ETHICAL AND LEGAL ASPECTS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

Public Relations (PR), a significant component of the media industry, also represents a management function that helps establish and maintain beneficial connections between the organization and various stakeholders. The evolution of the public relations profession is commonly perceived as a qualitative shift from the unethical practices that dominated several decades since the 1920s to strategically and ethically conducted campaigns in contemporary business. However, when considering the practice of PR in the first decades of the 21st century, numerous concerns arise regarding ethical dilemmas, conflicts, and, consequently, the ethical decisionmaking process. The main objective of this paper is to offer an overview of ethics and its development in PR. The application of ethical principles based on utilitarian, deontological, situational and virtue approaches is discussed. This study also analyzes the most frequently encountered ethical problems in contemporary PR practice. Finally, the paper delves into some models of the ethical decision-making process and discusses the legal consequences of PR.