Course code- BA(JMC) 204

Course Title- BASICS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

Unit -1 Concept and Evolution of Public Relations
Lesson – 4 “Ethics in PR, PRSI Code, IPRA”
 Public Relations Society of India

• Public Relations Society of India (PRSI) was formed in 1958, with the
concept of a national professional association for PR professionals in
India.
• The Public Relations society of India functioned as an informal body till
1966 when it was registered under the Indian Societies Act XXVI of 1961,
with headquarters in Mumbai.
• The father-figure of professional PR practitioners in India, Kali H. Mody,
was the founder President of PRSI from 1966 to 1969.
• Chapters were launched in Mumbai, Delhi Chennai and Kolkata.
• The management of the Public Relations Society of India is vested in the
National Council, consisting of representatives elected by all the regional
chapters.
• The members of the society are public relations practitioners from
multinationals, government, public and private sector, academics and PR
consultants.
 Organizational Setup of PRSI

• The PRSI has a two-tier structure. It has the

National Council at the centre as well as the
regional chapters at the grassroot levels.
• The regional chapters enroll members, hold
meetings and workshops and organize training
programs.
 Objectives of PRSI

• To promote public relations as a profession.

• To interpret to the public the understanding of the
objectives, potentialities and functions of the public
relations personnel.
• To promote and strive to maintain high standards
among the public relations practitioners.
• To exchange ideas, experiences and information’s on
the value of the public relations practitioners.
• To promote the study and research in public relations.
 PRSI Code of Ethics

• The PRSI adopted a code of ethics in its First All India

Public Relations Conference, held in Delhi, in 1968.
• This Code was earlier adopted, in 1965, by the
International Public Relations Association (IPRA) at
Athens, Greece and is referred to as the Athens Code.
• The Code was authored by Lucien Matrat, a French
public relations pioneer, and reflected a hopeful, post-
World War 2 ethical framework with its strong linkage to
the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human
Rights of 1948.
 IPRA Codes

• That public relations, by fostering the free flow

of information, contributes to the interests of all
stakeholders.
• That public relations practitioners through their
wide-reaching communication skills possess a
means of influence that should be restrained by
the observance of a code of professional and
ethical conduct.
 IPRA Codes

• That channels of communication such as the

Internet and other digital media, are channels
where erroneous or misleading information may
be widely disseminated and remain
unchallenged, and therefore demand special
attention from public relations practitioners to
maintain trust and credibility
 IPRA Codes

• That the Internet and other digital media

demand special care with respect to the
personal privacy of individuals, clients,
employers and colleagues
 IPRA - INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS ASSOCIATION

In the conduct of public relations practitioners

shall:
1. Observance: Observe the principles of the UN
Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights;
2. Integrity: Act with honesty and integrity at all
times so as to secure and retain the confidence
of those with whom the practitioner comes into
contact;
 IPRA - INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS ASSOCIATION

3. Dialogue: Seek to establish the moral, cultural

and intellectual conditions for dialogue, and
recognise the rights of all parties involved to
state their case and express their views;
4. Transparency: Be open and transparent in
declaring their name, organisation and the
interest they represent;
5. Conflict: Avoid any professional conflicts of
interest and to disclose such conflicts to affected
parties when they occur;
 IPRA - INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS ASSOCIATION

6. Confidentiality: Honour confidential

information provided to them;
7. Accuracy: Take all reasonable steps to ensure
the truth and accuracy of all information
provided;
8. Falsehood: Make every effort to not
intentionally disseminate false or misleading
information, exercise proper care to avoid doing
so unintentionally and correct any such act
promptly;
 IPRA - INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS ASSOCIATION

9. Deception: Not obtain information by deceptive

or dishonest means;
10. Disclosure: Not create or use any
organisation to serve an announced cause but
which actually serves an undisclosed interest;
11. Profit: Not sell for profit to third parties copies
of documents obtained from public authorities;
 IPRA - INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS ASSOCIATION

12. Remuneration: Whilst providing professional

services, not accept any form of payment in
connection with those services from anyone
other than the principal;
13. Inducement: Neither directly nor indirectly
offer nor give any financial or other inducement
to public representatives or the media, or other
stakeholders;
 IPRA - INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS ASSOCIATION

14. Influence: Neither propose nor undertake any

action which would constitute an improper
influence on public representatives, the media,
or other stakeholders;
15. Competitors: Not intentionally injure the
professional reputation of another practitioner;
16. Poaching: Not seek to secure another
practitioner’s client by deceptive means;
 IPRA - INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS ASSOCIATION

17. Employment: When employing personnel

from public authorities or competitors take care
to follow the rules and confidentiality
requirements of those organisations;
18. Colleagues: Observe this Code with respect
to fellow IPRA members and public relations
practitioners worldwide.
 IPRA - INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS ASSOCIATION

The english version of the historic codes from which this

consolidated Code was derived are below:
Code of Venice- Adopted in 1961 and amended in 2009
(
https://www.ipra.org/static/media/uploads/pdfs/ipra_code_of_
venice.pdf
)
Code of Athens- Adopted in 1965 and amended in 1968 and
2009
(
https://www.ipra.org/static/media/uploads/pdfs/ipra_code_of_
athens.pdf
)
Code of Brussels- Adopted in 2007 and amended in 2009
(
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