Legal and Ethical Considerations for Public Relations

Since the law reflects a society’s values, norms, and beliefs, public relations professionals need an understanding of both law and ethics. Without it, practitioners cannot effectively do their jobs. Legal and Ethical Considerations for Public Relations melds ethics and the law with other integral aspects of the field to address inaccuracies, liability, and moral questions of right and wrong. The second edition continues to address the classical approaches to ethics, business ethics, theories of public relations ethics, ethics codes, and personal ethics. To help professionals shield their organizations from liability or harm, First Amendment theory and its relevance for public relations speech, corporate and commercial speech, and specific areas of the law, such as government regulations, torts, and intellectual property, are discussed. Gower includes influential cases to illustrate specific legal concepts and the reasoning behind each one. She prepares readers with practical knowledge and insights that will benefit them throughout every phase of their career.