THE ADVOCATE ARISES

In spite of all the potential ethical implications that readers of Dingwall's column might have considered , it all boils down to a consideration of the most ubiquitous role of the public relations field: as we discussed in Chapter 12, public relations practitioners are advocates for the client, organization or cause they represent. And much of that which relates to the morality of PR action emanates from this advocacy role.

As we have already established, advocacy, by definition, means promoting, supporting and defending a client, a cause, an employer. That does not mean that in the role of counsellor a public relations professional might not recommend a change in direction for that client, but fundamentally, a practitioner who continues an association with a particular client or cause implies, by association, that he or she supports what that client represents. The public has a right to this conclusion.

If, for example, you work for a pro-life group , then you are their advocate. If public support for the pro-life movement seems to be waning, a change in direction might gain favour in the arena of public opinion. But logically, you are not likely to recommend a move towards a pro-choice stance since the raison d' tre of the organization is a particular point of view. So, if you believe in what the organization does, no matter how unethical others may see their particular stance (whether it's clear-cutting, tobacco marketing, abortion rights, cloning or even something that is illegal such as organized crime), you could make a case for the morality of your behaviour ”indeed, Ku Klux Klan members believe that they are right, too. On the other hand, to the anti-smoking lobby, someone who is the public relations representative for a tobacco company is acting in a completely unethical manner. So, your professional ethics are wildly tangled up in your personal ethics. It's all a matter of choice. There's another way of looking at this issue, however.