Code of Ethics The Public Relations Society of America A standard for ethical behavior and trust building

Basic Code Principles Honesty Adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth in advancing the interests of those you represent and in communicating with the public. Maintain the integrity of relationships with the media, government officials, and the public. To ensure honesty, investigate the accuracy of information given to you. Reveal sponsors for causes/interests. Disclose financial interests.

Basic Code Principles Fairness Deal fairly with clients, employers, competitors, peers, vendors, the media, and the general public. Respect all opinions and support the right of free expression. Build trust with the public by revealing all information needed for responsible decision making.

Basic Code Principles Expertise Advance your profession through your continued professional development, research, and education. Build mutual understanding, credibility and relationships among a wide array of institutions and audiences.

Basic Code Principles Advocacy Serve the public interest by acting as responsible advocates for those you represent. Provide a voice for the organization through ideas, facts and viewpoints to aid informed public debate.

Provide objective counsel to those you represent. Basic Code Principles Independence Provide objective counsel to those you represent. Avoid real, potential or perceived conflicts of interest you will build the trust of clients, employers and the public.

Professional Standards Advisories (Code Additions & Updates) Plagiarism Falsely representing another’s ideas or words as your own Different than copyright infringement All too frequent today with Internet availability Must give proper credit to creator

Professional Standards Advisories (Code Additions & Updates) Looking the Other Way Failing to sound alarm for ethical dilemmas Some professions don’t tell by custom Too much “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”

Professional Standards Advisories (Code Additions & Updates) Expropriation of Intellectual Property of Others Stealing ideas from business presentations Can happen when ideas are presented as part of RFP Must have an upfront understanding and presentation must be presented with a copyright indicated

Professional Standards Advisories (Code Additions & Updates) Use of Video News Releases as a Public Relations Tool Increasing scrutiny by FCC, Congress and other groups News stories, B-roll and clips on video are VNRs Producers of VNRs must indicate their origin TV stations must indicate the origin of a VNR

Professional Standards Advisories (Code Additions & Updates) BEPS is responsible for producing PSAs to inform and instruct PRSA members and other on how to deal with real-life ethical dilemmas. More than 20 have been produced during the past decade. PRSA members are urged to review all PSAs on the PRSA Web site --- www.prsa.org.

DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU WILL DO CREDIBILITY IS: DWYSYD DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU WILL DO

The Page Principles (The Arthur W The Page Principles (The Arthur W. Page Society includes PR leaders from America’s leading corporations) Tell the truth. Prove it with action. Listen to the customer. Manage for tomorrow. Conduct public relations as if the whole company depends on it. Realize a company’s true character is expressed by its people. Remain calm, patient and good-humored.

Arthur W. Page Special Report, 2009 How does trust pay out? Efficiency. Business transactions take longer and cost more when trust is absent. Improved employee performance. One study showed trust in senior management improved profitability 13%. Customer retention. Trust in salespeople has a significant impact on customer retention. Vendor Selection. A survey of purchasing managers shows trust is a top criteria for selecting vendors. Innovation. Product innovation increases when there is trust between business units. Arthur W. Page Special Report, 2009

How does the following clip measure up on honesty, transparency, full disclosure and candor ‘til it hurts?

Trust If you build it, they will come. (Domino’s Sales up Dramatically)

Board of Ethics and Professional Standards Public Relations Society of America