Ethics in Public Relations: A Guide to Best Practice (PR in Practice)

One of the classic rights conflict situations in public relations is when the rights to privacy of individuals within organizations conflict with the public's right to know, as frequently articulated by the media. Let's look at some situations:

• One of your managers has been rumoured to be dating a movie star. She wishes to keep her personal life private and your organization's policy has been to uphold an employee's right to personal privacy. The media have got wind of this juicy story and want details, believing in their right to access when dealing with a public figure such as a movie star.

• The same manager again, but now she's been accused of sexual harassment against one of her subordinates . A woman in your town has never been accused of this before. A reporter received an inside tip and wants details. He thinks the public has a right to know.

• The same manager again, but she is now accused of embezzlement. Media are again on the trail of a story.

Whose rights prevail in these situations? The public's? The media's? The employee's? Or does your organization have rights? (Most ethics authors believe that only people have rights, but you might be able to argue that an organization is nothing if not a collection of people.)

There is a whole area of ethics that is focused on a rights-based approach to ethical decision-making. We have merely scratched the surface of this topic, but it's a start and adds one more concept to your evolving framework which will eventually form the basis for your own ethical decision-making.