What does the phrase “Ethics in Public Relations” mean? It is the set of moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour or the conducting of an activity. Public Relations professionals are famously known as “spin doctors” which means that one of the biggest roles of a PR professional is manipulating stuff and getting the work done. But, is it really so?

Ethics in Public Relations, honesty, and openness are hugely critical. The client is always advised to be completely transparent. The PRSA Code of Ethics in Public Relations talks about things like advocacy and honesty. Ethics is important in public relations because this profession is all about establishing credibility. The difference between advertising and public relations is that one is paid while the other is earned. One can only earn trust if there is honesty and transparency. Thus, it is very significant for a public relations professional to earn the trust of the people they are working with.

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The four Ethics in Public Relations that all PR practitioners should follow are:

1. Integrity: Integrity means being transparent and honest. Public Relations professionals as well as their clients should be completely transparent with each other so that even in case of a media disruption, both parties can balance the situation hand in hand.
2. Confidentiality: When a client hands over a project to a PR firm, the client should trust the experts in handling the project by putting their trust on the firm.
3. Loyalty: Public Relations professionals should always be loyal to their clients and never put out confidential information about the client to the outside world.
4. Credibility: Credibility once lost can never be restored. Thus, PR professionals should always keep a check on the fact that they are not doing something that can take a toll on the reputation of their brand.

All said and done, ethics at the end of the day is something that depends on the person itself. In cases like a rape or a glitch in a political party or a Me Too movement, it is completely the decision of the PR professional how ethical he/she wants to be.
But, in a general scenario, one should always abide by the ethical rules of the profession.

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Baishali Banerjee is a part of the Class of 2020 of PG Programme in PR and Corporate Communications at SCoRe, Mumbai. She completed her winter internship with Genesis BCW, Mumbai.

She is from Kolkata. She did her graduation in Media Science with a specialization in Public Relations and Advertising from NSHM Knowledge Campus, Kolkata. She has always been curious about the corporate world and how all these huge brands function and connect with their consumers on a day-to-day basis. She interned with Ketchum Sampark for a period of three months under the Brands & Lifestyle team. This experience made her more curious about the PR fraternity. Also, she is a person very open to learning and her interests lie in corporate, entertainment and lifestyle.
She can be reached at @baishalibanerj5 on Twitter and as Baishali Banerjee on LinkedIn