Table Of ContentPublic Relations Ethics
This book is a pragmatic, case-rich guide to how current and future
public relations practitioners can apply ethical principles and the indus-
try’s codes of ethics to their day-to-day work.
Authors Trevor Morris and Simon Goldsworthy draw on their years
of industry and academic experience to illustrate key ethical issues and
ground them in reality, all within an international frame of reference.
Public Relations Ethics incorporates interviews with industry practi-
tioners, offering contrasting perspectives as well as recent examples of
real-life complaints and disciplinary issues. Provocative questions and
exercises help readers grapple with ethical dilemmas and review the key
scenarios and challenges that PR people face.
The book is ideal at the undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing
education levels as a core text for public relations ethics courses and a
supplementary text for general public relations survey courses. Accom-
panying the text are online resources for both students and instructors,
including lecture slides and links to further resources.
Trevor Morris is former CEO of Chime PR. He taught Public Relations
for 14 years, first at the University of Westminster, and then at Rich-
mond, the American International University in London, where he was
Professor of Public Relations. He is currently a non-executive director,
consultant and PR trainer. He is a Fellow of the Public Relations and
Communications Association and the co-author of PR – A Persuasive
Industry?: Spin, Public Relations and the Shaping of the Modern Media
and PR Today: The Authoritative Guide to Public Relations.
Simon Goldsworthy taught Public Relations for 20 years, first at the Uni-
versity of Westminster, and then at Richmond, the American Interna-
tional University in London, where he was Professor of Public Relations
and Advertising. Prior to his academic career, he was a member of the
UK Government Information Service, serving in a range of government
departments as a press officer. He is a Fellow of the Public Relations and
Communications Association and the co-author of PR – A Persuasive In-
dustry?: Spin, Public Relations and the Shaping of the Modern Media and
PR Today: The Authoritative Guide to Public Relations.
‘Morris and Goldsworthy’s combination of academic and practical
insight delivers another highly readable guidebook, providing hands-on
advice that practitioners at all levels will turn to again and again.’
— Sally Costerton, CEO of SCA Consulting
and former EMEA CEO of Hill and
Knowlton Strategies
‘Possibly the most comprehensive and up-to-date guide on navigating PR
ethics that exists. This is a must-read for anyone serious about working in
PR or public affairs.’
— John Harrington, Editor, PRWeek UK
‘Undoubtedly the definitive work on ethics in public relations. In an era
when ethics has never been more central to every organisation, Morris
and Goldsworthy have done the PR industry a great service with this
no-holds-barred analysis of where our industry is and where it needs
to be.’
— Francis Ingham, Director General of the Public
Relations and Communications Association
‘This book achieves the rare feat of combining informed reflection on PR
today with an accessible and engaging style. Morris and Goldsworthy
bring deep experience and insight to bear on the most charged issues
facing the industry.’
— Paul Mylrea, Director of Communications,
University of Cambridge and formerly of the
BBC, and former President of the Chartered
Institute of Public Relations
‘Morris and Goldsworthy deliver what they set out to do … The touch is
light but the insights are sharp and the issues matter to all of us.’
— Philip Young, Senior Lecturer and Course
Leader, Birmingham City University
Public Relations Ethics
The Real-World Guide
Trevor Morris and
Simon Goldsworthy
First published 2021
by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2021 Trevor Morris and Simon Goldsworthy
The right of Trevor Morris and Simon Goldsworthy to
be identified as authors of this work has been asserted
by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be
trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Morris, Trevor, author. | Goldsworthy, Simon, author.
Title: Public relations ethics: the real-world guide /
Trevor Morris and Simon Goldsworthy.
Description: New York, NY: Routledge, 2021. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020036212 (print) | LCCN 2020036213
(ebook) | ISBN 9780367620172 (hardback) | ISBN
9780367612276 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003107491 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Public relations—Moral and ethical
aspects. | Public relations personnel—Professional ethics.
Classification: LCC HD59 .M6449 2021 (print) |
LCC HD59 (ebook) | DDC 174/.4—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020036212
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020036213
ISBN: 978-0-367-62017-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-61227-6 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-10749-1 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by codeMantra
Visit the eResources: www.routledge.com/9780367612276
Contents
About the Authors vii
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xiii
1 Introduction 1
2 Why PR Ethics Matter 15
3 Theory and Practice 35
4 PR’s Own Codes of Ethics 52
5 Who Wouldn’t, or Shouldn’t, You Work For? 87
6 The Ethical Issues in Dealing with the Media 109
7 Lobbying and Ethical Outrage 135
8 PR Specialisms and Their Ethical Dilemmas 157
9 PR Business and Management Ethics 181
10 The Ethical Future 205
11 Conclusion and Our Ethical Checklist 222
Appendix: Suggestions for Further Reading and
Sources of Information, Stimulation and Entertainment 229
Index 235
About the Authors
Simon Goldsworthy taught Public Relations for 20 years, first at the Uni-
versity of Westminster, and then at Richmond, the American Interna-
tional University in London, where he was Professor of Public Relations
and Advertising. At both universities he curated postgraduate and un-
dergraduate programmes in PR. He has also taught at other institutions,
including Johns Hopkins University, Tsinghua in Beijing and Université
Paris-Sorbonne, and has acted as a consultant or external examiner at
several more, in the UK and other countries.
He is a Fellow of the Public Relations and Communications Associa-
tion and is a member of its Ethics Council, has acted as a judge for their
awards and as an examiner on their professional programmes.
Prior to his academic career, Simon was a member of the UK Govern-
ment Information Service, serving in a range of government departments
as a press officer.
Trevor Morris, in over 30 years in the PR industry, has successfully built
and sold a major PR consultancy with margins of over 30 per cent, been
the CEO of what was then the UK’s largest PR group, worked for nu-
merous major companies and organisations and written and lectured
extensively.
He taught Public Relations for 14 years, first at the University of West-
minster, and then at Richmond, the American International University
in London, where he was Professor of Public Relations.
A Fellow of the Public Relations and Communications Association,
Trevor holds the ‘Mark Mellor Award for Outstanding Contribution to
the PR Industry’, and was one of the three experts who reviewed the com-
munication capability at No 10 Downing Street and the Cabinet Office,
as well as having been Agony Uncle for the industry bible PRWeek. To-
day, Trevor works as a non-executive director, consultant and PR trainer.
He is also an advisor to SIGWATCH, cited on pp. 209–212.
viii About the Authors
Co-authored Books
Trevor Morris and Simon Goldsworthy have collaborated on four other
books, all published by Palgrave Macmillan: PR for Asia; PR for the New
Europe; PR – A Persuasive Industry?: Spin, Public Relations and the Shap-
ing of the Modern Media; and PR Today: The Authoritative Guide to Pub-
lic Relations, the second edition of which was published in 2016.
Preface
At the time of writing, the world is reeling from the impact of the corona-
virus COVID-19 pandemic. Whatever one thinks about how this emer-
gency has been handled in different countries, one thing is certain. Public
relations, usually under different aliases such as ‘communications’, has
played a crucial role everywhere. There is no way in which medical pro-
fessionals or health officials around the world could speak to every citi-
zen individually, let alone update them as the situation changed. Instead
the media, in every shape and form, were used by international bodies
such as the World Health Organisation (WHO), by national governments
and by medical authorities to pass on advice and instructions, on dis-
ease avoidance, symptoms, and what to do in the event of apparent in-
fection, to the global population. This was closely followed by advice on
the economic and other implications of this unprecedented crisis. Aside
from governments, companies and charities needed to communicate vi-
tal information to their stakeholders – investors, clients and customers,
worried employees, volunteers, those relying on the work of charitable
organisations: the list was endless.
PR people may not have been the ultimate source of all this informa-
tion and advice but they sought to ensure that it was crafted as effectively
as possible and passed on to the relevant media. Those recalling the early
months of the outbreak will remember the countless press conferences,
media briefings and interviews around the world. These represented
public relations in action, set up and arranged by PR people. PR could
not solve the problem, but it was vital in attempting to ensure that vast
amounts of information reached all concerned in a timely way. It was
also used to counter ‘Fake News’ and many misleading rumours and the-
ories. No-one else had the time, resources and expertise to perform this
task.
The story of the pandemic illustrates the crucial, positive role that PR
practitioners can play in our lives – but it does not in itself prove that
public relations is necessarily a force for good, as the same skills can be
used by all kinds of people for all kinds of purposes. It is true that the PR
