ROLE
OF LAW IN PUBLIC RELATIONS
What role does law play in public relations practice? We can
better answer this question by reminding ourselves that public relations is
practiced by humans on planet earth and not by machines or some extra ordinary
beings from a different planet. Humans are naturally capricious and they live
in a dynamic society. A public relations professional does not live or practice
in an isolated world. Whatever he does affects his clients and the society in
general. Again, due to human penchant to take actions to the extreme in a bid
to satisfy himself, sometimes at the expense of others, there must be
instruments to regulate and control human activities.
The following are the vital roles that law plays in the
practice of public relations: Protection of individuals’ rights and the
society from human excesses that may arise in the practice of public relations.
Protection of the profession from quacks and charlatans. One of the major
challenges of public relations over the years is the preponderance of
unqualified practitioners who go about the job with wanton disregard for
professional honor and thus bring much ridicule to the profession. With good
laws, this trend can be curbed. Maintenance of professional standards.
Flowing from the above point is the fact that when the profession is rid of
quacks, professional standards will be improved and maintained, thus creating
an atmosphere of honor and dignity for the profession. Law will also
enhance national growth since public relations is practiced in virtually every
facet of national life.
In order to do a good job, as well as keep himself and his
client out of legal trouble, a PR professional must be familiar with the rules
that regulate the profession. Public relations or advertising materials could
be subject to legal action if the content is libelous, deceptive, misleading or
indecent, or if the practitioner is unaccredited or unregistered in some
countries. The public relations professional must understand and obey universal
laws of communication, as well as those of the particular society.
DECREE 16 OF 1990: The Nigerian Institute of Public
Relations (NIPR) has the legal mandate to accredit and register PR professionals
in Nigeria. Decree 16 of 1990 empowers the NIPR to determine “what standard of
knowledge and skill are to be attained by persons seeking to become registered
members of the public relations profession.” Although any person not duly
accredited and registered, or expelled for professional misconduct, is not
supposed to practice PR in this country, the full force of the law is yet to
take effect.
DEFAMATION: Any falsely published communication-- word, photos, pictures,
symbols- that create public hatred, contempt, ridicule, or inflicts injury on
reputation. Defamation is the act of damaging the reputation of a person by
means of false and malicious communications that expose that person to
contempt, ridicule, hatred, or social ostracism. In common law, defamation in
writing is classified as libel and oral defamation is slander.
LIBEL: Libel is a published or printed defamation. If you issue news releases,
house journals, annual reports that are short of adequate truth, you could be
summoned by a court if a suit has been instituted against you for libel. It is
possible to libel someone both in a photograph and in a caption.
A photograph or a caption is libelous if it exposes a person
to hatred, ridicule or contempt; lowers them in the estimation of right
thinking members of the community; causes them to be shunned or avoided; or
disparages their reputation in trade, business, profession or office. This
suggests that you must be careful in captioning pictures that you use in your
publications. For instance if a caption describes two people as Mr. and Mrs.
Clinton and Mrs. Clinton is in fact Mrs. Katrin, or even Miss Katrin , then
that caption is libelous as it could suggest different things to people who know
Mr. Clinton and the real Mrs. Clinton. An easy way to avoid this kind of
problem is for your photographer to ask questions properly from people he has
taken on their proper names and the spellings as well as their designations
When a person files a libel suit, they usually have to prove
that: The false statement was communicated to others through print, broadcast,
or electric means. The person was identified or is identifiable. There is
actual injury in the form of money loss, loss of reputation, or mental
suffering.
The
person making the statement was malicious or negligent
Avoiding Libel Suits
To avoid libel suits Don Sneed, Tim Wulfemeyer, and Harry
Stonecipher, in a Public Relations Review, suggests that... Opinion statements
be accompanied by the facts upon which the opinions are based. Statements of
opinion be clearly labeled as such. The context of the language surrounding the
expression of opinion be reviewed for possible legal implications.
SLANDER: Slander is not a commonly breached public relations law. This is probably
because the bulk of public relations messages today appears in written form.
The truth however is that very many public relations jobs involve speech,
broadcast and oral presentations. Thus, we need to examine the law of slander
else we unconsciously violate it. Slander is a sub of defamation. It is
defamation in words, or better put, in oral form. You or your client may be
sued for slander if a person thinks that his reputation or image has been falsely
or maliciously damaged in the minds of right thinking members of the society.
The implication of this for a practitioner is that he or she must ensure that
every oral communication is properly examined and expunged of any slanderous
statement. When in doubt, consult your lawyer.
Defamation is a published or spoken false statement which
damages the reputation of a person. While libel is a written form of
defamation, an oral defamation is slander. For example, libel or slander
lawsuit could be filed against company officials if the issue news releases,
distribute annual reports, or make false statements that injure someone’s
reputation.
INVASION OF PRIVACY: Since an organization does not have
unlimited right to publish the activities of its employee, defamation law also
apply to its staff. Furthermore, a person status as an employee does not cancel
his rights to privacy. Editors of personal columns in employee publications
should watch out for situations which may lead to invasion of privacy.
PHOTO RELEASE: Ordinarily, a PR practitioner does
not need to get a signed release if the person in the photograph gives “implied
consent” by posing for the picture and is told how it would be used, especially
with regards to “news” photo to be published in employee newsletter or for
materials accompanying a news release. But, if it is not known in what specific
ways the photo would be used, the best solution is to obtain a written release.
COPYRIGHT VIOLATION: In simple language, copyright means
the protection of creative work from unauthorized use. Knowledge of copyright
law is important so as to determine which materials an organization should
copyright, as well as to know the correct use of the copyrighted materials of
others. Should a news release be copyrighted? How about a corporate annual
report or company house journal? Could a newspaper cartoon be used in the
company magazine without permission? Are government reports copyrighted? These
are some of the questions a PR professional should be able to answer.
BREACH OF CONTRACT: A good grasp of the law of contract
is essential for anyone engaged in professional practice of public relations or
advertising. A legal contract may arise in many advertising or PR situations
such as:
1) The
purchase of service from advertising agents and PR consultants.
2) The
purchase of commercial space or airtime.
3) The
purchase of outdoor displays and exhibits.
4) The
hiring of celebrities, spokesperson and models.
5) The
purchase of materials and supplies, e.g. artwork and photography.
To be legally binding, a contract must possess three elements
including:
1) An
offer,
2) An
unconditional acceptance of the offer, and
3) A
consideration, in form of an exchange or a sacrifice.
If a contract is not implemented as was originally agreed, a
violation or breach of contract may have been committed.
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