I looked back on my original question;
“Honest and responsible regard for the public interest is not the same as telling the truth.” Discuss in the context of the profession of Public Relations
This quote has been playing on my mind; there are arguments for and against it, for instance honesty and truthfulness are so closely linked, it can be said that they are the sae thing. However, as I stated before in my opinion this is not true, to me honesty is more an opinion and the truth is more of a fact.
So my point is that they are not the same, you can be honest responsible in regard to public interest, but that also means you can leave things out, you can be honest to an extent but leave some of the vital information, whereas in my opinion with the truth you tell all the facts.
I know that when I break into the public relations world I shall be more honest than truthful, as some facts the media do not need to know, especially if it is not in the public best interest to know.
I got to thinking about the responsible part of the quote, I think this is relating back to the ethical pillars, and as I have stated in my previous blogs there is no way that you can apply all of this all the time without having them conflict. Surely the responsible thing to do is way up all your options and see which way will benefit the public the most, I know I sound like a bit of a utilitarian here, but to me that just makes sense.
I do think this is a grey area, with in any job relating to the public and what we advertise, portray or market we all have rules to follow but none of them are black and white, we do have to make a choice as to what is a need to know basis whilst keeping something interesting, most people you me in your life will only ever tell you what you need to know or what you want to hear nowadays i find the truth is very hard to find, everything is cloaks and daggers and until the public start pushing for the truth 9 times out of ten it will never be told, and all we will ever see is the pathetic fancieful stories in the media that are pretty irrelevent!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comment. I agree that what we read in the papers nowadays often needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. What is your opinion on the truth and honesty? Do you think they are the same?
ReplyDeleteSasha, thanks for this post. I found it hard expressing this is in my blogs, basically because I didn't know how to say it but I was trying to express the idea of what is truth and I think you have described it really well in this blog post by separating 'truth' and 'honesty' and I completely agree with your opinion. In PR we will always need to select our truths but we are still working honestly with a responsible regard for the public - but never lie.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog and I think that you have come to a very good conclusion, explaining your thoughts better then I have!!
Have a look and let me know what you think :) http://enthusiasticpr.wordpress.com/
Hi Sasha, I agree with you....
ReplyDeleteI think honesty is more a moral issue whilst working with a responsible regard for the public, where as the truth can be less personal,
less moral, more factual.
Hi Sasha.
ReplyDeleteHonesty and truthfulness are both important,
and although it is a good thing to be honest,
sometimes you have to be liberal with the truth,
still working with a responsible regard to the public, yet at the same time trying to maintain an advantage over media rivals.
Thank you all for the comments, seperating turth from honesty is often difficult and i completely agree that honesty is based on morals. The adavantage over media rivals is always going to be a tough one as soe people are willing to do more than otheres. For Example: a journalist sometimes goes undercover in order to get a story.
ReplyDelete