Week 6.

Readings: Chapters 4 and 5 of Public relations: theory and practice / edited by Jane Johnston and Clara Zawawi. Crows Nest, N.S.W. Allen & Unwin, 2004. 2nd ed

I think the key points to remember from this week's readings were that PR covers three main areas: communication, advisory/counselling and business/management. All of these areas contain a degree of risk, including legal ones.
Practitoners need foundation knowledge on several bodies of law because there is no one over-arching body of law that covers PR.
Practitioners must be aware of the tort of negligence, the tort of defamation as well as statutory obligationsregarding product liability, market controls and consumer protection.
Chapter 3 identifies the parts of the legal environment in which public relations practitioners must operate. Chapter 3 reveals the complexity and diversity of the PR legal environment thus highlighting the need for good legal advice.
The key points to remember from chapter4 concern ethical practice in public relations. The chapter states that the higher level of organisational scrutiny, coupled with a move to greater professionalism has led to concern over the PR industry's ethical principles and practitioner standards of operation.

The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that in practice, PR practitioners must hold good knowledge of the law and adhere to a strict code of ethics. The move of PR towards professionalism is also a key issue that must be addressed. Because of this, adhereing to a strict ethical code is a must, and without proper knowledge of the laws that govern areas that PR practice crosses over, sticking to this code would prove difficult.
The practice of PR is more closely dictated by the law. Knowledge of the relevant laws is important to all practioners.