Ohhh Ethics

By James Mendez

University of North Texas

Mayborn School of Journalism

Over the last semester I have learned a lot about ethics. We have looked at cases where ethical decisions have been made and cases where unethical decisions have been made. We have looked at different codes of ethics and what role they play in professional public relations as well as different ethical theories.

My favorite part of the my journalism 4470 ethics class was looking at different case studies and evaluating if the decisions made were ethical or unethical. Most recently my group and I looked at the Duck Dynasty PR debacle that occurred late in 2013.

Photo Via GQ

Phil Robertson, the patriarch of the “Duck Dynasty” family, got into some hot water after he made some, what some call offensive, remarks about homosexuals and growing up during the Jim Crow era.

Now, what is interesting to me about this case is that I believe that Phil Robertson was making an ethical decision when he made those comments. Phil Robertson and his family are strong and devote Christians. They pray often and take the word of the Lord very seriously.

I do not think that a person, no matter who they are, should have to compromise that they truly are. Yes, Phil Robertson has a contract with A&E, but it is his first amendment right to speak his mind.

Should Phil have made those comments during a GQ interview? Probably not, however I also believe that Phil’s comments have been misinterpreted by a lot of people. The majority of the offended seem to think that Phil somehow compared homosexuality with bestiality when, in my opinion, he merely made the statement that both are sinful in nature, and that all sin puts us farther away from Christ.

Moving on to A&E. From a PR perspective, I think they failed miserably. As soon as A&E started receiving backlash from the NAACP and GLAAD, they put Phil on hiatus from the show. They put out a statement claiming that the remarks made by Phil in that interview were his own and did not reflect the views of A&E.

While I do agree with their decision to put out the statement, I do not agree with their decision to suspend Phil, one of the main characters in the most watched TV show of all time (that has also made you millions and millions of dollars). I think that making the statement that Phil’s views are Phil’s views, not ours, but we respect his opinions and his right to express those opinions. Period. End of conversation.

Instead, when they felt a little bit of pressure from the NAACP and GLAAD, A&E caved in. After suspending Phil, A&E then began to get backlash from all the loyal Duck Dynasty fans. After a petition with over 200,000 signatures on it reached A&E demanding Phil be reinstated, A&E changed their mind and put Phil back on the show.

If I were A&E, I would have stuck by my number one moneymaker from the beginning. Things blow over, more important events occur and people forget.

Over the last semester I would have to say that my biggest ah hah moment was every time we looked at a case where a clearly unethical decision was made. For example, in the Carnival Triumph case, Carnival totally knew that the Triumph was NOT ready to set sail, yet let it take off with over 3,000 passengers anyway. They willingly put all those people in severe danger in order to make money. That is unethical.

Photo Via Greatwire

I know that this sounds cliché, but I am going to have to say that everything I learned in this class is applicable in the “real” world. We are faced with ethical decisions every day and I like to give humanity the benefit of the doubt when I say that I think everyone knows what the right decision is to make in those situations.

When faced with an ethical decision, I personally like to ask myself a simple question. Is it worth it? If and when I get caught making this unethical decision can I live with the consequences? While I will admit that I, like everyone, have made some unethical decisions in my life, I think that my question test works 98% of the time.