Week 6 Reading

'The Legal Environment' chapter from Public Relations: Theory and Practice, Edited by Johnston and Zawawi

'Ethical Practice' chapter from Public Relations: Theory and Practice, Edited by Johnston and Zawawi

I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were...
'The Legal Environment' chapter highlights the fact that public relations practitioners need to be aware of the legalities that may affect them. This is particularly important in preventing or knowing your rights in any legal situation. And the skills and understanding of a public relations officers' legal obligations need to practiced on a daily basis. Some of the things that public relations practitioners need to consider from a legal standpoint are protecting their company or organisation's reputation and ideas, they also have a duty of care and must also think about how contracts and new technologies could effect them in the future.

The key message from the 'Ethical Practice' chapter is that, organisations are heavily scrutinized for their behaviour, and they are morally obligated to not only do no harm, but to make a positive contribution. Ethics concern personal values and moral choices and these decisions should be made with public interest in mind. Although public relations can be seen in a negative light; as 'spinning' the truth, they in fact have several vital roles and the must conduct these within their organisation whilst upholding its social responsibilities. These roles include that of a counsellor,advocate, corporate monitor and corporate conscience. Because the work environment of public relations can at times be ethically uncertain, the Public Relations Institute of Australia (ARIA) was developed that outlines the guidelines for ethical dealings in public relations.

The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that
This weeks' readings have drawn to my attention the seriousness of both legal and ethical considerations in the public relations industry. It is important to have an understanding of what legally you can and can't do, and then how this is link to ethical decisions. Not only do you need to ensure you don't do anything illegal, you may also face tough personal and organisational ethical issues.