When it comes to public relations is honest and responsible regard the same as telling the truth? I doubt this is an area of discussion that can produce a conclusive and concrete answer; but then again I’ve never known the truth to be definitive both in theory and practice.
There’s no denying that we have become a race of gossips and observers; yet does this really extend beyond the trivial genre of celebrity culture? Society’s fascination with a scandal and uncovering the supposed truth has the potential to lead us down a dangerous path – if every fragment of the news is sensationalised, this would inevitably detract from the weighting behind the material and eventually people would suffer form over exposure and become disinterested.
That’s not to say that this can be prevented by merely censoring or withholding information. A balance must be found between the two; this is where the role of a PR practitioner comes into play. If our aim within a communication strategy is to help establish and manage relationships that are beneficial to all parties involved, deciding what is of interest to the public as opposed to just plain interesting is crucial. Dealing with a situation like this one reinforces the idea that information should be managed as opposed to censored.
It seems obvious that a clear shift must be made away from trying to control information that reaches the public domain and move towards the idea that the information and the associated consequences can be managed. With this ideal though comes a warning. Truth and the associated transparency especially within the world of commerce does not equate to accountability. It is not enough to simply lay your cards on the table and presume that this will suffice.
There’s no denying that we have become a race of gossips and observers; yet does this really extend beyond the trivial genre of celebrity culture? Society’s fascination with a scandal and uncovering the supposed truth has the potential to lead us down a dangerous path – if every fragment of the news is sensationalised, this would inevitably detract from the weighting behind the material and eventually people would suffer form over exposure and become disinterested.
That’s not to say that this can be prevented by merely censoring or withholding information. A balance must be found between the two; this is where the role of a PR practitioner comes into play. If our aim within a communication strategy is to help establish and manage relationships that are beneficial to all parties involved, deciding what is of interest to the public as opposed to just plain interesting is crucial. Dealing with a situation like this one reinforces the idea that information should be managed as opposed to censored.
It seems obvious that a clear shift must be made away from trying to control information that reaches the public domain and move towards the idea that the information and the associated consequences can be managed. With this ideal though comes a warning. Truth and the associated transparency especially within the world of commerce does not equate to accountability. It is not enough to simply lay your cards on the table and presume that this will suffice.
"Put simply the dilemma should not arise at the point of whether to tell the
truth, but at the point of when the action that determines the truth occurs."
As the boundaries and corporate situating of PR is changing so must the attitude towards how the truth is handled. Speaking to a community manager for a national newspaper I learnt an interesting approach to deal with uncomfortable truths
“It’s not about withholding the truth; instead you are simply holding it.”
OK so I said that with the new era of PR there should be a clean departure from the old world of spin. Yet if I’ve learnt anything from my time at university it’s that PR isn’t perfect and rebranding it under the umbrella of communications won’t change what is often required of PR practitioners. And not even a hundred pairs of rose tinted glasses could hide that from me.
In the PR industry Rosie Corriette is a brand – albeit a very small and hopefully emerging brand – but one still the same! Therefore me and my truth is key to establishing my reputation defining my personal ethics. If I know something is wrong then I hope it will be simple enough not to do it. But what happens when you convince yourself what you’re doing is ethical, or even that the end justifies the means?
PR is about communication and more specifically relationships. If in our personal lives we are encouraged to strive for both trust and respect as fundamentals, then it can be no bad thing to aim for this in our careers as well.
Truth and regard for public interest should not be viewed as the albatross of PR. Instead it should be seen as a tool of engagement. The role of PR is not to change the truth but to use it to your advantage.
In the PR industry Rosie Corriette is a brand – albeit a very small and hopefully emerging brand – but one still the same! Therefore me and my truth is key to establishing my reputation defining my personal ethics. If I know something is wrong then I hope it will be simple enough not to do it. But what happens when you convince yourself what you’re doing is ethical, or even that the end justifies the means?
PR is about communication and more specifically relationships. If in our personal lives we are encouraged to strive for both trust and respect as fundamentals, then it can be no bad thing to aim for this in our careers as well.
Truth and regard for public interest should not be viewed as the albatross of PR. Instead it should be seen as a tool of engagement. The role of PR is not to change the truth but to use it to your advantage.
No comments:
Post a Comment