Week 6

Chapters 4 & 5 of Public Relations: theory and practice / edited by Jane Johnston and Clara Zawawi. Crows Nest, N.S.W. Allen & Unwin, 2004. 2nd ed.

I think the key points to remember from this weeks readings were:

Chapter 4:
Considering that PR is broken up into 3 main areas: communication, advisory/counselling
and business/management, practitioners must be aware of laws, risks and how to manage them. For instance the torts of negligence and defamation would be common to consider when communicating to the public. In addition, laws vary across states and countries and in this increasingly 'globalised' world awareness of or research of the legal norms should be
second nature to PR practitioners.

A key area is the tort of defamation, this has been put in place to protect an individuals/organisations reputation which limits what a practitioner may publish, while also offering them protection (either for themselves or their clients). As this offers both pro's and con's, it is of great importance. It is pointed out that to bring action in a defamation case it must be shown that:

• The material was published (that is, it was exposed to a third person)
  
• The (individual) was identified in the publication
• The publication was defamatory

The other area of importance is negligence or duty of care, which depends on foreseeability and policy consideration. This law ensures that PR practitioners will act with 'reasonable care' and with the 'skill of an ordinary competent member of the profession (in question)'. The reason for this is that PR communicates not only to the public but to shareholders and investors and other individuals who may hold a relationship with a company, person or organisation. If the practitioner provides them with incorrect or misleading information this may be damaging to the person, organisation or public in question.

Chapter 5:

Ethics follows on well from the legalities of PR as it now looks at the 'right and wrong' of personal values. Ethics is an important area of PR as the practice, like any profession, can see a practitioner forced to make decisions that conflict with their own values and morals. What is reiterated here is that ethical dilemmas (which are very common) are not at all easy to deal with. This is due to the fact that there are usually more than 1 party involved and the repercussions of a practitioners choice may be damaging either to another individual, or to themselves. The levels at which practitioners can experience dilemmas are:

• interpersonal
• organisational
• stakeholder

There are various organisations in place such as PRIA, MEAA and PRSA which have codes which practitioners are encourage to follow, much like a template of behaviour.


The readings made me think more about PR theory/practice in that:

• Practitioners must hold a sufficient and up-to-date knowledge of laws and also attempt to understand or be aware of laws in other states or countries if they are to be working there
• A challenge for PR practitioners is to encourage and implement 'genuine professionalism'