Everyone has their truth

It’s difficult to choose between my classmates blogs, so many interesting insights; also I really enjoyed our discussion at class. Even thought I could be agree or disagree with some of the points of view of some of them, I respect all opinions. I decided to comment on the blogs written by Cecilia, Joel,Melissa, Michael and Priscila. 

“P.R.’s Identity Crisis” by  Cecilia Lopez-Abitang ( January 28, 2012)

In Cecilia post “P.R.’S Identity Crisis"  ( January 28, 2012) she talked about the issue PR firms representing dictatorship, she mentioned that Corbertt pointed out that PR people have to think about work and promote a government that did not offer freedom for their own people. She stated that since she born in the Philippines, during the government of Ferdinand Marcos, a dictator whose reign of terror was comparable to despots worldwide, she considered that a PR agency should not promote a government that torture, kill and where media people were jailed.

I am 100% agree with her. Perhaps since my current president is kind a modern version of  a dictator, the only different is that he changed the law to convert illegal actions in legal, I must add, I could not understand that someone involve in the media and communications world  would even considerer  work for someone that not afford any kind of freedom for their own people. Sadly sometimes is a lot of money involve, and there is when personal ethic values could succumb for another loyalty.

In brief, Cecilia considered a good idea  to keep the eyes open and watch carefully the actions of PR practices and practitioners, mostly if there can influence and change the image of  tyrannical governments, inside and outside the country involve. “ If other industries have stringent code of ethics, rules and regulations, then it is likewise necessary with the P.R. industry where communication is used to influence and sway people's opinions”. 

“Secret, Secret, I’ve Got a Secret…” by Joel Clark Matson (January 13, 2012)

In his second blog Joel talked about secrets, and how they can harm relationship, if they are release to they public that maybe don’t need  to know, but probably they want to know. Joel stated that in our times, its really difficult  to keep away secrets from the eye of the public.

“In today’s world those processes are much more difficult to achieve given the ubiquitous recording devices that have instant access to the Internets. For example the release online (already pulled from here on YouTube but still up here) of the video of Marines in Afghanistan urinating on the bodies of three militants came at a time of a very sensitive relational process between the United States and representatives of Mullah Omar of the Taliban. That released material could only serve to damage that process and the nascent relationships arising from it. Should it have been kept a secret? In my opinion yes, since its release was only intended to inflame passions, destroy relationships, and disrupt movement towards peace”. Joel argued.

I’m in general agree with Joel, probably that information should keep at the “secret expedients” of the government, but also I can’t help to think, if that acts of the marines is not accord with the right behavior that is expect from one official of the United States, would be better if nobody knows what they did, and more important, why? was unethical to record the incident or the act itself. I am not and expert in military or wars, but I can imagine that be in hostile situation, when in any second you can lose your life should be a detonate for emotional response, since the marines are humans beings, but Is it that reality something the public need or want to know? or going forward, have the public the right to know the horrors that happened in one war? I think partially they need, probably a large group of the public want and lately the have the right to know.

Thus they have to know why the marines did that, but not just the final action. Wars are not fun, it isn’t like a videogame, there is a lot of stress, fear, blood, mud, and not always the good guy wear the white hat. 

“Cyber Bullying..the New Terrorist?”  By Melissa Valerio ( February 3, 2012 )

In Melissa’s blog about cyber bullying, and talk about the tough decision of Steve Pokin about rather mention the names of the Megan’s neighbors or not in his story. First that all Melissa argued that Pokin thought that omitting the names was a simple matter. I am completely disagree about that, since he consult with his editor, lawyers, and probably some coworkers, it’s seems to me that was a difficult ethical making decision for all of them.

Also, she established that she is agree with the Post decision to post the name of the people involved in the case of Megan.  

“I agree with the Posts decision to post the names of the people involved in this heinous crime. Why should they be protected? The public has the right to know what happened and who caused this to happen. The minute that Lori Drew wrote the first message to Megan she was committing a crime. “

I’m not sure how Pokin could know that Lori wrote all that means messages to Megan, and since after the investigation the authorities did not find that any law was broke, how can be considered that they were committing a crime? Let me be clear I’m not saying that I consider that the neighbors did not do a wrong and perhaps an immoral act, but since the current laws are no clear about cyber bullying, I think that was not an easy decision to put their names or not.    

“Tortilla with Cheese, Meatand Vegetables” by Michael Dominguez ( January 27, 2012 (

In Michael’s blog, titled Tortilla with Cheese, Meat and Vegetables he argued that a government that could be categorize like a dictatorship, didn’t need hire a PR firms, since the control the communications and military.

“I digress - really, a dictator doesn't need a PR campaign: that's why he has propagandists and a military, to boot”.

Also he stated one person who works for dictator must be insane, but also they probably just are looking for money.  

“Finally, a note on the practices that are being researched by the FTC and the PRSA - I am personally in hysterics for the first one: If someone chooses to align themselves with a dictator, they've already got a couple of screws loose, but on the other hand, it's just a business with a poor sense of ethical theory taking whatever job they can scrounge up”

I have to say about the first statement that since PR’s strategies born from the propaganda, I think that modern dictator don’t just need, they probably have to hire a PR firm. Modern and old styles of dictatorship need to “sale” their project to the domestic “buyers” and also for foreign stakeholder, that in order to maintain control over the country. The only different between democratic politicians and a tyranny is perhaps is harder for the PR people to sale a good image of the last ones.

That is why I think that is definitely a good news when you know that the FTC and the PRSA are keeping the eyes open and watching the practices of the PR firms and that matters. Sometimes, with the help of a good PR campaign, a tyrannical government tortilla with just authoritarian cheese and zero freedom may look very appetizing.  

 

 “A picture tells it's own story” by Priscila Pauta ( January 22, 2012 )

In the blog wrote by Priscila “A picture tells it's own story” she talked about the Case “Visualizing September 11” .The ethical issue is about a well known photographer who took a picture right after the 911 attack. The picture showed a man falling from the tower, which was used for many headlines. He got a lot of complaints from people who believed that what he did was morally wrong.

She argued that was action was morally right, since that image show an horrible scene that happened and perhaps helps some people to perceive what is wrong in our planet and do something about it.

  “In this case, Benthams utilitarianism theory is proven, where the ethical philosophy follows the idea of the greatest good for the greatest number, interconnecting the theory, and Codes of Ethics the National Press Photographers Association follow. Taking the picture was a necessary thing to do, it is in accordance with his views and ethics, therefore,  it was morally correct”

I’m kind of agree with her, but I was wondering if another picture could cause the same effect as well, without revealing a potential identity of one poor man who lost his life at that fateful day. Also, during my research for my final project I could notice that a lot of photography’s that won a Pulitzer do reference a tragically and even mortal moments of human beings. So we should ask ourselves, that photos that won awards are piece of information that we needed or wanted to know?

Privacy in the cyberworld

   

     While I was reading the case of Megan Meier, a 13 years old girl who committed suicide at 2006, after being bullied for one “boy” through messages on her MySpace profile, I thought wow, What would I do if I were Pokin, or a Post’s journalism. I probably would choose the Pokin option. Tell the story maintaining the neighbor’s names away. But it’s also truth that If I did that I were lying, or at least omitting important information, but lets try to justified both scenarios.

   

 

    

     I think that Pokin did the right thing. Steve Pokin, was a writer for the Suburban Journals of St. Charles County, that learn about the case of the suicide of Megan Meier, and their neighbors whose sent mean messages to her. But after know that the police, prosecutors and the FBI said they could find no law had been broken, he did not know if put the names of the neighbors in the story or not.

    Taking the Bok’s ethical decision-making model, he probably consult his own conscience about the “rightness” of the action of put their names or not, then He talked with his editor, Dave Bundy, and their lawyer, Marvin Lindmark, about the story, and they decided not to name the neighbors whose were involve, and probably contributed to the Megan’s death. In other words, he consulted expert seeking for advice for alternatives to the act creating the ethical problem. We never know if them did the third step proposed in the Bok’s Model, but they probably conduct an hypothetically conversation with the Megan’s parents, their neighbors and authorities. Their final conclusion was that there were not arrest or charges, no civil suit and any law was broken, would be wrong to put the names of “innocent persons” to the public scorn. 

        
    In other hand, after one week, another newspaper, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, told the history but they mentioned the neighbor’s names. They were accurate and follow all the ethical truth and news values. Also we could think about this ethical dilemma, reading the utilitarianism from Mill, that is ethical if one person or a small group of people (neighbors) could be harm, for the benefit of the larger group. After the story of Megan, authorities, journalists, and social media companies are taking more actions to prevent more cases of cyber bulling. Perhaps is not enough what they can do, considering the rights of privacy of the public, but it’s a start indeed.

      

       Both actions were difficult to make, but perhaps Pokin was the first to exposed that case in the media, he and the rest of the newspaper team had to make a decision before any controversy, and in the end, even if some persons critiqued their action, I think that was justified. You just can review some messages from the readers of Pokin, asking for the names of the neighbors, wanted them beaten or killed. It’s really difficult to expose people who probably never thought that something like the suicide of Megan could happen. More if you considered that even the authorities did not found any cause to open a case against them.

    

      In contrast, I think that social networks, such as MySpace, Facebook, and now Google + should have to do more to fight against cyber bullying. They have to find a way to prevent so many cases. Maybe not all them find a terrible end like the case of Megan, but thousands of kids suffer this new kind of bulling. Now it is not just at the school, like Internet the potential threat is everywhere. Some can argues about the right of privacy, but like any other right, you have to use in the proper way, like Grcic ( 1986 ) asserts, sometimes privacy can be negated by more compelling right.  What about the right to be treated with respect, consideration, the right to be whatever you want to be, the right to life. I know that it is a tricky situation, but somehow, government , social networks, teachers and parents have to do more about cyber bullying.           

    More details about the topic     

 

     Bullying Statistic        

  

    What can I do to help

  

   Cyberbullying Research  Center

PR for the 21st century

When you look at the current definition of public relations that is mentioned in Stuart Ellitott´s New York Times article, you can feel that something is missing. Let see “Public relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other.” What is wrong about this definition? The world has change in the last 20 year, and the ways of people communicate with corporations and between them as well. Internet and social media have shifted the relationship between the public and those that used communicating messages to them, now that process is not a monologue, it´s indeed a two ways information super highway. That change has generated that current PR concept could be perceived as misleading. For that, and others reason, the industry’s largest organization, the Public Relations Society of America, started a research and an effort to develop a better definition of “public relations,” one more appropriate for this century.

I have been trying to think about my own definition of public relations, and it´s kind of tricky, but even that I´m not an expert in PR I would say something like, PR is the communicate process that create strategies to maintain a good relation and understanding, between corporations and their public, in an ethical manner.

In my concept I incorporated the word ethical, to add the implication that you can work for organizations or people, creating strategies to maintain a good image of them for their public, but you have to follow the path of the ethics.

The Public Relations Society of America started an effort to develop a new definition of PR last year. These are the final candidates definitions of Public Relations:

 Definition No. 1:

Public relations is the management function of researching, engaging, communicating, and collaborating with stakeholders in an ethical manner to build mutually beneficial relationships and achieve results.

(Read the annotated version here.)

Definition No. 2:

Public relations is a strategic communication process that develops and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their key publics.

(Read the annotated version here.)

Definition No. 3:

Public relations is the engagement between organizations and individuals to achieve mutual understanding and realize strategic goals.

(Read the annotated version here.)

Along with Elliott’s article, Gerard Corbett’s article also mentions recent PR ethical breaches. I read about the case that Facebook’s attempted smear campaign against Google. That action put in a terrible position, not just one PR firm, but also an entirely PR world, because one agency didn´t realize that even when you are loyal to your client, you also have to be loyal to the public of that client. The case called Whisper Gate, In few words, Facebook hired  a one PR firm, Burson-Marsteller, to pitch stories about how Google’s foray into social networking was supposedly creating privacy concerns.

In those stories about the topic, there was no mention that Facebook was behind it. The pitch was discovered for one newspaper, the USA Today, that called the pitch foul. That kind of strategies let a open door for bad interpretations about how is seems the industry of the public relation, and attempt against the values and principles of transparency, justice and autonomy that are mentioned in the PRSA’ s Code of Ethics

Click here for more details about Whisper Gate 

  Finally, I am glad to know that PRSA and the FTC are monitoring various public relations practices; I think that those actions will improve the field in terms of ethics. For instead, the first example that Corbett mentioned is that now PR representing dictators will be monitoring by the industry. I think that is a great steps for improve some ethical issues about this topic, I know that the case about politic freedom is not widely know in countries like The United States, where every person has the right to speak and say whatever they want.  But in other places, where people cannot enjoy that kind of freedom, would be horrible that kind of leadership will be help for PR firms to establish. Another interesting initiative could be to implement a international PR organization, that only goal will be to monitoring the PR world, research and discuss about ethical cases, and establish clear politics about ethical guidelines of the PR field.

What´s Yours Is Mine: the Ethics of News Aggregation

The case explains a situation, which is one of the most important problems during our days: intellectual property rights V´s freedom of information

The code of ethics is helpful in evaluating this case because is really hard establish what are the limits of intellectual property. The Society of Professional Journalists´ code of conduct states ¨Never plagiarize¨ and the Associated Press code warns:

“An AP staffer who reports and writes a story must use original content, language and phrasing. We do not plagiarize, meaning that we do not take the work of others and pass it off as our own”.

However, aggregation, like is states in the book, is not a black and white issues.  The same statement of Associated Press about their News Values and principals, that argues that their staff must use original content also said:

“  But in some respects, AP staffers must deal with gray areas. It is common for an AP staffer to include in his or her work passages from a previous AP story by another writer – generally background, or boilerplate. This is acceptable if the passages are short. Regardless, the reporter writing the story is responsible for the factual and contextual accuracy of the material. Also, the AP often has the right to use material from its members and subscribers; we sometimes take the work of newspapers, broadcasters and other outlets, rewrite it and transmit it without credit”.

The same code is warning that writers are going to face gray areas. Since that statement, its seem like every members of AP could face a ethic dilemma about use content of other, that mean aggregation. So, its no code its not effective in clarify when is OK to use content from others writers. 

 AP NEWS VALUES AND PRINCIPLES

In this case I would use the ethical perspective of David Rose, Pluralistic Theory of Value. He argues that “there is often more than one ethical value simultaneously for a preeminence in the process of our ethical decision making”.

That provide another option to the writers about use another material, to complete one article, or not.

They could think about any case, and asks themselves something like, Is It going to be really relevant this aggregation for the story? ,  for the right of the public to be inform. One value, be accuracy, could be more important than other, We do not plagiarize.

We know that governments has the responsibility to make laws able to protect the intellectual property of citizen, however it should guarantee to all citizens the freedom access to the information.

Internet´s development has facilitated access to information. Everyday thousands of books, articles, songs, essays, investigations, opinions are on hands of a countless of people, around the world. But also, it´s true that Internet has made easier to break the law , such as works’ plagiarism, illegal sell and reproduction.

The ethical dilemma arises because, it´s almost impossible to establish strong rules to guard the intellectual property, without affecting our free access to the information. The State is trying to create regulations as Stop Online Privacy Act, SOPA, but is in this moment, when the ethical dilemma intensifies, because despite SOPA raises expand efforts to decrease illegal reproduction of the works on Internet, It affect directly our rights.

In Brief, it´s clear that authors need protection over their works, however as soon as government start to punish or control work´s traffic on Internet, also will be easier to censorship. I would leave to right to decode whether or not use aggregation to the writers, but always evaluating any case, and attributing the aggregation to the original source.