Kelly Davis, the Public Relations Sequence Head at the University of South Carolina, discusses a number of important issues, including:
1) How to avoid landmines and understand the fine lines in public affairs and lobbying
2) How can nonprofits ethically get their message out when faced with well-funded opponents?
3) Ethical issues with data, media and society
4) How to make sure you are sharing accurate information
Sam Villegas, APR, a Senior Consultant with Raftelis shares insight on:
1) What do you do when you are asked to stonewall on a public health issue?
2) When should you act as a whistle blower?
3) How do you effectively respond to disinformation and fear-based attacks?
Dianne Danowski Smith, the president and founder of Publix Northwest, covers a broad spectrum of ethical issues, including:
1) Unexpected ethical lessons from Tonya Harding
2) What to do when ethics and legal opinion lead to different conclusions
3) What to do when employees don’t want to represent a specific client
4) How to handle the ethical challenge of reporters with agendas
Ethics and political communication. It is an essential topic, but one that is not often discussed. Joining me on this week’s episode is Peter Loge, Associate Professor of Media and Public Affairs, and director of the project on ethics and political communication at George Washington University to discuss:
1) What are the true ethical challenges most communicators face?
2) Why “The Stakes are High” is an insidious ethical temptation
3) Is political communication today very different from the 1700s?
Col. Ann Knabe, PhD, APR+M, discusses the growing threat of disinformation. She also discusses:
1) Taking a stand for PR ethics – is licensing the answer?
2) The importance of education and accreditation to ethical behavior
Paul Omodt, the principal of Omodt and Associates and crisis expert discusses a number of key ethics issues, including:
1) Why speed is not always your ally
2) Ethical challenges with the growing “cancel culture”
3) How to seek forgiveness for an ethical lapse
4) How one man gained forgiveness after saying the N word and losing his job
Loring Barnes, APR, Fellow, PRSA, an independent practitioner and Chair of her town’s Selectboard, discusses a number of key ethical issues including:
• Tough ethical decisions during product recalls
• How communicators should approach ethical issues around cannabis
• The quickest path to redemption after making an ethical lapse
Dr. Joe Trahan, a 30+ year PR pro, retired Lt. Col and media trainer for more than 3,000 people a year, shares his ethics insights in a captivating interview. He discusses:
• How to save your soul when you are in an unethical company
• How fake news is eroding public trust
• Why public relations professionals and PRSA need to be stronger advocates for our profession
• The importance of standing up for what you believe in even in the face of unspeakable threats of violence
Scott Monty, a neoclassical digital executive who led Ford’s digital and social media discusses:
• The perils of obfuscation
• The top ethics challenges facing communicators today
• How many tech companies are ethically challenged
• Ethics advice from the classics that is still relevant today
Joining me this week on Ethical Voices is Gary McCormick, APR, Fellow PRSA. He is a past president of PRSA, owns his own consulting firm, previously worked in marketing and public relations for Scripps Networks Interactive, the parent company of cable networks HGTV, Food Network, and the Travel Channel, and