Question: For your assignment this week, Id like you to apply some of the ethical codes we discussed in class to the following scenarios. To complete

For your assignment this week, Id like you to apply some of the ethical codes we discussed in class to the following scenarios. To complete this assignment, pick two of the situations from below. First, explain what the ethical conflicts are, and what ethical principles this violates. (To complete this assignment, choose from one of the following codes of ethics: PRSA, IABC, or Page Principles.) Second, explain how you could best handle this situation moving forward as a PR professional. (Hint: Some of the strategies introduced in the presentation for approaching ethical situations could help you!)

Paying for Positive Online News Stories

You have just been hired as the media relations manager for a large municipal utility company. You learned that your predecessor spent $80,000 in taxpayer funds on a consultant who wrote positive promotional stories about the utility, which were then placed on a news website. The website is affiliated with the consultants public relations firm.

The website is indexed by Google News and is labeled as a news channel by Google News, so whenever Internet users type the name of the utility company into Google News, they get a series of positive articles about the utility company.

Your utility company serves nearly 3 million residents of a large metropolitan area. It has been fighting what company leaders call inaccurate stories in the news media about its finances, including an investigation by the countys prosecutors of travel expenses for the companys board members and their spouses.

The utility companys leaders are pleased with the online coverage that has resulted from the promotional stories on the news website. In fact, there has been a large spike in traffic to the utility companys own website, and your new boss the vice president for communication believes that this tactic is more effective than traditional news releases.

You, however, are not so sure. The contract with the consultant is up for renewal for another six months, and you need to make a decision on renewal by the end of the week.

What is the ethical situation or conflict? What should you do?

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