Public Relations Ethics and Professionalism The Shadow of Excellence

Do professions really place duty to society above clients' or their own interests? If not, how can they be trusted? While some public relations (PR) scholars claim that PR serves society and enhances the democratic process, others suggest that it is little more than propaganda, serving the interests of global corporations. This is not an argument about definitions, but about ethics - yet this topic is barely explored in texts and theories that seek to explain PR and its function in society. This book places PR ethics in the wider context of professional ethics and the sociology of professions. By bringing together literature from fields beyond public relations - sociology, professional and philosophical ethics, and Jungian psychology - it integrates a new body of ideas into the debate. The unprecedented introduction of Jungian psychology to public relations scholarship shifts the debate beyond a traditional Western 'Good/Bad' ethical dichotomy towards a new holistic approach, with dynamic implications for theory and practice. This thought-provoking book will be essential reading for students, academics and professionals with an interest in public relations, ethics and professionalism.

1. Messy Ethics: Introduction 2. What’s Wrong with PR Ethics? 3. Trust Me, I’m a Professional 4. To Serve Society 5. Does Public Relations have Professional Ethics? 6. Into the Psyche 7. Depth Ethics 8. Re-Imagining Professional Ethics 9. The Shadow of Excellence 10. What Next? Reflections and Directions

Johanna Fawkes is Senior Lecturer in Public Relations at Charles Sturt University, NSW Australia and Course Director for the Doctor of Communication. She has led PR degrees in the UK since 1990, advised the CIPR, and published in international journals and leading text books.