The readings from chapter 4 of "Public Relations: Theory and Practice" outlined the legal ramifications of practicing public relations. Assessing the legal risks of the functions public relations practitioners perform is an important part of the field, and they need to be aware of possible claims of negligence, and have a good understanding of contract law and intellectual property law. Especially in regard to litigation cases, practitioners must try to protect the reputation of their client. Public relations practitioners would need to work closely with a legal team in order to minimize risks and continue to present a positive image of their company.
The readings from chapter 5 of "Public Relations: Theory and Practice" focus on the ethics involved in public relations. There is a general idea in the media and other publics that public relations is all about “spin” and manipulation – the occupation is often viewed with cynicism. However, most PR theorists believe that there needs to be a high level of awareness about the influence such a position has, and the ethical implications of this. They key to practicing PR ethically lies in being open, honest, and proffesional.
I think that the key points from these readings were: that PR practitioners should always consider the influence and consequences of the function they provide, whether it is legal or ethical.
The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that: due to the diversity of public relations, practitioners need to have a store of knowledge that is just as diverse.
1 comment:
Hey Madeline, I thought you summarised the chapters well and have given a clear overview to others. I've also found it interesting to note that the further we read about PR, the further from the truth the idea of PR solely acting as spindoctoring becomes. The need for a diverse range of knowledge is also true, but just thinking about all the things we're going to constantly having to be thinking about in PR already makes my head hurt!
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