Court case highlights ethical risks in public relations
Opinion: Sometimes the experts brought in to help with image issues end up creating new problems, writes
When trying to manage a crisis, organisations and individuals are often overwhelmed. During ‘‘Dieselgate’’, the Volkswagen emissions crisis in 2017, the company was busy managing a global recall and communicating with those affected around the world.
At the same time, it had to manage its other product lines, including the company’s petrol vehicle operations, which were not part of the global recall.
Because of the tremendous challenges organisations and individuals face during crises, many turn to public relations firms for help.
These firms are usually hired for their expertise in crisis management gained through years of experience working in the field.
Normally, a public relations firm’s advocacy work on behalf of its client is not the focus of scrutiny by the media during a crisis.
But recently a public relations consultancy faced a crisis of its own because of work on behalf of a prominent businessman who was accused of sexual assault.
Jevan Goulter was reported to have participated in a meeting at a hotel in Australia where the victim of sexual assault was pressured to withdraw his complaint against a prominent businessman.
This incident raises important questions around ethics involving public relations firms. Is there a code of ethics for the industry? What are the consequences of public relations firms behaving unethically while advocating for a client during a crisis?
The Public Relations Institute of New Zealand is the industry group.
According to the organisation’s website, it was established in 1954, and has more than 1300 members. In order to become members, public relations consultants are required to follow a code of ethics.
Very few complaints alleging breaches of this code have been filed against members. According to institute chief executive Elaine Koller, only 10 complaints have been lodged since 1999, and just two were upheld.
Of the two complaints upheld, one was related to a public relations firm helping a company during a crisis.
The complaint, filed 20 years ago, involved public relations firm Shandwick International which was hired by Timberlands, a government-owned logging company.
Timberlands hired Shandwick to help the company defend itself against opponents who wanted to stop native logging.
The code of ethics violation involved the use of the word ‘‘extremists’’ to describe opponents of Timberlands’ operations.
The institute found that the two Shandwick public relations consultants should not have agreed to Timberlands’ use of the word ‘‘extremists’’ to describe opponents of logging. Although a number of the opponents used extreme tactics to stop Timberlands from logging activities, others engaged in legitimate forms of protest.
How would the institute handle Goulter’s actions? Would the behaviour of the firm’s consultants be a violation of its code of ethics?
According to Koller, Goulter is not a member of the institute and it therefore would not have been able to bring any disciplinary action.
But Koller believes that had he belonged to the institute, any member of the public would have been entitled to bring a complaint based on what has been reported in the media.
After the complaint is received it is reviewed by an ethics panel, and if the panel finds that there was a breach of the code, it has the power to recommend a fine or expulsion.
The complaint would need to specify which aspects of the code had been breached. For example, a complaint might refer to a section relating to the need to decline representation of clients or organisations that urge or require actions contrary to the code.
It is encouraging to see the institute has a code of ethics for its members. Also, the low number of complaints suggests that ethics violations among its members are rare.
However, there are many public relations consultants in the industry who do not belong to the institute and are therefore not required to adhere to its code of ethics.
She estimates that due to the broad scope of public relations activities, there are between 8000 and 12,000 people working in the sector.
This may suggest that we will see more cases in the future involving questionable conduct by public relations firms.
It is important for public relations firms to advocate on behalf of their clients during a crisis. However, there are certain ethical red lines that shouldn’t be crossed in the name of advocacy.