I get the feeling my impression of the chapters was fairly standard, as explained in chapter 4 "when public relations students study the law, many seem to be overwhelmed". I must admit I did feel slightly intimidated by the vast mass of rules and regulations and their severity, especially as the chapter outlined the fact that ignorance for such rules is no excuse for breaking them. Even though it was a given that a PR practitioner should be well read on the rules and regulations, chapter 4 illustrated for me "the complexity and diversity of the public relations legal environment, highlighting the necessity for good legal advice".
It showed the obligations and confinements that bind parties as a result of contracts, property laws (intellectual), in addition to defamation laws and the power PR practitioners have over people's reputations. That power can be harnessed in ways that can allow PR practitioners to utilise a "systematic approach to dealing with the law".
Chapter 5 was informative on outlining the roles people or entities can play in sustaining, monitoring and enforcing ethics within the industry. The PRIA is exemplary of the frameworks that can be put into practice, with a 15 point code of ethics that operates at three levels, being:
- regulating the conduct of public relations professionals in terms of relationships with their client;
- regulating practitioners' relationships with other members and the profession itself; and finally,
- imposing obligations on PRIA members vis-a-vis the public (Breit, 2000: p 70)
Something I found especially interesting in chapter 5 was the way it explored the notion of ethics as a "public relations strategy", which I hadn't really given much thought before. I felt the two chapters conveyed a clear picture of just how important it is to be informed of the PR industry's conditions and laws.
2 comments:
Hi John,
being a law student i found your comments interesting this week. Like yourself i too find the law to be quite intimidating with it numerous regulations and provisions. After studying 2 years of law and PR I feel pracitioners must be very well informed and educated in this area of the industry environment to ensure crisis' are avoided.
Your blogs opened up my views on the issue and made me think about the law from the view of practioners for a change.
keep up the good work. taegan
Hi John,
being a law student i found your comments interesting this week. Like yourself i too find the law to be quite intimidating with it numerous regulations and provisions. After studying 2 years of law and PR I feel pracitioners must be very well informed and educated in this area of the industry environment to ensure crisis' are avoided.
Your blogs opened up my views on the issue and made me think about the law from the view of practioners for a change.
keep up the good work. taegan
Post a Comment