism universally. That included developing a new ethics code in 1950—principles it continues honing today through the ongoing work of PRSA’s Board of Ethics and Professional Standards (BEPS).
The PRSA Code of Ethics insists on Advocacy, Honesty, Expertise, Independence, Loyalty, and Fairness from every PR practitioner. It also includes provisions of conduct that make one thing clear: We must operate ethically to be worthy of the trust we ask people to place in us.
Ethical PR must be our daily mantra. We put special emphasis on it in September during PRSA Ethics Month. It’s a time to recommit, individually and together, to doing the right things in the right way. That includes keeping up on the latest risks, practices and tools.
Artificial intelligence presents countless threats to operating ethically. BEPS recently released an Ethical Standards Advisory, “AI Agents and Public Relations,” to make sure we’re aware of the risks and address them head-on. That’s just one example. Many other ESAs exist to guide our practice.
Here’s my invitation to you: Let’s make this year’s Ethics Month our shared “wagging finger” moment, a collective reminder of PR’s ethical basis. Let’s embrace the Code and reflect on ways we can strengthen our ethical practices. Let’s remind ourselves that the people we serve—clients, colleagues and communities—are counting on us to be truthful, transparent and trustworthy.
About the Author:
Rick Chambers, APR, Fellow PRSA, is a member of the PRSA Board of Ethics and Professional Standards, the BEPS Ethics Officers Workgroup, and WMPRSA’s Board of Directors.