The Ethical Use of Online and Social Media
as a Communicative Tool:
Challenges for Journalists and
Public Relations Professionals
Detailed Lesson Plan for Three-hour Teaching Module
Prepared by Emma Daugherty, APR, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Journalism & Mass Communication
California State University, Long Beach
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Rationale for Module
This three-hour ethics module is integrated into Journalism 431, “Media
Ethics,” which is a core course for all majors in the Department of Journalism &
Mass Communication. As a required course for all journalism and public relations
students, Journalism 431 addresses ethical issues surrounding the reporting of news
stories, such as truth-telling, reporters and sources, and invasion of privacy. On the
public relations side, the course addresses the ethics of advertising and other
promotional tools, such as misleading and deceptive messages, excessive fear
appeals, and advertising directed at children. Little if any of the course directly
addresses the ethical problems in journalism and public relations as they relate to
the changes in digital communication, particularly social media. This module was
created to address this fast-growing area of communication.
In the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, students can select
from two distinct, but interrelated, courses of study: journalism and public
relations. Both disciplines involve communication, writing, and an understanding
of mass media. In a traditional sense, journalism involves the gathering and
reporting of newsworthy information that is delivered through newspapers,
magazines, radio, and television. Of course, the journalistic landscape has changed
in recent years to include online media. Almost every new organization, from the
small daily newspaper to the large television network, now presents its news
online. Public relations professionals need to keep abreast of this trend. Well
accustomed to working with journalists, public relations professionals now work
with bloggers and other mass communicators outside the scope of traditional
journalism. In addition to this trend, news organizations have embraced, albeit
slowly, social media to communicate to their readers, listeners, and viewers.
Public relations professionals have been much quicker to embrace social media.
Using social media has allowed organizations, profit-making and nonprofit alike,
to bypass news organizations to disseminate their message more quickly and at
times more effectively than relying on the new media, which may or may not
choose to disseminate their desired message. Furthermore, professionals in
marketing communications, an important subset of the public relations practice, are
using social media to promote their products and services.
Ethical dilemmas accompany these trends, and they are abundant. This media
revolution of sorts is transforming the nature of journalism and its ethics. Now
every citizen can publish and communicate to the masses. The Internet has
inspired new forms of journalism, which can be immediate and interactive.
Traditional journalists now share the field of journalism with citizen journalists,
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tweeters, social media users, and bloggers from every possible area of interest from
highly esteemed political bloggers to the extremely popular mommy bloggers. For
public relations, the change in this media landscape poses ethical issues that
involve every stakeholder important to the health of an organization.
Some of the issues involved concern invasion of privacy; defamation of
character, particularly concerning blogging; full disclosure of information,
especially when online comments from stakeholders are deleted or screened by
organizations; misleading and intrusive messages, such as the ones that appear on a
Facebook timeline; deceptive advertising ploys that appear on social media sites;
behavioral targeting and the ethics surrounding the use of behavioral targeting to
reach certain publics on Twitter; fear appeals and disturbing images that appear on
Facebook pages from organizations “liked” by individuals; and inappropriate use
of YouTube.
Some of the books and publications that were used to create this module include
New-New Media by Paul Levinson, Social Media and Public Relations: Eight New
Practices for the PR Professional by Deirdre K. Breakenridge; The New Rules of
Marketing and PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications,
Blogs, News Releases, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly by David
Meerman Scott; Critical Analysis of Blogging in Public Relations by M. Kent in
Public Relations Review; Conversational Voice, Communicated Commitment, and
Public Relations Outcomes in Interactive Online Communication by T. Kelleher in
the Journal of Communication; and Social Media Use, Perceptions of Decisionmaking Power, and Public Relations Roles by M. Diga and T. Kelleher in Public
Relations Review.
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Learning Objectives for Module
 To explain the challenges of the new media landscape, one that is immediate
and interactive
 To explore the ethical challenges of each form of digital media
 To expose the dangers of multi-layered news delivery systems
 To address the multi-faceted ethical dilemmas associated with social media
as a communicative and marketing tool
 To present various problem-solving strategies to avoid and solve ethical
challenges in this ever-changing media and marketing landscape
Learning Outcomes for Module
 Students will have a clear understanding of the challenges posed by new
media in terms of ethical reporting and communicative practices.
 Students will be able to identify the ethical problems posed by each form of
digital media.
 Students will be able to develop problem-solving strategies when faced with
ethical dilemmas in online and social media.
Mode of Instruction
The three-hour teaching module will consist of the following:
 A pre-module activity in which students identify examples of ethical
misuse of online and social media by journalism organizations and profitmaking or nonprofit organizations
 A pre-module discussion board, using BeachBoard, in which students
post their example of ethical misuse by an organization and provide a
rationale explaining their position
 A lecture of the ever-changing media landscape, the ethical challenges,
and problem-solving steps to overcome these ethical challenges
 A discussion of the ethical issues challenging this ever-changing media
landscape
 Small group exercise with cases using real-life examples involving online
and social media
 Small group presentations analyzing specific cases
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 Entire class discussion about group findings
 A final lecture, reinforcing problem-solving strategies for ethical
dilemmas
 An individual quiz to assess student learning using a real-life case study
Classroom Pedagogy and Activities
 As a class, students first answer questions projected on PowerPoint that ask
them about what are online media and what are social media. Students are
asked to define and describe these concepts.
 Next students as a class answer questions on the PowerPoint regarding how
relevant online media are in society, how have online and social media
changed society, how have they changed the way we communicate, and has
this change been beneficial or detrimental. A discussion of varying
viewpoints will ensue.
 A lecture on the challenges to the changing landscape of journalism is
presented. A question-and-answer session follows.
 Students then engage in a think-pair-share exercise, identifying the ethical
issues they believe have surfaced in the world of journalism as a result of
online and social media. The class discusses their thoughts.
 A lecture then follows on steps to take to ensure ethical behavior regarding
the use of online and social media in journalism.
 Switching to public relations, students hear a lecture on the challenges of the
emerging online and social media tactics employed by public relations
professions.
 Students then engage in a think-pair-share exercise, identifying the possible
misuses of online and social media in public relations. The groups share
their perspectives with the class.
 Each group uses the board to report on how they would address their ethical
issue.
 A lecture follows, addressing the ethical considerations in public relations
posed by the emergence of online and social media as tactics in the public
relations practice.
 Students are given steps to follow to ensure truthfulness and ethical
behavior, including a review of the various professional codes of ethics
relating to the field.
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Assessment
 The quality of the pre-module assignment and discussion board will be
assessed, using a rubric provided to the students.
 The quality of the group presentations will be assessed, according to the
rubric for participation, located in the syllabus.
 Each student would be given a follow-up case study in which they will have
to identify the ethical problem and present steps to solve the problem.
 A short essay question pertaining to the lesson in the module will be
included on the next examination of course material.
Topics for Discussion:
Relevant Ethical Issues in the Employment of Online and Social Media by
Journalists and Public Relations Professionals
Ethical issues regarding online and social media surface in all facets of
journalism and the public relations practice. Some of the most relevant issues are
the following:
 Full disclosure of information
 Free flow of information
 Truthfulness in reporting
 Invasion of privacy
 Intrusive messages
 Defamation of character
 Use of unauthorized or irrelevant images
 Conflicts of interest
 Ghost tweeting
 Anonymity in sources identified only as invented tags
 Irresponsible and harsh comments
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 Using online sources without verification
 Impartiality
 Behavioral targeting
 Accountability
 Employees disclosing employer information via social media
 False and misleading use of comments
 Posting fake information regarding competitors
 Hiring bloggers without full disclosure
 Gifting bloggers without full disclosure
 Posting positive comments for one’s own organization, leading readers to
believe they come from real customers
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