Part II
Ethical Guidelines
Introduction
Part I of this handbook is dedicated to legal protections of the individual right to privacy being contrasted with similar protections afforded journalist dealing with the freedom of the press. This half of this handbook’s addresses the issues at hand from an ethical standpoint. However, this is not to say that ethics and the law are completely separate from one another. Ethics guide interpretation of free press and privacy rights; and in a emerging digital world, the law still leaves a lot of room for interpretations. For those reasons, it is important to revisit the categories of privacy violations, as that is very relative to the context of this handbook's purpose.
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As stated in Part I, the right to privacy, according to Roy Moore and Michael Murray, the four torts relating to “invasion of privacy” are;
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Appropriation of one’s person’s name or likeness for the benefit or advantage of another.
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Intrusion upon an individual’s physical solitude or seclusion. (Dietemann) (Mistrel)
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Public disclosure of highly objectionable private facts. (Warren and Brandeis) (Pavesich) (Manola) (Oberholtzer)
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Publicity that places an individual in a false light in the public eye. (Carson) (Oberholtzer)
(Moore & Murray, 2012)
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In addition, it is important to note some of the legal concepts presented in Part I; because as the situation with torts some interpretations can be made regarding certain definitions. The following definitions are provided for clairity.
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Public places
In a very general sense are areas where one does not have to fear being charged with trespassing, which according to the Cornell Legal Information Institute is defined as “the act of knowingly entering another person’s property without permission”
(Cornell Legal Information Institute, n.d.).
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False Light
False light is a very easy legal concept to master, that which is published must be untrue and the publisher must realize it was untrue or have a reckless disregard for the truth.
Appropriation
At first glance, it may appear that the concept of appropriation and how it is separate from newsworthiness, a concept that will be explored in the Nameth case that follows , it is important to note that the role of a publisher or media is not relieved from liability for “commercial use of a person’s name, image, or likeness” (Moore & Murray, 2012).
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Consent
Consent usually involves voluntarily agreeing to some sort of act or proposal. In the case of this handbook, it would be simply the case of a veteran in the vicinity of the facility agreeing to be photographed or interviewed in connection with his or her status with the facility.
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As technologies advance, capturing "newsworthy" footage and what is not newsworthy, is not a clear distinction by legal standards. This concept is best up to ethics and choices made based upon the situation, however this discussion is best left to the next section of this handbook in Part II. The point being here, is that determining newsworthiness is not a decision that is completely left to the choices made by the reporter. As this handbook is concerned with facility matters, it is important that the PR representative ensure that the individuals in question are well aware of their privacy rights and the concepts of consent and private versus public places and the varying protections afforded by the law regarding choices in behavior when confronted by the media on facility grounds.
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According to reference.com, ethics are best described as “social guidelines” that are based upon “moral principles and values,” while law has to do with specific rules and regulations laid down by the varying authorities that often hold “penalties or consequences when violated” (Reference, 2016). This does not mean that breaches of ethics are without consequence, especially when one considers the political and professional organizational world. Many organizations establish codes of ethics that include a list of values that the organization holds dear to its purpose, and many times these organizations feel it necessary to apply penalties towards violators (Reference, 2016).
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“Media law and ethics explores such intellectual disciplines as the philosophy of law and moral or ethical theory” (Reference, 2016). So, there is a clear conundrum inherent in the everyday behaviors of anyone working either on the public relations or journalists side of conflict between the right to privacy and freedom of the press. The big question when it comes to ethics and law when working in the communications field is just how far does the First Amendment and the “freedom of speech” go? As new technologies are created, as competitive informational markets tighten, and as the political price of information change, rise, or fall; this question is going to continue to be a catalyst to this struggle between what choices should be made by communications field specialists for many years to come.
Professional Codes of Ethics
To capture the essence of the issue covered by this handbooks best, I refer to the noted philosopher, Louis W. Hodges, who has stated;
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A conflict of interest…exists when a journalist’s professional (and professed) duty to serve audience interest is weakened … by a journalist’s self-interest or any interests…other than those of her audience. (Gordon, Kittross, Merrill, ; Babcock, & Dorsher, 1999)
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Patterson & Wilkins have also cited Hodges comments in their book – specific comments that further refine this study into the realm of privacy. Hodges said that “without some degree of privacy, civilized life would be impossible” (Patterson, 2011). Let us now examine varying sets of ethical codes that help to define the "social guidelines" of the communication professions that often are in conflict -- specifically the motivations of the public relations expert and the die-hard journalists.
Public Relations Codes of Ethics
The following table, illustrates a breakdown of a comparison between the Public Relations Society of America codes of ethics and something similar that the U.S. Air Force uses as guiding principles in its day to day activities in the communications realm. The relation to a military institution is important, because this handbook is dedicated to facilities catering to veterans of the military service.
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Table 2: Cross Comparisons between the PRSA code of ethics and the Air Force Public Affairs Core Competencies.
One of the immediate difficulties that one will have when trying to compare the values of varying organization communications decrees is that the formats differ to a great extent. First off, the term “code of ethics” is not used as often as it should be. Yes, that is where this study began, with a focus on things of that nature; but different organizations use different key words to establish guiding principles for their organization’s PR campaigns. This table is offered to demonstrate common themes.
Within Table 2, the far left column identifies the particular PRSA value. The next column over makes a summary attempt to capture the essence of the PRSA value. The next column, titled “Air Force paragraph(s)” presents the paragraphs of the Air Force doctrine that captures the same concept within the PRSA code. The links that follow provide Internet reference to these two doctrines;
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Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Member Code of Ethics
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The far left column of Table 2, makes and attempt to present the key words used in the Air Force doctrine that are in sync with the PRSA conceptions. Table 2 is designed to capture the common themes within the two guiding principles. It should be noted that the PRSA guidelines are general in nature, while the Air Force ones are specific. Looking through the Air Force doctrine, illustrated in Table 2, one can begin to see that the doctrine itself is biased toward its own organization, yet the PRSA code clearly establishes a loyalty to the client -- as demonstrated through the concepts of advocacy, loyalty and fairness. As this handbook is obviously designed as a PR guide to certain clients -- veterans in a facility setting -- the implication here is that the PR representative has an obligation to its client, while at the same time it must honor ethical considerations of the communication industry.
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While these ethical considerations may seem daunting, there is a general conception of the golden rule and universal values that apply to humanity as a whole.
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Figure 1 is from “Creating a positive organization” written by Ian Macdonald, Karl Stewart, and Catherine Burke. It portrays the six universal values. They are universal as they are beliefs and expectations that seem to cross varying cultures. They are important because they help to identify what we expect from each other and the fact that they are universal requires that we consider them when making out ethical guidelines and eventually law. We especially desire such powerful organizations, like the digital media, to be honest, trustworthy, courageous, respectful, dignifying, and fair (Macdonald, Stewart, & Burke, 2006).
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Journalism Code of Ethics
Journalist deserve to be treated fairly and honestly in this scheme of organization as well. For that reason, let us look at the Society of Professional Journalists code of ethics. Click here for as a printable version of the SPJ Code. Table 3 incorporates the concepts within the SPJ ethics with the two public relations ethical codes already mentioned. One can see with minimal effort that both PR ethical codes and journalist codes of are in sync; they are just on opposite sides of the free speech mechanism assuming of course that they act in accordance with their ethical codes. These opposing sides were represented by the law in Part I, those opposing sides being privacy vs. free press.
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In the journalism profession, values sometimes conflict with laws. It has been a long held tenant of journalists that they should never be required to reveal their sources. Revealing their sources is a definite “don’t” in the unwritten code of journalistic ethics; however, some laws have put journalist in jail for not doing so (Protection of sources, 2016) but varying laws have been established that make it illegal for this long held ethic to be kept in all cases. Revealing a confidential source for an investigative journalist is an epitaph on their gravestone; and they will most likely have to find new work, because the underworld will no longer trust them with information again – defeating the purpose of the confidential source in the first place. This sort of integrity is a very admirable quality. When journalist behavior is in line with their ethical code, they honor the right to privacy. They just have a tough job, because that job often requires a “courageous” behavior that sometimes involves stepping on people’s toes while they honor their code to get to the truth and serve the democratic process.
Patterson and Wilkins also provide an assessment of “Ethical News Values.” Those values are accuracy, confirmation, tenacity, dignity, reciprocity, sufficiency, equity, community and diversity. When one considers Patterson and Wilkins list of news values alongside the SPJ Code of Ethics, one can begin to see the two methods of presenting similar information concerning journalism ethics. These two ethical codes have a lot in common, however, there are a few subtle differences. The values of accuracy, confirmation, and equity appear to be clearly established in the SPJ Code of ethics in their entirety, while the remaining values from Patterson and Wilkins appear in shades but with less detail and explanation. Some of the Patterson and Wilkins news values are implied within the SPJ code but are not specifically stated. The function of the SPJ Code, to me, appears to be more of a list of “dos and don’ts” while the Patterson and Wilkins’ values are much more philosophical in nature. The Patterson and Wilkins values appear to have within them the essence of the Golden Rule (treat others the way you want to be treated) – specifically in the reciprocity and community values -- where I feel the value is truly asking the journalist to empathize with the topic and the stakeholders involved in the story. There is a bit of this empathy requirement in the Patterson and Wilkins diversity value as well. Diversity is implied in the SPC cannons; however, the actually acknowledgement of a list that begat such lack of diversity causing issue is not stated directly. Dignity , tenacity, and sufficiency are clearly implied in the SPC Code but go a little bit more specific to identify possible biases in the typical news gathering process.
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All these things being said, Patterson and Wilkins conclude; “Regardless, no list of ethical news values should be considered conclusive. Collectively, they provide a framework within which informed ethical choices can be made” (Patterson & Wilkins, 2014).
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Situation Specific Ethical Guidelines
Table 3 was offered as a demonstration of balance between two professional fields of communication relating to media interactions. Granted, the audience of this publication is staff and employees of facilities catering to veteran's; however, it is offered as an open source in the spirit of free, honest exchanges between the two professions. After all, while representing perhaps two conflicting aspects of the media and communication field; they have as their mandates similar designs.
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1. Practice honest and trustworthy behaviors in all dealings within the organization, the media, and the public. As Table 3 demonstrates, a balance between right to privacy and the First Amendment can be obtained through consent and newsworthiness.
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2. Remain courageous if promoting your client, yet honest and truthful, despite any conflicts of interest. Tardiness and disregard for basic privacy rights by journalists is not justified. However, this power struggle can be avoided with a few applications of the Golden Rule on all sides of the issue.
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3. Practice two-way, respectful communications with not only those within one’s own organization, the client’s organization, but also the public and any other stakeholders that show interest. Being proactive on your part can help to get more information about the issues at hand as well as the messages inherent in your organizations's mandate. And on that same line of thinking, journalists are likely to get a better story if they honor their obligation to offer you and your organization general courtesies as well. And, don't hesitate to make this clear to them.
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4. Above all else, be fair to all stakeholders. Your obligations are always to your organization. Journalist are always going to be obligated to their own interests, so remain true to your side of this balance of power.
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*Best Ethical Practices*
Be Proactive
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1. Send out a press advisory: At least two weeks prior to Veteran's Day, send a press advisory to the local media. Use a media contact list that you have established. This contact list must be all inclusive and should not exclude and media outlets generally considered to be the major players in your local media. In addition, this advisory should be published on some sort of public website so that it has been equally offered to any media organizations who may be out of the realm of the typical local media players.
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2. Monitor media interests: As mentioned in the preface, media interest in the issue of a new generation of veteran's with PTSD and accompanying homeless scenarios is likely to be a lingering news media story that is likely to continue. In an attempt to assist facilities residents, it is important to show respect of the First Amendment while at the same time ensuring that privacy rights are not being violated through unexpected media visits.
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3. Establish guidelines: As the proactive measures persists, and as calls of media interest come about. While being courteous and respectful; share your concerns for the privacy rights of the veterans that are currently using your facilities functions. From experience, journalist are generally understanding and respectful of concerns about media law and ethics. And, for the most part, they are human and can be worked with.
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4. Media information packets: Even if your press advisory has not garnered any interest, be prepared. Keep media information packets available to be sure to share the true issues concerning your facility that you know best. And include Veteran's Day information as well.
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Be Reactive
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1. Be Aware: Given the issue of rising homelessness occurring within the new generation of combat veterans, it is a safe assumption that on Veteran's Day the media is likely to show interest and perhaps even show up unannounced at your facility. Assume that this is the case, and prepare accordingly. Keep an eye out to ensure that veteran privacy is being honored.
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2. Be courteous but clear: Even if some journalist have had ample opportunity to contact you but did not, let it go. As unannounced media organizations arrive do your best to accommodate them while at the same time be stern in your dealings with them. Just because they have arrived late, does not usurp their responsibility to you and the veterans at your facility. Make it clear to them that honoring privacy is taken very seriously at your facilities and that while they do have First Amendment protections, your facilities trespass and privacy rights are equally important to be respected.
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