Social media engagement requires organizations to actively participate with public groups, and this highly-interactive exchange raises a new set of ethical concerns for communicators. In this rapidly changing communications environment, the long-term implications of social media are uncertain, and this book provides the much needed research to understand its impact on audiences and organizations. Through an examination of a broad range of ethics concepts including transparency and online identities, policies, corporate responsibility, and measurement, this book explores a variety of topics important to public relations.

Given the high rate of social media use by the public, organizations are compelled to engage with key audiences through these outlets. Social media engagement requires organizations to actively participate with public groups, and this highly-interactive exchange raises a new set of ethical concerns for communicators. In this rapidly changing communications environment, the long-term implications of social media are uncertain, and this book provides the much needed research to understand its impact on audiences and organizations. Through an examination of a broad range of ethics concepts including transparency and online identities, policies, corporate responsibility, and measurement, this book explores a variety of topics important to public relations such as diversity, non-profit communication, health communication, financial communication, public affairs, entertainment communication, environmental communication, crisis communication, and non-profit communication. The chapter authors, expert scholars within their fields of public relations, offer insights drawn from original research and case study examples of ethical dilemmas raised by social media communication.

Social media is having a profound, but not yet fully understood impact on public relations. In the 24/7 world of perpetually connected publics, will public relations function as a dark art that spins (or tweets) self-interested variations of the truth for credulous audiences? Or does the full glare of the internet and the increasing expectations of powerful publics motivate it to more honestly engage to serve the public interest? The purpose of this book is to examine the role of PR by exploring the myriad ways that social media is reshaping its conceptualization, strategies, and tactics. In particular, it explores the dichotomies of fake and authentic, powerless and powerful, meaningless and meaningful. It exposes transgressions committed by practitioners—the paucity of digital literacy, the lack of understanding of the norms of social media, naivety about corporate identity risks, and the overarching emphasis on spin over authentic engagement. But it also shows the power that closely networked social media users have to insert information and opinion into discussions and force "false PR friends" to be less so. This timely, challenging, and fascinating book will be of interest to all students, researchers, and practitioners in Public Relations, Media, and Communication Studies. Winner of the 2016 NCA PRIDE Award for best book

Ethical practice in any professional discipline is guided by age-old philosophical perspectives, but its modern parameters are continually evolving. Ongoing developments in technology, social media and social contexts mean that public relations and its practices in particular are constantly changing, and so are the ethical questions faced by practitioners in the field. Ethical questions and dilemmas are inherent to public relations, and ensuring that practitioners operate ethically is fundamental to both the professionalism and credibility of the field. Engaging and accessible, Ethics in Public Relations offers a lively exploration of the key ethical concerns present in the public relations world today by way of practical tips and guidance to support those in PR and corporate communications. It covers topics including the roles which lies, truth and honesty play; utilitarianism; practising respect and morality; authorship; conflicts of interest; PR and the corporate ethics programme; moonlighting; the impact of whistleblowing and more. Written by a leading academic in the field, this fully updated third edition of Ethics in Public Relations includes an entirely new chapter on the uses of ethics in social media, covering topical issues such as blogger engagement and the relationship between employee social media activity and organizational reputation.

Public relations frequently reflects the conscience of an organization. Public relations professionals must ask the right questions when advising organizations on the best ways to protect themselves from damage or liability. A better understanding of ethics helps formulate those questions and educate management on the ethical consequences of corporate action. Karla Gower has updated Legal and Ethical Considerations for Public Relations to reflect recent case law and the prevalence of social media in our lives and in public relations practice. She considers ethical standards, the development of First Amendment law, corporate and commercial speech, lobbying, protecting creative property, and other specific areas of the law. In addition, Gower highlights important cases and breaks down how their decisions have impacted current law. Readers will learn to collaboratively resolve corporate crises not just in the classroom, but throughout their professional careers.

This new edition continues to give students a foundation in the principles of digital audience engagement and data metrics across platforms, preparing them to adapt to the quickly evolving world of digital media. It takes students through the processes of social listening, strategic design, creative engagement, and evaluation, with expert insights from social media professionals. Thoroughly updated, this second edition includes: • new strategies to guide students in the initial campaign planning phase • added content on influencers, social care teams, and newsjacking • coverage of research evaluation, the implications of findings, and articulating the ROI • expanded discussion of ethical considerations in campaign design and data collection and analysis. The book is suited to both undergraduate and post-graduate students as a primary text for courses in social/digital media marketing and public relations or a secondary text in broader public relations and marketing campaign planning and writing courses. Accompanying online resources include chapter reviews with suggestions for further resources; instructor guides; in-class exercises; a sample syllabus, assignments, and exams; and lecture slides. Visit www.routledge.com/9780367896201

This book is a pragmatic, case-rich guide to how current and future public relations practitioners can apply ethical principles and the industry’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 practitioners, 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. Accompanying the text are online resources for both students and instructors, including lecture slides and links to further resources.

Social Media and Crisis Communication provides a unique and timely contribution to the field of crisis communication by addressing how social media are influencing the practice of crisis communication. The book, with a collection of chapters contributed by leading communication researchers, covers the current and emerging interplay of social media and crisis communication, recent theories and frameworks, overviews of dominant research streams, applications in specific crisis areas, and future directions. Both the theoretical and the practical are discussed, providing a volume that appeals to both academic-minded readers as well as professionals at the managerial, decision-making level. The audience includes public relations and corporate communication scholars, graduate students studying social media and crisis communication, researchers, crisis managers working in communication departments, and business leaders who make strategic business communication planning. No other volume has provided the overarching synthesis of information regarding the field of crisis communication and social media that this book contains. Incorporated in this volume is the recent Social-mediated Crisis Communication Model developed by the editors and their co-authors, which serves as a framework for crisis and issues management in a rapidly evolving media landscape.

This updated third edition presents a wide-scale, interdisciplinary guide to social media. Examining platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube, the book analyzes social media's use in journalism, broadcasting, public relations, advertising and marketing. Lipschultz focuses on key concepts, best practices, data analyses, law and ethics – all promoting the critical thinking that is needed to use new, evolving and maturing networking tools effectively within social and mobile media spaces. Featuring historical markers and contemporary case studies, essays from some of the industry’s leading social media innovators and a comprehensive glossary, this practical, multipurpose textbook gives readers the resources they will need to both evaluate and utilize current and future forms of social media communication. Among other changes, updates to the third edition include a deep dive into new approaches to analytics, as well as greater discussion of law and ethics in light of the Facebook Cambridge Analytica scandal, the roll-out of GDPR and new case law relating to social media. Social Media Communication is the perfect social media primer for students and professionals, and, with a dedicated teaching guide, ideal for instructors, too.

Updated to reflect the latest innovations, this second edition of Social Media helps readers understand the foundations of and principles behind social media; manage and participate within online communities; and succeed in the changing field of modern public relations.