Public Relations Ethics: How To Practice PR Without Losing Your Soul

Dick Martin · Donald K. Wright

Nov 2015 · Business Expert Press

About this ebook

This book represents a practical guide to ethical decision-making tailored specifically to the needs of those who practice and study public relations. It traces the development of ethical theory from ancient Greece through the works of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle to modern day public relations executives including Harold Burson, Robert Dilenschneider, and Richard Edelman.

This book helps readers build personal frameworks for ethical reasoning that will enable them not only to recognize the ethical issues at play in public relations practice but also to analyze the conflicting duties and loyalties in these situations.

This volume fills a gap in the currently available books on the subject, most of which either lack theoretical grounding or practical application. Illustrative cases used in this book span a wide range of public relations functions. To update readers on issues discussed in this book, the authors have started an online conversation. Please join the discussion at Updates.PRethics.com.

About the author

Dick Martin writes about public relations and marketing. He has authored four books for the American Management Association and articles for such publications as the Harvard Business Review, Chief Executive, and the Journal of Business Strategy. He also conducts popular workshops on public relations ethics. From 1997 to 2003, he was Chairman of the AT&T Foundation and executive vice president responsible for the company’s public relations, employee communications and brand management.

Donald K. Wright is the Harold Burson Professor of Public Relations at Boston University and has been studying and writing about communication ethics for 40 years. A former practitioner in corporate, agency and pro sports public relations, he has a PhD from the University of Minnesota, is a past president of the International Public Relations Association, serves on the Board of Trustees of the Institute for Public Relations, and is a former trustee of the Arthur W. Page Society.