If media relations is a part of public relations that is not likely to change any time soon, it seems that it might be in our best interests and those of our publics if we take action to improve the ethics of our media relationships.
Honesty and accuracy
Judiciousness
Responsiveness
Respect
Clearly, above all, it is the best interest of the community and our relationship with the media to adopt a policy of honesty and accuracy in all our dealings with the media. This does not necessarily mean full disclosure, but it does mean that when a decision is made to withhold information, this does not result in anyone being misled. Information that is misleading is just as dishonest as information that is an outright lie.
Being judicious about when and how you use the media means that a PR professional avoids clogging the channels of public communication with non-news and even pseudo-news. This has harmful effects on the public as well as on the element of trust in the relationship between PR and the media.
Responsiveness to the media is one of the most important lubricants of the trust in the relationship. Taking media calls and returning media calls may seem like just a good, strategic approach to building the relationship, but it has enormous impact on that all-important trust.
Finally, acting in a professional and respectful manner at all times, even in the face of rudeness or worse , is a fundamental aspects of an ethical relationship ”whether with the media or with anyone else. Treating others respectfully is the first step to highly moral interactions. Perhaps now would be a good time to review Chapter 11 where we more fully discussed the fundamental ethical concept of respect.
The bottom line is that a lack of trust in the relationship between the public relations profession and the media is fundamentally an ethical conundrum . Actions that contribute to the mistrust are always ethically questionable. Ethics, then, seems to have a seriously important strategic aspect.