From EUPRERA news.

by Wim J.L. Elving,
professor Sustainable Communication,
Hanze University of Applied Sciences,
Groningen, the Netherlands

On Thursday, August 16^th, 2018, 350 newspapers in the United States took a stand in support of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the importance of a free press to freedom and democracy. Eleven communications and public relations organizations expressed support for the critical role of a free press and the First Amendment. The Arthur W. Page Society did so by quoting Thomas Jefferson:

“The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”  This often-cited quote conveys the fundamental importance of today’s free press despite its articulation before electronic, digital and social media were invented. The dramatic expression by a founding father who was brutally criticized by the media of his time underscores that the standing of a free press transcends politics, geographies or other affiliations.

Although some UK based organizations did join this statement, European organizations, including EUPRERA and the EACD remained silent. Communication, PR, corporate communication all have close relations with journalists and other members of the press. In our profession we still rely on the media and journalists. There is a large cross-over between journalism and communication, and of course in our classes we highlight the importance of the press and the value of free press. I think the European PR and communication organizations missed an opportunity, by not expressing support to our American counterparts. In Europe we face the same troubles with some governments as well (Poland, Hungary, Turkey, Russia), but also with social media platforms, you use algorithms to feed us with news and other items but are not under control of a governing body.

We are seduced and influenced by bots, algorithms and other influencers, so we need to set up a new set of ethical rules, so we at least know that others are influencing us. In the past, this was simple, commercials on the television or advertisements in newspapers and magazine were easy to recognize and we could ignore these. Currently, persuasive communication is at a much more hidden, sneaky level. Now when you are in marketing you probably like the opportunities these give you, but in public relations, corporate communication and as a consumer, these options should scare you, just as you should be warned by all the political stuff happening on social media platforms, where public opinion became a business model and all kinds of influencers bought our attention for their terrible posts regarding anti-vaccination, Brexit, the US election, and who knows what more will come forward in how public opinion was falsely infiltrated with false information and dubious persuasive attempts.

In my humble opinion we, as communication scholars and teachers, have huge responsibilities. First, we need to develop state of the art ethics, that include extension of ethics on social media platforms. We have excellent rules, for instance the aforementioned A.W. Page Society, with its Page principles, but many alternatives and good text books are available, like the handbook of communication ethics, by George Cheney, Steve May, and Debashish Munshi (2011).

I think it is time to scale up our efforts regarding to ethics, free press and the independent position of journalists but also find ways (do research) into ethical issues and social media. We need to take part in the discussion regarding media ethics and inspire policy makers and politicians about the need to come forward with rules and regulations regarding ethics. It cannot be the that the CEO’s of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are deciding what is allowed and what not?

The well-known, iconic picture above was banned from Facebook because of nudity of the girl who got her body burned because of a Napalm attack in the Vietnam war. Facebook decided that this picture should not be allowed on its platform. Only after protest they allowed it again.

Maybe we have taken for granted the role of the free press, like a hygiene factor, it is there, we have established quality journalism, and we do not need to pay much attention to it anymore. Recent developments made it in my view clear that this is not the case anymore. When the president of the most dominant democracy of the last 100 years is referring to fake news to hide his own incompetence’s, we need to scale up our efforts in training and education in ethics, to make sure that the next generation of communicators have the competencies and skills to defend our basic rights, our basic freedom and the value of the free press.

Reference

Cheney, G., May, S., & Munshi D., (2011). The handbook of Communication Ethics. London: Routledge.

Originally posted for Euprera. For the original article, click here.

“Passion is when you’re willing to quit your job over something in which you believe.”

I’m not sure who to originally said this, but, regardless, these words have long resonated with me, and it’s something I once remembered at a very specific crossroads in my life. It was a weekend morning and I was hastily dressing for an impromptu business meeting. My wife asked me what was happening and where I was going, and all I could say was, “I think I’m going to have to quit my job today.” And then I left for that meeting.

How do you think she reacted? Let’s just say she was nervous for the both of us and for our two kids.

Without going into detail, here’s what I can say about that situation: Someone was insisting that we communicate something in a way that did not comply with my core values. I knew if I went along, a wide range of problems could happen for the organization — or on the other hand, nothing could happen. This pretty much frames most ethical dilemmas, doesn’t it?

But deep down I knew that if my worst fears were even partially true, I could not go along, and the time to act would not be later when things started to unfold.

Even in non-crisis PR situations, “now” reflects a time well before something reaches the public eye. What we choose to do or don’t do today usually involves an irreversible course tomorrow. That’s probably one of the biggest challenges for ethical decision making — knowing that we sometimes have to make firm decisions as though dark clouds are above us during times when, figuratively speaking, we look out our windows and the sun is still shining and no one around us seems concerned.

On that weekend morning, I went to the meeting and I made my case. In the process, I knew that I may have put my family’s financial security and my career in the balance.

That adage about a passion I cited at the start of this post was as key as ever. And it revolved around what I saw as a commitment to doing the right thing. This is hardly an original idea. Doing the right thing gets at the very essence of good public relations.

It was Benjamin Franklin who coined the term, “Do well by doing good.” Perhaps for those five words alone we should draw a dotted line to him as one of the founders of modern PR thinking.

When we decide to put our jobs on the line to do the right thing in a PR context, the glue that binds the decision is passion. True passion means possessing a clear head and a willingness to take risks, experience setbacks, suffer losses and live with the consequences, all in the name of doing what you think you must do.

So how did my moment turn out?

Fortunately, I was able to convince the powers that be that the course I recommended was the best option. Keep in mind, these are not often template situations. It’s not the we-did-something-wrong-so-we-guess-we-need-to-be-transparent-and-apologize stuff. Real ethical dilemmas are more nuanced, with deep roots, long histories, serious ramifications and lots of gray areas.

As events unfolded, the worst-case scenario did start to develop. But by taking a more difficult path, the organization had earned the goodwill it needed to get through it and come out positioned for future success.

In PRSA they have a Code of Ethics, and for some, there is the assumption that it exists to tell us how to be ethical. That’s not how I see it.

By now, each of us should know right from wrong, and we should have found a way to incorporate that understanding into our own professional and personal value systems. Our own values should drive all of our work, decision-making, and communications.

For me, the role of the Code is for all of us to find common ground. It’s a meeting place for everyone’s core values, which in turn informs the core values of our profession.

In 2018, I was fortunate to have been tapped to join PRSA’s Board of Ethics and Professional Standards (BEPS). It’s been a chance for me to get to know a group of some of the most impressive people you’ll meet in this profession. In this group, you will find the passion I described earlier. These individuals know firsthand what it means to put your core values first.

As we head into Ethics Month at PRSA, try this little exercise: Take a few quiet minutes to contemplate scenarios where you would willingly and knowingly walk away from a job or an assignment on the basis that it conflicts with some uncompromising value that you hold. Don’t share it with anyone; just think about it. At some point, you will discover your passion.

Originally written for PRSA. You can see the original article here.

Author: Tim O’Brien, owner, O’Brien Communications

The 25th annual Bled Conference is over. Three days of debate and discussion on what’s going on in the industry -mainly but not exclusively from an academic perspective; mainly populated by academics, but with a decent number of practitioners too.

This year was the first in which ICCO and the PRCA have been present, a presence which seemed natural given we’ve just joined Euprera, and nominated Sue Wolstenholme as our representative on it.

So what insight do I leave with?

First, that there is some very deep thinking about the future of our industry going on right now. The range of topics covered by the papers presented was vast -AI, ethics, evaluation, theories of engagement.

Second, that the industry continues to challenge itself -in a good way. I fundamentally disagree for example with the panel who pretty much all agreed that ‘PR is in crisis’. I think they’re wrong, but it’s vital to hear criticism and to reflect upon it.

Third, that we have more to do in building a bridge between practitioners and academics. We’ve done this pretty effectively in the UK with our PRCA Partner University programme. The time is right to extend this internationally.

So we will be launching an international equivalent of this work. By engaging with the world’s elite PR-qualification offering universities in countries around the world, we will build a bridge between academia and practitioners.

In detail, we will do this by:

• Giving their students, their academic staff, and their communications teams free online training in practical PR skills

• Supporting international work placements and student exchanges across the network

• Providing speaking opportunities for leading academics

• Collating international thought leadership

• Providing access to global award-winning campaigns and case studies

And most importantly, providing a formal mechanism for debate, with an annual event that facilitates proper discussion on the future of our industry, with senior academics and senior practitioners present and engaged.

I hope that all parts of our industry are willing to take part -we will all be better at what do we as a result, and our industry will move forward even more quickly and decisively.

One final thought that I hope is both amusing and instructive. At a comically bad restaurant in Bled (very much the exception I hasten to add), I was told ‘You get what you get’. Which wasn’t quite my understanding of how restaurants are supposed to work. Too often in our industry though, that’s the case -we accept situations that we’re not happy with. So let’s resolve no longer to get what we get: but instead to get what we need for our industry -a renewed and vibrant international partnership between academics and practitioners.

PS. And yes. I did actually row all around the lake…….

Francis Ingham, Chief Executive, ICCO