Assignment: Following the 6-Step format provided by the PRSA’s Code of Ethics Case Study Series, address the case study below in an essay that includes your decision for immediate course of action. In the “real world,” this ISC professional had mere moments (actually just seconds) to reach a decision and act. This case has been fictionalized, but it is based on actual dilemma once faced by a PRSA member.
You must cite the PRSA Code of Ethics and at least one of the Five Ethical Guidelines from your textbook (p. 13-25). It is also strongly recommended that you conduct additional research about ISC professional ethics, which can include the ethics principles from organizations such as AMA, DMA, AAF, ANA, IABC, etc. You can also use legal resources such as ftc.gov, fcc.gov, etc., and any other acceptable resources that provide guidance about business law and ethics.
You must use in-text citations (even for your textbook) and be sure to provide a proper reference list in APA Style for all sources consulted.
Other Guidelines: Your Analysis must be written in essay form using complete sentences. You must double-space. You will be graded on use of concepts covered in class, plus overall clarity, grammar and punctuation. There is no right or wrong answer, but you will be evaluated based upon your ability to support your conclusions. When double-spaced with proper APA margins and fonts (APA recommends using a 12 point Times New Roman font.), your paper must be no more than four to five pages in length, plus bibliography. You don’t need a title page, and if you use one, it does not count toward the 4-5 pages of required content.
Here is your case:
You are the director of public relations for the University of Mysteryland. Your university has planned a weeklong celebration of Constitution Day, which is held every September (You can learn more about this national celebration at www.constitutionday.com) (BTW, Constitution Day is real, but the University of Mysteryland is not real).
The event has been publicized in advance and offers free pie and ice cream to all who attend. It is free and open to the public. The invitations were published both in a local newspaper and sent to all members of the university community via the university’s emailed newsletter. You also scored good PR outcomes via earned mentions from two local TV stations and at least a half dozen regional radio stations. This isn’t your university’s largest annual public event, but it traditionally garners your employer several positive earned and shared media mentions every year. It’s a positive, feel-good event and you actually look forward to it. This year you get to MC the luncheon. Fun.
Three prominent high school journalism teachers have been invited to a special awards luncheon because your university is honoring them for contributions to journalism education. One aspect of the event is to invite high school journalism students to participate in a writing contest based on how well they cover the story of Constitution Day events at the university. More than 300 high school students from across the state travel to the university as part of a school trip to attend Constitution Day. High school students are your key target audience for recruiting, so you want to make sure U of M makes a good first impression to these attendees, plus all the readers of their high school newspapers and online sites. The high schoolers get to attend the awards luncheon.
It also happens to be a federal election year, and your state has a highly contested U.S. Senate race to be determined in the forthcoming first week of November. All certified candidates in the state’s U.S. Senate race have been invited to U of Mysterland’s Constitution Day celebration to make 5-minute presentations at the event to discuss the important role the U.S. Constitution plays in their lives. You are thrilled with the Democratic Party’s candidate is able to attend. Only one other certified candidate accepts the invitation. He is an independent, and his platform is based upon white supremacy. It is well known that he was once an organizer for a neo-Nazi group called National Alliance. The senate candidates’ 5-minute presentations kick-off the awards luncheon that’s being attended by and high school students and their teachers. You also notice a good turnout by several of local media outlets and an array of well-known community leaders. Sadly, you haven’t done your ISC homework and properly prepped for this event. You have no idea the independent candidate is linked to the National Alliance.
You are attending the event as a representative of the university’s administration. You have already given the welcome address before the luncheon, and it’s time for the program to begin. You introduce the independent candidate and he begins his speech. He cites his love for the U.S. Constitution and its value to democracy in his very first sentence. After that, however, it quickly becomes clear his presentation is laden with anti-Semitist comments and the philosophies underpinning white supremacy. A high school teacher – one of the award winners – rushes up to you, and she demands you remove the candidate from the podium immediately because his message is offensive to her students.
Knowing that you are an ethical ISC professional and that your university is a strong supporter of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, what do you do?
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Use the 6-step method provided by PRSA (see next page), but write your analysis in essay form using complete sentences and paragraphs.
You must clearly state your decision in your essay (see step 6). You are not limited to the PRSA code of ethics or your textbook, and it would be very difficult to get a good grade on this project without citing both, plus additional sources. This means you will need to use APA style with in-text citations and include a reference list (aka bibliography).
