Ethical Voices Podcast: Real Ethics Stories from Real PR Pros: Recent Episodes
Mark McClennan, APR, Fellow PRSA
Ethical Voices is a weekly podcast featuring real stories, from real PR professionals about real ethical issues they have faced. Hosted by Mark McClennan, APR, Fellow PRSA, each week highlights a new PR professional and one key ethical decision or challenge they faced in their career.
This week on EthicalVoices, Loren King, digital marketing supervisor for AI and insights at MorganMyers, discussed ethical issues including:
· How coffee talks and can build a healthy AI adoption culture
· Why organizations need an AI philosophy, not just policies
· Why communicators must balance AI innovation with humanity, empathy, privacy, and environmental impact
This week on Ethical Voices, Linda Staley, APR, Fellow PRSA, corporate communications manager at Carilion Clinic discusses:
1) Why trust is the real currency in healthcare communications
2) How transparency in a crisis can protect your reputation more than perfection
3) How the ethical risks of AI and misinformation will shape our future calling
This week on EthicalVoices, Damaryan Benton, the founder of The PR Habitat, Co-Chair of the Queer Frontier Collective, and an account executive for Anomaly, discusses:
1) Why you shouldn't confuse access with alignment 2) How early-career professionals can effectively challenge tone-deaf campaigns 3) Why authentic storytelling—not social metrics—must guide the use of AI in communications 4) Where young communicators can find a group built for them
This week on Ethical Voices Bill Keeler, senior director of PR and communications with Semperis a leader in AI powered identity security, and cyber resilience, discusses:
- Why "vaporware" claims are the fastest way to lose credibility in cyber PR
- The ethics issues involved in ransomware attacks
- The issues CISOs face – and how it is coming to the big screen
- The power of transparency
Joining me on this week's episode of Ethical Voices is Mike Farber, the co-founder of GreenStory. He discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
1) Why the most important ethics decision happens before you hire a person or client
2) Why "It's legal" is one of the most dangerous phrases in communications
3) Why comms leaders must reclaim the truth
This week on Ethical Voices, Kristin Amico, a writer, editor, content strategist, and the most traveled person I know discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
· Why most ethics failures don't start with scandals
· What the "Wild West" of AI really looks like inside organizations under pressure to perform
· How fear, job insecurity, and "do more with less" environments quietly undermine ethical decision-making
· Why mentorship is the most effective ethics safeguard for junior staff
This week on EthicalVoices, Amie Hoffner, Vice President of Corporate Communications at American Dairy Queen Corporation, shares why communicators need the same protections as attorney–client privilege — and how to stay ethical when the lines between PR, marketing, and media blur. She discusses:
· Why communicators should have the same legal protections as lawyers
· How to avoid "on background" disasters
· Why trusting your gut isn't enough
· How to counsel executives in media interviews
· Why crisis simulations should include an ethical dilemma
Dick Martin, the retired Chief Communication Officer for AT&T and Chairman of the Board of the PR Museum, discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
1) How a single racist cartoon exposed deeper organizational issues and sparked meaningful change
2) Why telling the truth in PR isn’t always easy
3) Why strong ethics requires more than good intentions
4) Why you should be careful about getting too clever
This week on Ethical Voices, Tammy Gordon, the (past) public information department manager for the Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District. [Editors note: I sat on this interview for way too long and she is now Director of Public Affairs at the Citrus Heights Water District], discusses a number of important ethical issues, including:
· How to navigate ethical conflict when your job challenges your personal values
· How to intervene when colleagues prioritize quick fixes over responsible practices
· How to address unethical behavior without triggering defensiveness
· Why silence in the face of misinformation is an ethical failure
This week on Ethical Voices, Carolyn Smith Casertano, MA, APR, Fellow PRSA, professor of practice in the Department of Communication at the University of Arizona, discusses a number of important ethics issues including;
1) How to effectively address management decisions that conflict with your values
2) What to do when a client tries to hire your staff
Fabiana Meléndez Ruiz, a strategic storyteller serving as the founder and CEO of Refuerzo Collaborative, discusses a number of important ethics issues including:
1) How to counsel effectively when your client has a culturally insensitive idea 2) How can you help organizations go beyond their biases 3) Unexpected ways PR pros fail ethically with the media 4) The most overlooked part of a PR person’s job
Bill Swanger, APR, Fellow PRSA, the founder of William Swanger Communications, shares a number of important ethical issues, including:
1) Why it is important to ethically address financial mistakes and clarify misunderstandings
2) Ethically navigating paid and unpaid content
Tatevik Simonyan, the co-founder and director of communications and international relations at SPRING PR company in Armenia, discusses:
1) How to best counsel your client when they want to respond unethically to an unethical competitor
2) How to react calmly and ethically in highly emotional crises
3) Should PR create a global code of ethics for influencer marketing
4) What companies should know about PR in Armenia
Erin Kennedy, the ethics committee chair for the PRSA Central California Chapter, discusses:
1) What to do when your boss wants to disclose information before you should
2) How to better understand how those spreading misinformation think
Captain Barbara Bell, U.S. Navy (ret). Captain Bell was one of Annapolis's first female graduates and has a distinguished career as an aviator and naval flight test officer. Today, she teaches at the US Naval Academy and may discuss ethics even more than I do.
In this interview she discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
1) The importance of the really small things
2) The ethics framework being taught to future Navy officers – and how everyone can apply it
3) How to understand and avoid biases
4) Never forget you are a role model
This week on Ethical Voices, Missy Hurley, the co-founder and CEO of B2 Communications, discusses a number of important ethics issues:
· What to do when advocacy groups change your words to spread misinformation
· How to deal with biased reporters
· When ethically to disclose you used AI
Joseph Abreu, the Chief Communications Officer for the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller of Lee County, Florida, and 2024 National Chair of PRSA., discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
1) The ethical importance of avoiding even the appearance of impropriety.
2) How to get ahead of AI ethics challenges
Ann Marie Varga, the internal communication manager for AdventHealth discusses a number of important ethics issues including:
1) One key PR ethics lesson from the Pulse nightclub shooting
2) How to protect your (and your team’s) mental health in crisis situations
3) Ethical issues in internal communications
Christie Goodman, the director of communication for the Intercultural Development Research Association, discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
1) How to avoid using people as props and authentically engage
2) Ethics challenges with assumptions
3) How to effectively engage and learn from diverse audiences
4) How to effectively advance social justice issues
Joining me on this week's episode is Roy Reid, a senior fellow with the Stockworth Institute, and he is recognized as one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business. He discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
1) What to do when your client asks you to besmirch the competition 2) How to effectively and ethically build trust 3) What to do when employees, clients and partners break your trust
In November 2023, PRSA issued new ethics guidelines titled “The Promise and Pitfalls, the Ethical Use of AI for Public Relations Practitioners”.
Michelle Egan, the 2023 National Chair of PRSA and Mark Dvorak, the 2023 Chair of PRSA's Board of Ethics and Professional Standards discuss the AI guidelines and more.
Ed Harrison, the managing director of Inkhouse in Boston discusses several ethics issues including:
1) Ethical failures with data
2) Why we need to tell the hard truths
3) The important difference between being nice and being kind
4) An interactive discussion on AI tools and training
This week on Ethical Voices, Marcia DiStaso, Associate Dean for Research in the College of Journalism and Communications and Professor of Public Relations at the University of Florida. discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
- How do we ethically ask questions in research?
- What to absolutely never, ever do when conducting research for a PR campaign
- Ethical challenges with AI in PR
Dave Honchul, APR Fellow, PRSA is a public affairs specialist at the US Department of the Treasury and a docent at the National Museum of the US Air Force. He discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
1) What to do when you think you received an unlawful order
2) One key thing many PR pros are forgetting to do
3) How far do you need to dig before deciding something is true
Kelsey Bohl, the Senior Manager of Corporate Communications Press Office at Walmart, discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
1) Why corporations need to be careful they aren’t the oones spreading misinformation
2) Ethics of data analysis
3) Why PR pros need to change their definition of media
Cheryll Forsatz, the Vice President of Corporate Communications and Public Relations for Ferrero USA discusses:
1) The ethical implications of blurred lines
2) Influencer ethics and disclosure
3) Ethics and AI
This week, Ant Cousins, the Executive Director of AI Strategy at Cision, discusses a number of important issues, including:
- Cision’s AI ethics policy
- The ethics implications of the use of AI in public relations
- How much human agency do we require in public relations?
- The most concerning AI ethics issues
- Where should PR pros start when they want to learn more about AI?
Joining me on this week's episode is Jennifer Gonzalez, the senior vice president of multicultural strategy at C+C. Jen and I are colleagues, and we had a great ethics discussion recently, so I invited her to be a guest. Jennifer discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
- What to do when you know your prospect's multicultural program does not align with the community’s needs
- Ethical issues in partnering with community-based organizations
- Why sometimes being equitable requires you to say no
This week on Ethical Voices, KayAnn Schoeneman, President of Curley Company discusses:
- How to determine if a client is right for you
- Ethical issues in opposition research
- AI ethics challenges
Bradley Akubuiro, a partner at Bully Pulpit Interactive, discusses a number of important ethics issues including:
1) How to deal with an ethical quandary: Career advancement or decency?
2) How to effectively serve as the conscience of an organization
3) How to deal with issues in a hyper-politicized environment
This week on EthicalVoices, Zainab Chaudary, Senior Vice President at New Heights Communications discusses several key ethics issues, including:
1) Lost opportunities: lessons learned from the Muslim Ban Supreme Court case
2) Navigating the tension: ethically balancing client desires and media success
3) Why you need to go beyond mission, vision and values
4) How to break down the silos in advocacy
Erica Salmon Byrne, CEO of Ethisphere discusses:
1) How does a company become one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies?
2) What are the top ethics issues facing companies?
3) How can businesses create a more ethical environment?
4) What questions should businesses ask about ethics and AI?
5) Proof that being ethical is good business
Roger Bolton, the president of Page, discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
1) What to do when a reporter is writing a story that you know will quickly become inaccurate 2) Why we need to confront the uncomfortable truths 3) The ethical use of technology and AI 4) Understanding the Page Principles
Pete Scott, the president and CEO of American Pet Products Association. He discusses a number of important issues, including:
1) How can we best balance safeguarding confidences and disclosure of information?
2) How fast should we move on AI?
Niel Golightly, a partner at FGS Global, discusses several important ethics issues, including:
1) An important lesson he learned flying an F-14 over the Indian Ocean
2) What is the hardest ethical decision?
3) The power of humility
4) How do we redefine a corporation’s role in society?
5) What societal issues does every company have an ethical duty to support?
Joining me on this week's EthicalVoices episode is Candace Hamana, the owner of Badger PR and the founder of The Indigenous Peoples Public Relations Association. She discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
- What to do when your employer doesn’t let you act in true faith
- How to make land acknowledgments more than a performative action
- The importance of cultural contexts
Scott Brooks, a public relations specialist for the TVA, shares several ethics insights, including:
1) Your client is accused of price gauging, now what?
2) How to keep truth at the forefront
3) How to ethically deal with advocacy
Linda Welter, the CEO of Caliber Group, a brand marketing, public relations, and digital firm discusses a number of important ethics topics, including:
1) Where do you draw the competitive line?
2) What is our first responsibility in ethical situations?
3) Ethics issues with influencers
Rebecca Wilson, the Executive Vice President International for WE Communications International provides a great overview of the 2022 Brands in Motion Study and what it means for ethical communicators, including:
1) Addressing the diversity quota dilemma and tokenization
2) How many companies are delivering on their value-led commitments
3) How do brands balance their commitments to practical short-term issues versus long-term issues?
4) Key findings from the 2022 Brands In Motion Study
5) The two things every ethical communicator must embrace
Brian Peterson, the principal of Greater Life Communications, discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
1) How respect can effectively address unethical situations
2) The ethical threat of incivility
3) How public relations professionals are failing and what we can do
4) The need for a culture of kindness
We're doing something a little bit different this week. I spoke with Technology Journalist Scott Tharler about:
1) The ethics of press trips
2) The ethics of reviews and selling products you review
3) The ethics of affiliate links
Sandy Young, the vice president of J. Walcher Communications, discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
1) What to do ethically when a reporter wants to showcase a vulnerable person
2) How to handle PR with asylum seekers
3) How to help people understand “No” is an option
4) The ethics of how we are covering Kanye West
5) Why we need to update disclosure rules
Ethan McCarty, the founder and CEO of Integral, an award-winning employee activation agency, shares some great ethics insights including:
1) The ongoing ethical challenge of creating shared beliefs
2) Ethical issues with creating your own echo chamber
3) Ethical perils in personalizing employee communications
4) The ethics of quiet quitting
Renea Morris, APR, Fellow PRSA, the Vice Chancellor for Marketing and Communications at the University of Denver, discusses a number of important PR ethics issues including:
1) What to do when you are uneasy with your company’s growth strategy?
2) Why organizations should worry less about filtering people’s comments on social channels and trust the people doing the work?
3) Where can Higher Ed improve?
Kena Lewis APR, Fellow PRSA, the Senior Director of Public Affairs and Media Relations at Orlando Health. discusses several important ethics issues, including:
1) What to do ethically when your boss is the problem
2) The ethical challenges of online identity
3) The most important ethics priority for healthcare communicators
4) How do you balance safeguarding confidences with transparency and honesty?
For Ethics Month, I wanted to look at new topics and geographies. Joining me this week is Alex Dance, the Managing Director of ERA Communications in Cambodia.
He discusses several important ethics issues, including:
1) What should you do when clients are even tangentially affiliated with a coup?
2) The state of misinformation in Cambodia
3) The impact of influencers on Cambodians
4) Ethical challenges with clickbait
Jamie Floer, APR, CPRC, Fellow PRSA, the Communications Manager for the Toho Water Authority, discusses a number of ethics issues, including:
1) How to successfully advocate for transparency
2) How to protect your company’s reputation when other similar brands are having ethics failures
3) Why we need to keep ethics front and center
Joining me in this week's episode is Greg Bailey, APR, Fellow PRSA, the founder of Finley + Bailey Strategic Communication. He discusses a number of important public relations ethics issues including:
1) What to do when a client asks you to hide their identity as part of a coalition
2) Why we need top to turn the mirror on ourselves
3) The growing challenge of malformation
4) How to make sure your employees understand how you value ethics
Elizabeth Edwards, the founder of Volume PR and the Engagement Science Lab, discusses a number of important issues, including:
1) The ethical challenges of weaponized communication
2) Avoiding thought-terminating cliches
3) What is the one tool or word, PR pros should retire
4) Why we need to think of meaning, not just tactics
This week Paula Pedene is being inducted into the Defense Information School Hall of Fame. Every PR pro should listen to her interview from 2018 and then buy her book: A Sacred Duty
Ethical Voices Interview #1 - Paula Pedene, APR, Fellow PRSA
In this episode we speak with Paula Pedene, one of the key whistleblowers in the VA scandal about the ethical issues she faced and advice for public relations professionals
Paula is a service disabled veteran, a PR agency owner and was PRSA PR Professional of the year in 2015. She is a guidepost against which many PR pros should measure their ethical standards.
This interview highlights:
1) The ethical issues she faced at the VA
2) Her advice for whistleblowers and those serving as ethical guardians for their organizations
3) The best ethics advice she ever recevied
4) New ethics issues of concern
This week on Ethical Voices, Ken Kerrigan, a Vice President at Infinite Global, discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
1) Too many beers – Ethics and client conflicts
2) Can corporations really be ethical media enterprises?
3) The death of truth and the need for regulation
This week on EthicalVoices, Filomena Fanelli, CEO of Impact PR & Communications discusses a number of important ethical issues, including:
1) Why we need to trust but verify
2) How to make your employees understand and live your values
3) Ethics and predatory lending
Cathy Morley Foster, the principal at Morley Foster Consulting, discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
1) How to effectively counsel those that want to make unethical decisions
2) The importance of expertise and common sense
Natasha Koifman, President of NKPR, one of Canada's most powerful and innovative women in public relations discusses a number of important ethics issues including: 1) The ethical importance of knowing when to say “No”
2) How to empower your employees to make tough ethical decisions
3) The blurring of paid and owned media
Dr. Juan Meng, the Associate Professor of Public Relations at the University of Georgia, and Dr. Marlene Neill, APR, Fellow PRSA, an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director at Baylor University, share insights from a recent journal article they authored titled The Role of Ethical Leadership in Building Influence: Perspectives from Female Public Relations Professionals.
Ellen Crane, APR, Fellow PRSA. founder of Women Elevated, addresses a number of important ethics issues, including:
1) What to do when your ethical values diverge from your employer’s values?
2) How can old school strategies counter disinformation
Aaron Kwittken, the founder and chairman of KWT Global and the founder of PRophet, discusses: 1) An issue he still regrets not speaking up on 30 years ago
2) Ethical issues in merging the science and art of public relations
3) How augmented intelligence can help enhance our profession
4) How do we create belonging in a hybrid environment?
Dan Farkas, a lecturer of strategic communication at the Ohio State University, discusses a number of important ethics issues, including: 1) Why we need to think slow cooker rather than Instant Pot when it comes to PR measurement
2) How can you ethically blend empathy and accountability?
3) What is the most engaging PRSA ethics case study?
4) What ethics lessons can we learn from Ted Lasso?
Rick Batyko, the chief marketing officer for the YMCA of Greater Cleveland, discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
1) What to do when your competitor intentionally causes panic
2) How to effectively fight disinformation
3) What the PR industry needs to do next
Laura Tomasetti, the founder and CEO of 360PR+. Laura discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
1) Why you always have a choice
2) How to make sure everyone understands your mission and values
3) The need for the industry to hold itself accountable
Lisa Gerber, the CEO of Big Leap Creative and host of Breaking Trail podcast. She discusses a number of important issues, including:
1) What do you do when you fire a client who has prepaid you?
2) Building trust through stories
3) Why telling the right story is even more important than telling a story well
Rebekah Iliff, a writer, humorist, and the founder of WriteVest, a writers' collective focused on developing thoughtful, creative invoice, and voice-driven content for brands discusses:
1) A shotgun isn’t the answer. What to do when your competitor copies your language and claims
2) Why businesses need to stick to their purpose and avoid wokewashing
3) Fighting vanity metrics
This week, Amy Coward, APR, the President of AC Public Relations, discusses a number of ethics issues, including:
1) How to respond ethically when someone with an agenda attacks you
2) Effective ways to approach your boss to tell them they are acting unethically
3) Why you need to remember – what you allow, you condone
Andrew Healy, co-founder of Water & Wall, an award-winning marketing and communications agency, discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
1) What to do when the story you are told just doesn’t add up
2) How to deal with content exhaustion
3) Misperceptions around financial services and ethics
Linda Recupero, the Senior Vice President and Global Head of Enterprise Communication for Assurant discusses:
1) What to do when a colleague lies
2) The evolution of ethics globally
3) The five most dangerous words in the world
Michelle Olson, the 2021 national chair of PRSA and the managing director and head of the Phoenix office for Lambert discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
1) How to fight the constant little drips of ethical challenges we face every day
2) Transparency and the industrialization of disinformation
3) The importance of universal key messaging
Wendy Glavin, the founder of the Wendy Glavin Agency, discusses several important ethics issues, including:
1) Ethical issues of giving notice
2) What to do when you are asked to change something that is factually correct
3) Ethical failures in data use and privacy
4) Why we need to look back
Melissa Vela-Williamson, APR, an award-winning public relations expert, national columnist and host of the great Smart Talk Series podcast discusses:
1) What to do when you are pressured to inflate numbers?
2) What to do when you are faced with nearness and drinking bias
3) The ethics issues of multicultural appropriation
Laura Kempke, the Vice President of Communications for Acquia discusses several important ethics issues, including:
1) What to do when executives lie frequently?
2) Dealing with misinformation and the increasing need to take a stand
3) What can PR professionals learn from the open source community?
Gary McKillips, a freelance writer, broadcaster, and correspondent for AP Radio Sports and MLB on Sirius XM. discusses:
1) What to do when your boss wants you to fire a high-performing employee they do not like
2) What to do when your boss doesn’t value honesty as much as you do
3) Ethical issues with SpiderTech and sports public relations
Jeff Hahn, the owner and principal of Hahn Public, discusses ethics and his new book - Breaking Bad News: The Definitive Crisis Communication Guide for Brands.
He also discusses several important ethics issues, including:
1) Why truth is just a negotiated reality
2) How to successfully nudge people into their proper swim lanes
3) Demystifying crisis communication
Jessica Kelly, the Founder and CEO of THR3EFOLD, a leader in the ethical fashion space, discusses several key ethics issues, including:
1) Where should we start in improving fashion industry ethics?
2) Why all auditing bodies aren’t created equal
3) What everyone can do to improve ethics in the fashion industry
4) How can you maintain your moral compass when there is be pressure to succeed at all costs?
Kami Huyse, the CEO of Zoetica, a social media agency, who for me was first and best known as @kamichat discusses a number of important ethics issues including:
1) Why you need to respond and not react to unethical behavior
2) What one question should you ask friends facing difficult situations?
3) Why ethical PR people act like ombudsmen
4) What is the best thing PR pros can do in difficult situations?
Elizabeth Pesci, APR, Fellow PRSA, discusses a number of key ethics issues including:
1) How to handle a reporter friend asking you to disclose confidential information
2) Best practices in internal communication ethics
3) What ethics challenge spans the past, present and future?
Jim Hoggan, a bestselling author, president of Hoggan & Associates, and founder of DeSmog discusses a number of key topics including:
1) Don’t confuse doing the right thing with being seen doing the right thing
2) Why even if you are right, you can be in the wrong
3) The ethical dangers of tribalism
4) The heart vs. the mind
Robert Johnson, the host of the PR Nation Podcast, discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
1) When national security is on the line, how to you handle public relations ethically?
2) The state of truth today
3) Why PR Pros should take a different approach when a reporter asks you about confidential information
Janelle Guthrie, APR, Fellow PRSA, the communication director for the Building Industry Association of Washington, discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
- What to do when you realize you have given out false information and admitting it will hurt
- What to do when someone calls you a liar
- How to ethically work through difficult situations
- Why Voices4Everyone is the solution to our next ethics challenge
Sherry Feldberg, a seasoned healthcare communication professional who is now the principal of Leadership Journey, discusses:
1) What to do when your boss asks you to burn bridges?
2) How to speak up effectively when you are asked to compromise your personal ethics
3) The importance of building trusted relationships
4) The need to show vulnerability as a leader
Emmanuel Tchividjian, the principal of the Markus Gabriel Group, and one of the top thought leaders on ethics and communication in the world, discusses:
1) Where your duty lies when you are asked to reveal confidential information
2) The importance of civility and civil discourse
3) How the absence of truth leads to the absence of trust
4) The guiding light of hope
Karen Garnik, the president of Global Vision Marketing and Communications and the president of Asociación de Relacionistas Profesionales de Puerto Rico and a licensed public relations practitioner, discusses a number of important ethics issues including:
1) How apathy is threatening ethical behavior
2) Porque ser Relacionista es cosa seria – Why being a PR pro is a serious thing
3) Licensing and ethics in Puerto Rico
4) How Puerto Rico’s Licensing compares to the APR
Krista Terrell, APR, the acting president of the Arts and Science Council for Charlotte Mecklenburg County, discusses a number of important ethics topics, including:
1) The best approach to convince executives to report historic inequities
2) Why ethical organizations need to look back as well as forward
3) How organizations can think beyond their whiteness
4) Why we need to think like gardeners, not gunslingers
Joining me on this week's episode is Jen Cho, the founder of Pivot and Swerve. She discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
1) Where should businesses start first in diversity initiatives?
2) How to most effectively deal with microaggressions?
3) Ethical issues with Battle Rap – what to do when your ethics and the industry’s standards diverge?
4) How far back should we go with regards to cancel culture?
5) The rise of Asian American hate crimes
Donald Singletary, the president at Singletary Group Communications and an adjunct professor at a number of universities, including Syracuse University and Baruch College, discusses:
1) Ethics of expense reports in the Mad Men Era and today
2) How societal changes are impacting ethical practices
3) How rationalization leads to ethical failures
4) Are we really making progress against systemic racism?
Troy Brown, the President of one50one, discusses a number of key ethics issues, including:
1) How to respond when people try to marginalize you
2) The unethical myth of we can’t find quality diverse candidates
3) Ethical issues with influencer marketing
4) Ethics of Blockchain and Digital IP
Thomas Bennett III, discusses:
1) What to do when you are stuck in a toxic work culture
2) Why we need more honesty and transparency
Dr. Holly Overton, Associate Professor at the University of South Carolina and a senior research fellow with the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication discusses:
1) What to do when you are on a toxic team at work
2) The changing landscape of business advocacy and what it means to PR
3) The rise of corporate social advocacy
4) What we can learn from the Page Principles
Cedric F. Brown, APR, an independent consultant who uses digital strategy to produce equitable outcomes, discusses:
1) What to do when you see racist behavior at work
2) Why hiring diverse junior talent isn’t enough
3) Why we can’t just look forward
Perry Headrick, the founder of Crackle PR, discusses a number of important ethical issues including:
1)What should you do when you don’t believe in your client?
2) Why we need to fight sensationalism
3) The need for greater diversity in public relations
Eric Berman, an innovative results-focused communications director discusses a number of important issues, including:
1) What should you do when you are asked to promote vaporware?
2) How can you practice ethical measurement?
3) Why you should always look at both sides of the data
Adam Blacker, the Vice President of Insights and Alliances at Apptopia, discusses a number of important data ethics issues for public relations professionals, including:
1) When to ethically pass on a media opportunity
2) Why you need to think of the long game when it comes to data
3) How to decide if you have enough data for an accurate pitch
4) The ethics of data collection
Sabrina Ram, the founder and president of Blu Lotus PR discusses:
1) What to do when your boss asks you to do something uncomfortable
2) Why we need to stop putting profit over ethics
3) The need for accountability
4) Just because you are good at something doesn’t mean you have to do it
Craig Sender, the senior director of public and analyst relations at the Copyright Clearance Center and an adjunct professor at Boston University, discusses:
1) What do you do when your client pulls a bait and switch?
2) The three most powerful words when pushing back on inappropriate requests
3) Why we still need timeouts
Welcome to Ethical Voices in 2021. A New year, but the same great content. Since one of the most common New Year's resolutions is to lose weight and improve wellness, I could think of no better guest to kick off the year than Mark Mohammadpour, the founder of the Chasing the Sun Health Coaching for communicators and marketers. I've enjoyed reading his insights in the Public Relations Society of America's Strategies & Tactics, and that's what caused me to reach out to invite him to be a guest.
Mark discusses a number of important issues, including:
1) What do you do when your work does not align with your personal values?
2) How PR executives can convince brands to take a stand
3) What are agencies missing when it comes to recruiting and retaining talent?
4) Why you need a personal wellness crisis plan
This is the 100th episode of EthicalVoices and I am bringing you a very special guest. Mike Paul, the president of Reputation Doctor®, discusses:
1) What executives should do (and many fail to do) when someone reports sexual harassment to them
2) The ethical failures of most businesses to act on diversity, equity and inclusion
3) When personal relationships are more important than safeguarding confidences
Pam Campbell, APR, Fellow PRSA, the Director of Public Affairs at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Oklahoma City Branch discusses a number of important ethical issues, including:
1) Conflict of interest issues with non-profit boards
2) How non-profit board can help prevent ethical issues
3) How to effectively fight disinformation
Joining me on this week's episode is Ken Hunter, the President and Chief Strategist at The PowerStation and a part-time lecturer at Rutgers University. He discusses a number of important issues, including
1) What to do ethically when your company is accused of making people sick
2) How to make ethical issues seem less like personal attacks
3) What to do when your boss makes unethical promises
4) Dealing with media bias
Kelly Davis, the Public Relations Sequence Head at the University of South Carolina, discusses a number of important issues, including:
1) How to avoid landmines and understand the fine lines in public affairs and lobbying
2) How can nonprofits ethically get their message out when faced with well-funded opponents?
3) Ethical issues with data, media and society
4) How to make sure you are sharing accurate information
Joining me on this week's episode is Ron Culp, the director of the Public Relations and Advertising Masters Program at DePaul University.
Ron discusses a number of important topics, including:
1) What to do when asked to make absurd and misleading claims
2) Why PR professions need the industry to have their back
3) Where companies make mistakes in countering disinformation internally
4) How to make your company attractive to potential employees
Helio Fred Garcia, President of Logos Consulting Group discusses a number of important ethics issues including:
1) When and where do you draw the ethical line?
2) How structures and clear protocols make courage less necessary in ethical dilemmas
3) What can we learn from Bernays’ definition of public relations?
4) What are some positive ethics lessons from Goldman Sachs
5) Three key elements in determining the “right” thing to do
Neil Foote, the CEO of Foote Communications, and the President of the National Black Public Relations Society, discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
1) Why identifying an ethics problem is not enough
2) The power of truth, without embellishment, to drive ethical action
3) How to fight misinformation and disinformation
4) Why celebrating success is not enough to drive diversity
Keith Green, assistant professor at Montclair State and former vice president of B2B communications and partnerships at Guinness World Records, discusses:
1) DEFG: Four common reasons for ethical failures
2) The challenge of living in the world of now
3) Ethics issues he observed in sports public relations
Bestselling marketing and CX author, and inspirational speaker Jay Baer discusses the ethics lessons you can learn from beer, football and food.
Specifically:
1) How to ethically work for competing companies
2) The rampant issue of IP Theft
3) Restaurants’ ethical dilemma: COVID disclosure
Todd Van Hoosear, the Chief Engagement Officer for Business Breakthrough Network and a visiting instructor at Boston University, discusses a number of important ethics topics, including:
- What do ethical PR professionals do when they are faced with conflicting loyalties?
- The ethics challenges of a post-truth era
- The need for action to change the perception of PR
Mark Cautela, the Head of Communications for Harvard Business School, discusses a number of important ethics topics including:
1) Why you need to act quickly and decisively on even small ethics concerns
2) When company and team before self is not ethically appropriate
3) What to do when your boss asks you to fudge numbers on an award
Sam Villegas, APR, a Senior Consultant with Raftelis shares insight on:
1) What do you do when you are asked to stonewall on a public health issue?
2) When should you act as a whistle blower?
3) How do you effectively respond to disinformation and fear-based attacks?
Joining me on this week's episode to discuss setting ethical boundaries is Tracy Schario, APR of MITRE. She discusses:
1) How do you set ethical boundaries with your boss?
2) What work can a department ethically claim as its own?
3) Are the unexpected ethics benefits that will come out of businesses reaction to COVID?
4) How do you effectively set ethical boundaries with partners?
Kelli Bravo, the vice president of healthcare and life sciences for Pegasystems, discusses a number of important ethical issues, including:
1) The ethical considerations in admitting an error in your software
2) How do we ethically fix what is broken in the healthcare system
3) Top ethics challenges in healthcare communication, patient engagement and collaboration
4) How do you ethically balance transparency and confidentiality
Erin Callanan, the director of media relations for WGBH, discusses a number of ethics challenges including:
1) What to do when you are asked to make inflated claims
2) Balancing the desire to bring in revenue with the desire to only work with clients you believe in
3) How to combat misinformation
Dianne Danowski Smith, the president and founder of Publix Northwest, covers a broad spectrum of ethical issues, including:
1) Unexpected ethical lessons from Tonya Harding
2) What to do when ethics and legal opinion lead to different conclusions
3) What to do when employees don’t want to represent a specific client
4) How to handle the ethical challenge of reporters with agendas
Joining me on this week's episode is David Calusdian, the President of Sharon Merrill Associates David is my first guest who focuses on investor relations. He shares his insight on a number of key topics, including:
1) Should you work with someone when their values do not align with yours?
2) What are ethical issues companies face with ESG
3) Core ethical issues with investor relations
Lisa Gralnek, the Principal and Founder of LVG & Co., has some great insight to share, including:
1) The ethical trap of enabling toxic, abusive high-performers
2) How can companies best live their values?
3) Why you shouldn’t always fall on your sword
4) The perils of “me before we”
Dan Tisch, the CEO of Argyle, one of Canada's largest and best agencies, discusses:
1) What to do when you can’t convince others to do the ethically right thing
2)Why reputation matters more than image
3) One ethics question every agency owner needs to ask before taking on a new client
4) How communication professionals must prepare as the risk of deception increases daily
Tara McDonagh, the president of Tara McDonagh Communications caught my attention with a LinkedIn post in June, where she stated if it's not painful at times to stand by your core values, you're doing it wrong.
During our discussion, Tara highlighted:
1) How do you stay true to your values and not simply chase the money?
2) Why you need to focus on character, not reputation
3) Why you can’t rely on others' moral compasses
This week on EthicalVoices, JP Canton, the head of communications and public relations in North America for Polestar discusses ethical issues including:
1) What to do when your boss asks you to make the company seem more diverse than it is
2) Common failings with corporate responses to Black Lives Matter
3) The unethical actions more companies are asking agencies to do and why it is wrong
Kelley Chunn, the principal of Kelley Chunn and Associates discusses a number of important ethics issues, including:
1) What to do when your employer and you have diametrically different ideas?
2) Do organizations that make mistakes on race and systemic injustice deserve help?
3) Advice for making substantive diversity strides
Melody Kimmel is one of the nation's leading media presentation and methods trainers. In this interview, she provides insight into a number of key issues including:
1) Ethics and media interviews
2) How to conduct ethical media training
3) What to do when you make a mistake
4) The perversion of the strength of PR and the decline of trust
Michael Meath, the retiring interim chair of public relations at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University discusses a number of important issues, including:
1) How to make sure Codes of Ethics are not worthless
2) Why taking the critical 10 helps you make more ethical decisions
3) The ethical challenges that most engage students
4) The little ethics issues that challenge us every day
Jim Olson, the former global corporate communications lead for Starbucks and US Airways and CCO at African Leadership University, graciously shared his insight and observations on a number of topics including:
1) How did Starbucks find a new, ethical option about how to deal with the presence of guns in their stores?
2) How we can help heal the fracturing of humanity by moving from impact to consequence?
3) The ethical imperative of purpose
John Walker, the founder and managing partner of Chirp PR, discusses a number of important topics, including:
1) Keeping your values when others compromise theirs (a.k.a. How to survive a dot-com boom)
2) How to build trust in a time of uncertainty
3) The ethical pitfalls of “guaranteed” media coverage that isn’t earned
In this personal interview, Tami Nealy, the vice president of communications and talent relations for Find Your Influence shares some great advice and insight, including:
1) What do you do when you have an abusive boss and he may have broken the law?
2) The importance of mentors
3) Ethics and influencer relations
4) The growing ethics problem of ghosting
Nicky McHugh, the senior vice president, global content and community at the RepTrack Company discusses:
1) What to do when your boss is abusive and you need to speak truth to power
2) Two little words with a disproportionate impact – Truth and trust
3) Why we need to practice the pause
On this week’s EthicalVoices, BJ Whitman, a PR professional with more than 30 years of public relations expertise in the education, maritime, and hospitality management fields joins me to discuss a number of ethics issues, including:
1) Life, death, ethics and a photograph
2) Why silence is a killer to resolving ethical issues
3) Ethical issues in the maritime industry
Quentin Langley, the author of Brandjack and an Adjunct Professor discusses a number of fascinating topics related to ethics in public relations. Specifically:
1. What to do if one of your students is accused of apostasy and treason?
2. Can ethical PR pros really follow the "Do not lie" maxim?
3. Global ethics challenges
4. Ethical challenges with brandjacking
Anne Green, a principal and managing director at G&S Business Communications, discusses a number of important ethical issues including:
1) How to handle ethical pressure to fudge numbers
2) Where to find engaging, compelling ethics training and why it matters
3) How to ethically fight back against disinformation
Marcy Massura, the CEO of MM & Company. discusses client dishonesty, Wikipedia, PR super powers and how they are misused and inherent ethical biases in the social media infrastructure.
Specifically she addresses:
- What to do when a client asks you to launch a product they plan to immediately discontinue?
- The ethics of Wikipedia editing
- Why the increasing power of PR means we need to more aggressively scrutinize client motivations
- Is our private communication infrastructure creating an inherently unethical playing field
Ethics and political communication. It is an essential topic, but one that is not often discussed. Joining me on this week's episode is Peter Loge, Associate Professor of Media and Public Affairs, and director of the project on ethics and political communication at George Washington University to discuss:
1) What are the true ethical challenges most communicators face?
2) Why “The Stakes are High” is an insidious ethical temptation
3) Is political communication today very different from the 1700s?
Ken Jacobs, ACC, CPC, an experienced consultant and certified coach shares his insight on a number of ethics topics including:
1) How to handle abusive clients
2) How to best handle conflicts of interest
3) The difference between coaching and consulting
Hasan Zuberi, the President of the PR Council of Pakistan, shares great global ethics insights and advice, including situations many of us in the U.S. never have to face including:
1) What to do when your client is accused of espionage and his life and property are threatened
2) The ethical challenges of fake news and the coronavirus
3) The evolution of public relations in Pakistan
4) Expense report ethics
Cheryl Goodman, the head of Corporate Communication for Sony Electronics North America discusses:
1) The key communication ethics challenges for today and tomorrow
2) How to fight back against the trend toward unethical vaporware
3) What we can do to move talk about diversity, equity and inclusion from talk to action
4) How thinking like a global citizen can improve your ethical decision-making
Ray Kotcher, the former CEO of Ketchum and the Professor of the Practice of public relations at Boston University discusses:
- How to navigate situations where your values and your organizations values differ
- Why good managers think of themselves as the mayor of a small town
- Will GenZ succeed where the Boomers failed?
- What we need to do to thrive ethically in an era of disruption
Col. Ann Knabe, PhD, APR+M, discusses the growing threat of disinformation. She also discusses:
1) Taking a stand for PR ethics – is licensing the answer?
2) The importance of education and accreditation to ethical behavior
José Manuel Velasco, the Past President of the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management discusses global ethics and taking care of the truth. Specifically, he addresses:
1) How to respond ethically when your company is caught making illegal payments
2) The most important PR job: Taking care of the truth
3) The importance of emphatic listening
4) How to ethically deal with emotions
5) What skills do PR pros need to be great advisors
In this week's EthicalVoices, Karen Swim, APR, the President and CEO of Words for Hire discusses:
- What to do when your friend (who you manage) acts unethically
- What to do when your organization values results over ethical behavior
- Why every PR person needs to step up and be an ethics champion
- Why ethics can not be a uniform you wear
Deirdre Breakenridge, an author, speaker, professor, and communication professional shares some great ethics insight, including:
- What to do ethically when two supervisors give you conflicting orders
- Why FEELing is essential to ethical behavior
- How Millennials, GenZ, GenX and Boomers FEEL differently and what it means
- Why we often fail when we make choices alone
Garland Stansell, the Chief Communications Officer for Children's of Alabama, and the 2020 National Chair of PRSA, shares his insight on a number of key ethics issues, including:
- Why sharing the bare minimum is often not the best course
- Why you must address issues head on when you are considered guilty by association
- Why we must resist the tyranny of urgency
- How every ethical PR professional can counteract negative perceptions of the profession
Joining me on this week's episode is Craig Silverman, a reporter at Buzzfeed, who along with two of his colleagues in January wrote one of the most chilling articles I have read in a while, “Disinformation for Hire: How a New Breed of PR Firms is Selling Lies Online”. I wanted to have him as a guest to discuss the article and its implications for communication professionals and society.
Jessica Graham, president of Fionix Consulting discusses what to do when you boss asks you to spread dirt on a competitor, how to ethically handle a public health crisis, what we can learn from the Rotary Club and other ethical issues.
Paul Omodt, the principal of Omodt and Associates and crisis expert, discusses a number of key ethics issues, including:
1) Why speed is not always your ally
2) Ethical challenges with the growing “cancel culture”
3) How to seek forgiveness for an ethical lapse
4) How one man gained forgiveness after saying the N word and losing his job
Shonali Burke, a growth strategist and social expert discusses a number of ethical challenges. Including:
1) What to do when you are asked to protect a large donor’s reputation
2) Will public relations ever overcome its legacy of spin
3) New challenges with transparency and disclosure
4) How agencies need to adapt
Erica Sniad Morgenstern, the vice president of marketing communications of Welltok, discusses a number of important ethical issues, including:
1) Challenges of talking a tough stand with senior executives to keep your organization on message
2) Data permanence and one thing to never do if you issue incorrect data
3) Ethical issues created by the decline of original reporting
4) Ethical issues in the healthcare/HCIT industry
5) Why the best ethics advice may come from the TSA
Michelle Egan, the chief communications officer of the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company discusses a number of key ethical issues including:
• Who owns the work you create at a company? And what do you do when a former co-worker asks for it?
• What to do when your company’s equipment causes the death a Middle schooler?
• Fighting the attack on the free flow of information
• How do you balance privacy with transparency?
Melanie Ensign the head of security, privacy, and engineering communications for Uber discusses:
1) Why the best PR pros focus on stopping fires before they begin, rather than responding to a crisis
2) The ethical and cognitive challenges of marketing with FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt)
3) Why SCUBA diving is a great guide for change management
4) Common ethical mistakes with measurement – and why we need to stop confusing coverage with action
Loring Barnes, APR, Fellow, PRSA, an independent practitioner and Chair of her town’s Selectboard, discusses a number of key ethical issues including:
- Tough ethical decisions during product recalls
- How communicators should approach ethical issues around cannabis
- The quickest path to redemption after making an ethical lapse
Tim O'Brien, the founder of O'Brien Communications and host of the Shaping Opinion podcast, discusses a number of key public relations and communication ethics challenges, including:
- Putting your job on the line to do the right thing
- The danger of relative and situational ethics
- The ethical challenges deplatforming creates for communicators
Marisa Vallbona, the founder and president of CIM, Inc PR and co-founder of the PR Consultants Group, discusses: Marisa Vallbona, the founder and president of CIM, Inc PR and co-founder of the PR Consultants Group, discusses:
- Going beyond “that’s unethical” to understand the issues and better guide those you are advising
- What to do when people steal your ideas
- The challenges the lack of enforcement of PRSA’s Code of Ethics creates for the public relations industry
Jim Lukaszewski, one of America's most respected crisis and ethics counselors for the C-Suite at global brands, discusses:Jim Lukaszewski, one of America's most respected crisis and ethics counselors for the C-Suite at global brands, discusses:
- How to most effectively counsel senior executives around ethics issues
- How to speak up and be heard when you notice an ethical lapse
- How all ethics lapses are intentional and what it means
Blake Lewis, the Principal and Founder of Three Box Strategic Communications. Discusses a number of key ethics topics, including:
- Ethical traps for Millennials and Gen Z
- The importance of discernment
- How to make ethics training a regular part of your culture
- How compromise can destroy who you are
Torod Neptune, the chief communications officer at Lenovo discusses a number of key global and technology ethics issues including:
- How to move companies from the organization they are today to the one they want to be
- Living brand values globally and locally
- Why addressing ethics issues with technology requires businesses to think at the top of the stream
Mark Dvorak the executive director of Golin Atlanta and an expert independent consultant, discusses the three biggest threats to ethical behavior in public relations.
During the interview he also shares his insight on a variety of topics, including:
- What ethical guideposts to use when you are facing a new situation
- How managers should support their employees in difficult ethical situations
This week on Ethical Voices, Robin Schnell and Stacey Smith, senior counsel and partners at Jackson, Jackson & Wagner discuss a number of key PR and communication ethics issues, including:
- What to do when a client asks you to anonymously leak information
- Ethical issues with transparency and in-person research
- How to ethically leverage appeals to emotion
- The one ethics guidepost every PR pro needs to keep top of mind
Angela Sinickas the CEO of Sinickas Communications, discusses a number of key issues, including:
- What to do ethically when you realize you work at a company rife with sexism and racism
- Ethical missteps in the PR proposal process
- How ethics mistakes can haunt you for years (and how to overcome them)
- How to ethically deal with people with an agenda
Dr. Joe Trahan, a 30+ year PR pro, retired Lt. Col and media trainer for more than 3,000 people a year, shares his ethics insights in a captivating interview. He discusses:
- How to save your soul when you are in an unethical company
- How fake news is eroding public trust
- Why public relations professionals and PRSA need to be stronger advocates for our profession
- The importance of standing up for what you believe in even in the face of unspeakable threats of violence
Kim Sample, president of the PR Council discusses a number of key ethics issues, including:Kim Sample, president of the PR Council discusses a number of key ethics issues, including:
- How to handle unethical client requests
- Best practices for building an ethical agency culture
- Ethical challenges with controversial clients and employee activism
Brandi Boatner, the Social and Influencer Communications Lead global markets for IBM addresses a number of communications ethics issues including:
- How can public relations professionals prepare for techlash?
- What questions should PR pros ask to help avoid unconscious bias in campaigns and AI?
- How can social pros best run an ethical influencer campaign?
- Generational challenges with fake news
Mike Neumeier, the CEO of Arketi Group, shares his insight on how PR pros can deal with ethics issues, including:
- What to do when a manager or competitor overpromises
- How and when to disclose
- Unexpected challenges with paid media