So in order to come up with a modern definition of PR I think it could be helpful to go back to the foundation of Bernays' definition. It will always be the job of the PR professional to help the producer understand what their audience is looking for, what they like, and how they can be attracted. As well as, presenting the progress of the producer to the public in a way that allows them to understand the vision of the producer. This is what I think is problematic with the the current definition. In order to fully adapt to the social internet age we live in now, it is important to mention the participation and goals of companies social network pages. This is were I think a new piece could come into the definition. Now there are more and more ways to reach out to the public, and the ways the public receive their information has shifted. So, it is the job of a PR team to really diagnose the audience that the producers are targeting, and find ways that will best suit a positive a connection with that public. A successful PR move would be one that keeps an audience updated and involved in the process. The article mentions the word of mouth marketing and buzz marketing. These tactics are a part of PR now and mostly are done through Facebook, Twitter, and blogging. As an PR practitioner it is important to understand how to utilize these site ethically because these outlets leave a company vulnerable to criticism, and how the criticism is handled is very important. As the Patterson reading states, PR's idea of newsworthy is when there is no real news to report. When things are going smooth and the company has proud information to share, that's good PR.
With all that in mind my new definition would be, PR is a strategic communicative partnership with a client. The goal is to engage and accurately inform the public of the truths of the client's plans and progress, in an effort to achieve mutual understanding and develop dialogue that fosters informed decision making and mutually beneficial relationships with the key publics. I think this definition improves upon the current definition because it mentions the use of dialogue. In this new age of social media, companies that involve themselves in social media must be willing to listen, respond, and be transparent. The internet can be cruel and it's important for a PR team maintain a high standard of respectfully responding to comments and being open and responsive to issues. Also I incorporated some key points from the PRSA code of ethics, such as, accurately and truthfully handling information and fostering informed decision making through open communication. When trying to come up with a new definition I think it's important to incorporate some pieces from the code of ethics. If your goal is to have a better more understandable definition, then the best way to do that is use the pieces of your code that make the profession respectable. An institutions main objective should always be to stay true to its ethics (at least that how it should be presented in its definition) and none of the definitions of PR seem to incorporate much of the ethics.
Of the recent PR ethical breaches mentioned in Corbett's article, I am having trouble deciding which one is most problematic because they all have such differing problems. Facebooks smear campaign is problematic because PR should not be used as a way to tarnish the reputation of a competing company. Although the privacy practices of Google were known, it still is not right use PR to try and expose them further. Not only does that come back to bite Facebook, but also it takes aways from the integrity of PR and is harmful to the credibility of the industry. The food bloggers case is an issue of transparency and targeting the wrong community. Hidden camera acts have been done before but for a PR company to attempt to trick bloggers in an effort to get some free play from them is not smart. Not to mention these were health bloggers who are very unlikely to speak positively about frozen foods. Lastly, and probably the most problematic is the Rabbi and Mr. Torossian case. If the allegations are true Torossian is blatantly abusing his of power and involvement in media. Mr. Torossian was taking full advantage of his ability to create public awareness and was extorting the rabbi by using his PR skills to bring bad press to the rabbi. Abusing the capabilities of PR throws dirt on the profession and makes the industry look as if it is filled with people who try to take advantage of information in a negative way rather than utilizing honest information to enhance the views of their clients.
I think that the practices that are being monitored will improve the field in terms of ethics. I think all four have an important aspect to PR and should always be monitored. Dictatorship is not something this country supports so it is not something a PR group should help support. Interns are widely used in the PR field, and Interns can often get over worked while not getting paid, and it is important treat any member of your team with respect regardless of their position. Also by offering compensation firms are adding motivation for interns to succeed. Brand journalism is an interesting idea and one that I think will work out well. Lastly, maintaining PR's ethical standard in the digital age will be helpful because no matter what forum is used ethics should always be considered and following ethics on social media sites will help avoid any backlash.
If you want to see what Mr. Ronn Torossian thinks about the changes in media and the adjustments of PR check the video below.
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