Communication Ethics in a Connected World

Andrea Catellani is tenured Assistant Professor of Communication at the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL), Belgium. He is director of the Laboratory for the Analysis of Organisational Communication Systems (LASCO) and of the master program in public relations and organisational communication, both at UCL.
Ansgar Zerfass is Professor and Chair in Strategic Communication at the University of Leipzig, Germany, and Professor in Communication and Leadership at BI Norwegian Business School, Oslo, Norway. He is President of the European Public Relations Education and Research Association (EUPRERA), Brussels.
Ralph Tench is Professor of Communication and Director of PhD programmes in the Faculty of Business and Law, Leeds Beckett University, UK. He is a member of the board of directors of EUPRERA and a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Association.

What are the main ethical challenges for strategic communication and public relations professionals today? How can researchers help in understanding and dealing with these challenges in a complex and interconnected world? This book offers some answers to these questions, based on contributions by researchers from different European countries and other continents. The chapters of the first section focus on general concepts about communication and public relations ethics as well as corporate social responsibility. Three sections then deal with: the specific situation of communication and PR ethics in various European countries; the evolution of ethical skills of communication professionals; and the interaction between communication ethics and the public sphere. The final two sections offer insights on recent research in public relations, like employee communication and engagement, mentoring in public relations and the evolution of media relations and social media communication.

This book presents a selection of scientific articles dedicated to the analysis of the situation and the evolution of public relations and strategic communication in organisations. In the context of a complex and connected world the main focus is on ethics and ethical issues.

Contents: Günter Bentele: Responsible Advocacy? Reflections on the History, System, and Codes of Public Relations Ethics, with Comments on Education and Research - Ronald C. Arnett: Public Relations. Levinas' Call for Ethics and Justice - Stefan Jarolimek/Anne Linke: Putting the «R» back in CSR Communication. Towards an Ethical Framework of Responsibility - Astrid Spatzier: Public Relations and Communication Ethics: National Cases Ethical Engagement of Public Relations Practitioners in a Connected World. Results of an Empirical Study in Austria - Cristina Navarro/Ángeles Moreno: Ethical Practices and Role Perceptions of Bloggers. An Analysis of Literary Bloggers in Spain - Sibel Hostut/Seçil Deren van het Hof: A Decade into Sustainability Reporting in Turkey - Pelin Hürmeriç/Billur Ülger: Ethics Statements of Public Relations Agencies in Turkey. How do Turkish PR Agencies Present Themselves on the Web? - Alina Dolea: Strategic Communication and Ethics. The Case of the Romanian Touristic Brand - Anna Klyueva/Katerina Tsetsura: Strategic Aspects of Russia's Cultural Diplomacy in Europe. Challenges and Opportunities of the 21st Century - Tor Bang/Mona K. Solvoll: Commodifying and Politicising Insight. A Case of Mediated Debate of Revolving Doors in Norway - Elin Helgesson/Christina Grandien: On the Borderlines of Advocacy. Situational Professional Ethics in the Identity Construction of Public Relations Consultants - Sarah Roberts-Bowman: The Knowledge, Skills and Competencies for Effective Public Affairs Practice. A Mechanism to Embed Ethics - Anne Linke/Juliane Kiesenbauer: Teaching Ethical Principles for PR. An Empirical Study on University Curricula in Germany - Matias Lievonen/Vilma Luoma-aho: Ethical Hateholders and Negative Engagement. A Challenge for Organisational Communication - Donna Z. Davis: Ethical Implications of Gamification as a Public Relations Strategy - Elisa Juholin/Leif Åberg/Pekka Aula: Strategic Employee Communication - What Does it Really Mean? Towards Responsible Dialogue as a Missing Piece - Sean MacNiven: Beyond Sentiment: Exploring Online Employee Engagement. An Empirical Study of Participation in an Online Employee Newsroom - Juliane Kiesenbauer/Augustine Burkert/Ansgar Zerfass: Mentoring in Public Relations. An International Study on Mentoring Programmes of Professional Associations - Evandro Oliveira/Anne Linke/Margarida Krohling Kunsch/Ansgar Zerfass: How Global is the Web 2.0 Hype? A Comparison of Social Media Communication in Brazil, Germany and Portugal - A. Banu Biçakçi/Ilker C. Biçakçi: The Use of Media in Activist Public Relations Framing the «Defending our honour» Movement.