The first blog I chose to talk about was Mallory's Blog, labeled "Research Results." In this blog Mallory talks about research in NHL. She was very surprised to find that the NHL actually conducts a regular research and frankly I am too. I think it is very interesting that research that has intent to change things is conducted in an already extremely established organization. And like Mallory, I find it disappointing that the two articles she read about did not state what is done with the research.
The second blog I chose to talk about is Jordana's Blog. Jordana's blog focuses on the American Cancer Society. As a volunteer of the American Cancer Society and someone who has lost many loved ones to cancer, I found this blog extremely interesting. In this particular blog, Jordana addresses research that the American Cancer Society conducts in particular, The Cancer Fact and Figure Report. Among other things, this report consists of statistics and like Jordana I was shocked at some of the numbers and I'm sure many other people would be too.
This type of research that the American Cancer Society conducts is extremely important to what they do. Releasing some of these shocking numbers to the public would definitely create awareness to the public, but more importantly to cancer. I'm sure everyone is already aware that cancer is a big problem but I don't think they realize how big it actually is and this type of research can force them to come to that realization. Creating awareness would then hopefully create action among many people.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Finally someone's practicing ethics in PR: New York Jets
I'm going to safely assume that everyone knows who the New York Jets are. This high profile football team has been in the news a lot lately. Other than the Revis debacle, the NYJ have experienced some negative press. First was due to the HBO Series Hardknocks and the second involved sexual harassment allegations to a female reporter. Despite their wrong doings, the Jets handled both situations from a PR perspective with morals and class.
In the HBO Series, Hardknocks, the Jets were filmed while at training camp this summer. The behind the scenes footage of the coach, Rex Ryan using profanities created some stir. Many people spoke out again the use of the language and claimed it hurt the reputation of the New York Jets as a franchise. After the show aired however Ryan apologized for his words. He stated that he was sorry for offending people but what impressed me the most was that he was also honest with the public explaining thats just who is is.
Often times in PR companies or people try and pretend to be something that they are not. To me this is wrong. I think Rex Ryan practiced great PR by apologizing for offending people while admitting that's just him. He did not deny anything or pretend to be someone he is not- he was honest, something that is crucial when dealing with PR Ethics.
The second situation that the Jets handled nicely was the harassment case with the female reporter. After an incident in the locker room where the Jets went a little too far with a female reporter, Inez Sainz' the owner of the jets issued an apology. Saying, “I called her the minute I found out about it, and I finally spoke to her later on in the day,” the owner told the media. “We take this very, very seriously, as you can imagine. We want all of our reporters, female or male, to be comfortable wherever they are, on the sideline, in the locker room or at a game. We have to make the working environment professional, representing the New York Jets well.”
Although the players involved in the event also issued an apology I think the fact that the owner was so concerned says a lot about the ethics the NYJ possess.
In the HBO Series, Hardknocks, the Jets were filmed while at training camp this summer. The behind the scenes footage of the coach, Rex Ryan using profanities created some stir. Many people spoke out again the use of the language and claimed it hurt the reputation of the New York Jets as a franchise. After the show aired however Ryan apologized for his words. He stated that he was sorry for offending people but what impressed me the most was that he was also honest with the public explaining thats just who is is.
Often times in PR companies or people try and pretend to be something that they are not. To me this is wrong. I think Rex Ryan practiced great PR by apologizing for offending people while admitting that's just him. He did not deny anything or pretend to be someone he is not- he was honest, something that is crucial when dealing with PR Ethics.
The second situation that the Jets handled nicely was the harassment case with the female reporter. After an incident in the locker room where the Jets went a little too far with a female reporter, Inez Sainz' the owner of the jets issued an apology. Saying, “I called her the minute I found out about it, and I finally spoke to her later on in the day,” the owner told the media. “We take this very, very seriously, as you can imagine. We want all of our reporters, female or male, to be comfortable wherever they are, on the sideline, in the locker room or at a game. We have to make the working environment professional, representing the New York Jets well.”
Although the players involved in the event also issued an apology I think the fact that the owner was so concerned says a lot about the ethics the NYJ possess.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Ethics in Research
So I thought it would be good to talk about the two research experiments we addressed in class this week since they have to do with ethics and are strongly related to my blog focus.
There are a few guidelines to understand when dealing with Ethics in Research. The first is to keep the participants anonymous or keep their participation confidential. The second is that the research conducted should not inflict any harm upon the participants. The third is that the research conducted should be voluntary participation. Keeping these guidelines in mind and basic human ethics lets take a look at the two studies presented in class...
The first, Tuskegee Syphilis Study, in my opinion is completely unethical. How can the researches justify that allowing 400 people to suffer for 40 years and die to be ethical? Yes, it is true that the study allowed them to save millions of lives but who is to say one life is greater than another and one person should be saved at the others expense? I am taking the deontology approach on this one. The good (saving millions of people) should never have been achieved by evil means (killing 400 people).
In addition, two out of three of the ethical guidelines in research were broken. There is obvious harm to these participants- the majority of them died. The study also violated the voluntary participation. The participants thought they were being studied to find the cure of syphilis, they did not sign up for a study that research of their deteriorating bodies so the cure to other diseases can be found.
The second, Milgram's Obedience Study, also violates research ethics. The participants were not harmed on a physical level but were on a psychological level. Many people became depressed and some even committed suicide due to being a participant in the study.
I do believe there is a great importance in research. It can help businesses, cure diseases, give an explanation of why people do things, and much more. Although research can provide great insight it should not be abused- there is an ethical obligation researchers should adopt and if they want to research something bad enough I am sure they will be able to find a way to do so without breaking those obligations.
There are a few guidelines to understand when dealing with Ethics in Research. The first is to keep the participants anonymous or keep their participation confidential. The second is that the research conducted should not inflict any harm upon the participants. The third is that the research conducted should be voluntary participation. Keeping these guidelines in mind and basic human ethics lets take a look at the two studies presented in class...
The first, Tuskegee Syphilis Study, in my opinion is completely unethical. How can the researches justify that allowing 400 people to suffer for 40 years and die to be ethical? Yes, it is true that the study allowed them to save millions of lives but who is to say one life is greater than another and one person should be saved at the others expense? I am taking the deontology approach on this one. The good (saving millions of people) should never have been achieved by evil means (killing 400 people).
In addition, two out of three of the ethical guidelines in research were broken. There is obvious harm to these participants- the majority of them died. The study also violated the voluntary participation. The participants thought they were being studied to find the cure of syphilis, they did not sign up for a study that research of their deteriorating bodies so the cure to other diseases can be found.
The second, Milgram's Obedience Study, also violates research ethics. The participants were not harmed on a physical level but were on a psychological level. Many people became depressed and some even committed suicide due to being a participant in the study.
I do believe there is a great importance in research. It can help businesses, cure diseases, give an explanation of why people do things, and much more. Although research can provide great insight it should not be abused- there is an ethical obligation researchers should adopt and if they want to research something bad enough I am sure they will be able to find a way to do so without breaking those obligations.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Since when should we promote a role model to be a liar?
OK, so it shouldn't come to any one's surprise that celebrities lack some moral values. But when did it become acceptable for those celebrities' publicists to advise their clients to try and cover up their dirty tracks?
Some might argue that celebrities have an unfair life because everything they do is under a magnifying glass and they aren't allowed to make any mistakes. Yes, it's true celebrities are people too and people are allowed to make mistakes. However, ccelebrities are the role models for many young people, and their actions mean more than just the average person.
I am not saying that if a famous person slips up they are a horrible person- what will define their character is what they do after they mess up. If they do something wrong, they should own up to their mistakes and take responsibility. And more importantly their publicists should strongly advise them to do so. Just like a large corporation, if they mess something up with one of their products their PR person would advise them to recall the product and apologize to their customers. I mean its PR 101, does Hollywood need a little refresher course?
Lets take a look at the whole Tiger Woods scandal; after the affairs became public Tiger fessed up to his actions and sincerely apologized for them. Although Tiger was wrong for having the affairs in the first place, he took the right next step, taking responsibility for his actions. Whereas party girls like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan who have been caught with possession of cocaine not only deny the accusations but came up with an absurd, fabricated lies. When Hilton was caught twice in the last two months with cocaine possession her rep commented saying it was a "misunderstanding" having Hilton comment, "the drugs weren't mine." This to me is what gives PR a bad name. I understand Hilton's publicist wants to protect her client's image but denial is not the way to go. Instead, she should have advised her client to admit to the drugs and then check herself into a rehab program.
I'm not sure if these wrong PR practices in Hollywood will ever stop but I think for the sake of the youth they should.
Some might argue that celebrities have an unfair life because everything they do is under a magnifying glass and they aren't allowed to make any mistakes. Yes, it's true celebrities are people too and people are allowed to make mistakes. However, ccelebrities are the role models for many young people, and their actions mean more than just the average person.
I am not saying that if a famous person slips up they are a horrible person- what will define their character is what they do after they mess up. If they do something wrong, they should own up to their mistakes and take responsibility. And more importantly their publicists should strongly advise them to do so. Just like a large corporation, if they mess something up with one of their products their PR person would advise them to recall the product and apologize to their customers. I mean its PR 101, does Hollywood need a little refresher course?
Lets take a look at the whole Tiger Woods scandal; after the affairs became public Tiger fessed up to his actions and sincerely apologized for them. Although Tiger was wrong for having the affairs in the first place, he took the right next step, taking responsibility for his actions. Whereas party girls like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan who have been caught with possession of cocaine not only deny the accusations but came up with an absurd, fabricated lies. When Hilton was caught twice in the last two months with cocaine possession her rep commented saying it was a "misunderstanding" having Hilton comment, "the drugs weren't mine." This to me is what gives PR a bad name. I understand Hilton's publicist wants to protect her client's image but denial is not the way to go. Instead, she should have advised her client to admit to the drugs and then check herself into a rehab program.
I'm not sure if these wrong PR practices in Hollywood will ever stop but I think for the sake of the youth they should.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Blog Focus
Hey everyone! I'm excited to start blogging- I love reading blogs but I've never had my own one so this should be interesting... The focus of my blog is going to be Ethics in PR (or the lack of). At the start of Public Relations, PR people would lie or exaggerate the truth which gave our field a bad name. Although overtime, Public Relations has improved their reputation there are still some ethical dilemmas. Throughout this semester this blog will be relating various issues to ethics in PR- I think this topic can relate to many things that are going on. I hope to make my blog fun and interesting to read so please follow! Talk to you next time...
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