An Ethical Guide for Communications Professionals

I. Introduction:

This handbook was developed specifically for our team of Public Relations professionals to ensure any projects undertaken are handled ethically and professionally within the guidelines of the law. Not only are we adamant about the law, we are also passionate about professional and ethical practices.

By the end of this handbook you will understand media laws and ethical codes that will aid your professional growth and future reputations as communications professionals. We will discuss ethical codes, media laws, and a few cases that influenced today’s best practices.

II. Laws and Regulations:

This paper is written to discuss three (3) cases that influenced media today. Throughout history we will find a multitude of examples to choose from. We will discuss Regina v. Hicklin, U.S. v. Ulysses, and Mishkin v. New York (1966), (Moore & Murray, 2012). These three cases and several others helped pave the road to the laws and ethical practices we have today regarding obscenity. Obscenity is a delicate issue that separates the difference between what is art, professional reference, and graphically, obscene content.

Regina v. Hicklin

In Regina v. Hicklin, we see an older view on the matter of published content in England and how the courts viewed what material was considered “obscene.” In this era and society, people were more conservative and close-minded to anything that might influence the young or anyone else whose minds were easily corrupted by illicit images. “The work was obscene if it would deprave and corrupt the minds of even the most sensitive and easily influenced individuals, including children,” (Moore & Murray, 2012). This foundation is probably the primary influence for the practices we see in modern-day conservatives.

U.S. v. Ulysses

In 1934, the “tide against this oppressive rule began to turn,” (Moore & Murray, 2012). Due to the case of U.S. v. Ulysses, we see a moment where the old practices are questioned. The books of James Joyce’s Ulysses were not allowed to be imported into the U.S. due to its content that was under scrutiny. The Ulysses holding is still debated among scholars over how much influence it had on modern obscenity tests. The First Amendment is what protected Ulysses. Literary works were still banned according to the Hicklin practice.

Mishkin v. New York (1966)

The case of Mishkin v. New York (1966) was the third and final decision handed down on the same da that involved obscenity. Edward Mishkin wrote books that were deemed “Obscene” by the courts due to the content of “sado-masochism, fetishism, and homosexuality,” (Moore & Murray, 2012). Mishkin was fined $12,500 and sentenced to three-years in prison. The most interesting thing about this case to me is how it was never overturned, even though the Roth test is no longer used.

The Influence on Digital Communication

Each case we covered in this paper are stepping-stones that helped pave the road to our modern practices of print media as well as Digital Communications. We have seen through the practice of conservative laws, that the tests of how we decide what is obscene and what is not have changed over the years. While most content is protected by the Constitution, depending upon what political parties are in office can alter the outcome of the court’s decisions on cases. Due to these historical outcomes many businesses have devised their own codes of ethics and best practices which are guidelines of how to develop content for communications before publishing it on a digital platform.

Best Practices

The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), are an excellent example of how these historical laws have influenced their practices. Their first Best Practice is, “Seek the Truth and Report it,” meaning that the journalist must take responsibility to be as accurate as possible when reporting news and disseminating information to the public. A second, best practice is “Minimize Harm,” meaning they must take consideration of the long-term effects the story could have on not only the people or companies involved, but their company and professional reputations as journalists as well. A third best practice is “Act Independently,” meaning to avoid conflicts of interest, (SPJ, 2014). A fourth and probably one of the most well-known best practices today is, “Be Accountable and Transparent.” This means that you are clear and concise in your message and intent. These are just a few best practices that aid professional journalists. There are several others or alternate variations of the same best practices.

III. Ethical Guidelines:

“Ethics is related to duty—duty to self, duty to community, duty to profession, and duty to in this case to the First Amendment,” (Moore & Murray, 2012). The idea behind ethical practices are in short comparable to the Hippocratic Oath a physician takes to become a licensed doctor, “Do no harm,”(Lasagna, 1964). Standardized practices in the professional realm of business have been being promoted by organizations such as ISO and the AP (Associated Press) for many years. The AMA and the PRSA will be the ethics that I will be discussing in this paper, however. While ethics are not always enforced via law, we see them as the professional and right way to do things. Ethics are being used more and more by companies who are developing ethical committees who debate issues that are submitted to them. While ethics have been around for centuries. We see them in ancient doctrines such as the “Code of Hammurabi. The Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) account of God’s giving the Ten Commandments to Moses (flourished 14th–13th century BCE) on Mount Sinai might be considered another example. In the dialogue Protagoras by Plato (428/427–348/347 BCE), there is an avowedly mythical account of how Zeus took pity on the hapless humans, who were physically no match for the other beasts,” (Singer, 2018).

The AMA Ethical Code of Ethics

The American Marketing Association or AMA’s preamble begins by stating, “The American Marketing Association commits itself to promoting the highest standard of professional ethical norms and values for its members (practitioners, academics and students). Norms are established standards of conduct that are expected and maintained by society and/or professional organizations. Values represent the collective conception of what communities find desirable, important and morally proper,” (AMA Publishing, 2018). The AMA has three points to their Ethical Norms segment. “Do no harm. This means consciously avoiding harmful actions or omissions by embodying high ethical standards and adhering to all applicable laws and regulations in the choices we make.Foster trust in the marketing system. This means striving for good faith and fair dealing so as to contribute toward the efficacy of the exchange process as well as avoiding deception in product design, pricing, communication, and delivery of distribution. Embrace ethical values. This means building relationships and enhancing consumer confidence in the integrity of marketing by affirming these core values: honesty, responsibility, fairness, respect, transparency and citizenship,” (AMA Publishing, 2018). These three points explain the roots and premise behind their code of ethics. Codes of ethics usually state the organizations values and explain them in a short summary. The AMA’s core values are “Honesty, Responsibility, Fairness, Respect, Transparency, and Citizenship,” (AMA Publishing, 2018). Their code of ethics also ends with a summary of their Implementation of their core values.

The PRSA Code of Ethics

The Public Relations Society of America or simply, the PRSA have their own Preamble that states, “This Code applies to PRSA members. The Code is designed to be a useful guide for PRSA members as they carry out their ethical responsibilities. This document is designed to anticipate and accommodate, by precedent, ethical challenges that may arise. The scenarios outlined in the Code provision are actual examples of misconduct. More will be added as experience with the Code occurs. The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is committed to ethical practices. The level of public trust PRSA members seek, as we serve the public good, means we have taken on a special obligation to operate ethically. The value of member reputation depends upon the ethical conduct of everyone affiliated with the Public Relations Society of America. Each of us sets an example for each other – as well as other professionals – by our pursuit of excellence with powerful standards of performance, professionalism, and ethical conduct. Emphasis on enforcement of the Code has been eliminated. But, the PRSA Board of Directors retains the right to bar from membership or expel from the Society any individual who has been or is sanctioned by a government agency or convicted in a court of law of an action that fails to comply with the Code. Ethical practice is the most important obligation of a PRSA member. We view the Member Code of Ethics as a model for other professions, organizations, and professionals,” (PRSA, 2018). They state their core values as Advocacy, Honesty, Expertise, Independence, Loyalty, and Fairness,(PRSA, 2018).

Comparison

Something to note is that not all codes of ethics are written the same (e.g., while the AMA has an “Ethical Norms” segment, the PRSA does not). The AMA has a responsibility to perform ethically but their focus is to provide the best marketing plan possible for their customers which will return more revenue to both parties involved. While operating ethically, their motivation is financial gain. “The true business of every company is to make customers, keep customers, and maximize customer profitability,” (Curry and Curry, 2000).

The PRSA has a similar motivation. They are there to represent their clients and build, market, and maintain their professional/personal images to the public by way of communications through various media platforms. The end game is the same whereby financial gain motivates the project plans.

Manipulation of content can be seen in virtually every marketing or public relations campaign. So why do we see an ethical code of conduct? Well this is since there are multiple marketing agencies out there and not all are members of the AMA. The AMA functions like a Union. Membership dues are required in turn giving access to inside information not made available to non-members.

The PRSA is a network of professionals and membership is free. This is smart on their behalf since it opens their membership network up to everyone allowing it to grow substantially. This means that they can reach more people with press releases or other updates through their nearly limitless channels.

Our Code of Ethics

Our mission is to maintain credibility by not only being ethical, but also responsible with delicate information. Ethics is the “Gray Area” of business where personal opinions and perspectives guide choices rather than just what’s good for the company. Some people may see it ethical to choose a certain course of action while another group may not. Therein is the dialectic or conflict of ethics. Until everyone is on the same page of documented practiced ethics, we are going to have problems. “The too-frequent lapses of ethical practice by those who call themselves journalists undermine public confidence in the news media,” (Moore & Murray, 2012).

My code of conduct is not just a statement of virtues. It is an explanation and promise to live accordingly much like a Samurai who practices the Code of Bushido. Modern day codes of ethics try to implement or rather copy the Code of Bushido as their “code of ethics.” In business branding, this is not authentic. If a code of ethics needs to be applied with every company, should there not be a standard? This is business! “Be different. Copying is imitation. When you copy, you’re not authentic. You are a generic version of a name brand,” (Kaputa, 2012).

The authenticity of a code of ethics is adhering to the original code, the Code of Bushido. Dishonoring such a code publicly is committing professional suicide of sorts. Your business is liable and can be sued and may wind up going out of business. It is better to be true and follow the code than to be publicly humiliated and dishonored.

My code of ethics is the Code of Bushido. “Justice, Courage, Mercy, Politeness, Honesty, Honor, Loyalty, and Self-Control,” (Clark, 2008). I maintain justice by abiding by our laws. I apply courage to stand for what is “right.” I show mercy to those who would otherwise want to cause me harm by being professional and never doing anything harmful in retaliation. I show politeness to all that I meet. I am honest in any information that I provide to an audience. I am honorable adhering to ethical and professional guidelines and best practices. I am loyal to my code for no man can serve two masters. Anyone without a master or a code is a “Ronin” or rogue. I practice self-control and restraint when in difficult situations and take time to respond or react professionally rather than irrationally.

IV. Case Study:

The “every day” citizen is used to believing what they read, see or hear from their chosen leaders and influencers. When it comes to ethical standards, we have a blind trust that the content we observe across our various media mediums are ethical. In a sense, the general practice of the American people is “Ignorance is Bliss.” Issues with credibility are often due to unforeseen errors or due to not following the ethical practices of the Associated Press. This is an issue that one can debate back and forth due to too many rumors and or beliefs about the news media. Looking at a specific incident of a news source I chose the topic of “Whistle-blowing” because it is an example of where ethics meets law in a confusing gray area of ideals and beliefs. Edward Snowden and his dilemma were a popular issue that came and went and now it is still there but in the background. It feels like a topic that can help us better find that “baseline” of ethical practices that should become universal.

Legal and Ethical Issues

With the whistle-blower issue regarding Edward Snowden we see multiple perspectives and issues with law versus ethics. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), established in 1967 allows the public to make a request for information. Before researching this topic, myself I was always informed that this meant we have the right to all records. This is a misconception of the law. As I read its explanation, I found that it allows the public to make a request for information about the government, but according to FOIA.gov there are “Nine Exemptions,” (FOIA, 1987). This fact of Nine Exemptions opens a new insight on what this Freedom of Information Act really is. Do these Nine Exemptions amend the purpose of the Act journalists believe in? Snowden believed he was doing the right thing, but the United States is divided on the issue. Where does legal and ethical meet on this topic?

Justification

This is a very important topic to discuss for many reasons. First, it promotes my argument about needing a baseline for determining what is ethical and what is not. It also brings up the limits of the Freedom of Information Act which the average person may or may not know. With all the controversies in the world being discussed, this topic holds a lot of components that need to be highlighted so we can once again unite as a nation and eventually a world. With all the questions regarding this issue, I feel it will be a learning experience for not only me but for my readers in order to understand the lack of understanding behind our arguments and debates on any issue. Was Snowden a patriot for what he did or was it, treason, or both? Information is harmful and this issue shows exactly how harmful and unethical the irresponsible release of classified information can be. I found multiple resources regarding this issue. I have utilized government sites as well as scholarly links through the Shapiro Library for my source material.

References

Moore, R. L., & Murray, M. D. (2012). Media Law and Ethics. New York: Routledge.

SPJ. (2014, September 6). SPJ Code of Ethics. Retrieved from Society of Professional Journalists: https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp

Publishing, A. (n.d.). Statement of Ethics. Retrieved April 28, 2018, from https://archive.ama.org/archive/AboutAMA/Pages/Statement of Ethics.aspx

P. (n.d.). Code of Ethics. Retrieved April 28, 2018, from https://www.prsa.org/ethics/code-of-ethics/#.Vakfz0Xxgb0

Bird, K., & Naden, C. (2018, April 27). How ISO standards support World Day for Safety and Health at Work. Retrieved April 29, 2018, from https://www.iso.org/home.html

Oaths. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2018, from http://www.psychceu.com/ethics/do_no_harm.asp

Moore, R. L., & Murray, M. D. (2012). Media law and ethics. New York, NY: Routledge

Curry, J., & Curry, A. (2000). The customer marketing method: How to implement and profit from customer relationship management. New York: Free Press.

Kaputa, C. (2012). You Are a Brand! In Person and Online; How Smart People Brand Themselves for Business Success; Second Edition. Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

Clark, T. (n.d.). The Bushido Code: The Eight Virtues of the Samurai[Scholarly project]. In China.usc.edu. Retrieved May 26, 2018, from https://china.usc.edu/sites/default/files/forums/Samurai and the Bushido Code.pdf

Singer, P. (2018, January 12). Ethics. Retrieved December 23, 2018, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/ethics-philosophy

Moore, R. L., & Murray, M. D. (2012). Media law and ethics. New York, NY: Routledge

(FOIA), F. O. (n.d.). FOIA.gov (Freedom of Information Act) Home Page. Retrieved January 10, 2019, from https://www.foia.gov/

Greenwald, G., MacAskill, E., & Poitras, L. (2013, June 11). Edward Snowden: The whistleblower behind the NSA surveillance revelations. Retrieved January 10, 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/09/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-surveillance

Internal Reporting | Ethical Systems. (n.d.). Retrieved January 10, 2019, from http://www.ethicalsystems.org/content/internalreporting

Redman, B. K. (2014, October 23). Snowden and Institutional Corruption: What Have We Learned? Retrieved January 10, 2019, from https://ethics.harvard.edu/blog/snowden-and-institutional-corruption-what-have-we-learned

Gurnow, M. (2014). The Edward Snowden Affair. Indianapolis, IN: Blue River Press.