Transparency

Overview

This module explores the ethical and practical dimensions of transparency and disclosure in public relations. Students will learn to distinguish between full and limited disclosure, understand the role of privacy and secrecy, and apply ethical frameworks such as the Page Principles to guide disclosure decisions. The course also examines how two-way communication fosters transparency and strengthens ethical practice. In the second lesson, students will analyze the relationship between transparency, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and regulatory obligations, learning how government agencies and professional standards influence ethical communication in organizations.

Presentation Files

Lesson 1: Transparency and the Disclosure of Information

Lesson 1 will begin by explaining disclosure and detailing the differences between full and limited disclosure. Secrecy and privacy will also be discussed. We suggest using ethical codes, such as the Page Principles, as guides for determining what information to disclose and to whom.

Next, we will introduce the process of transparency going through examples and definitions to better ground student understanding. Concepts such as radical transparency, opaqueness and transparent internal communication will also be examined. The primary lesson will end with a discussion of how two-way communication enhances transparency and ethics.

Learning Objectives

After completing Lesson 1, students will be able to:

• Explain the concepts of disclosure, transparency, and opaqueness.
• Differentiate among types of disclosure and transparency.
• Understand how ethics are enhanced through the process of transparency.

Key Concepts

• Transparency
• Disclosure
• Opaqueness
• Two-way communication

Discussion Starters

1. Can you think of an organization that weathered a crisis well because it was transparent with its publics? What about an organization that chose secrecy or opaqueness? Did these strategies damage? Is there ever a reason for choosing such strategies?
2. What is most important to transparency – truth, accuracy, or honesty? What about to disclosure?

Case Study

The case study about Brett Favre and the Mississippi TANF Scandal will help students better understand transparency and opaqueness.

After reviewing the case, students can delve further into the situation by examining the materials and other information collected by journalists. The following links will bring you to these resources.

https://www.mississippifreepress.org/27903/mississippi-welfare-scandal-timeline-brett-favre-and-the-volleyball-stadium

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/37565299/brett-favre-mississippi-welfare-case-line-explained

Once students have had time to review the websites and information, ask them the following questions to start a conversation:

1. How could the state of Mississippi build more transparency into the process by which TANF funds are distributed?
2. What advice would you give Brett Favre if you were his PR counsel?
3. What surprised you most about the situation?
4. What did you learn about transparency from this case study?

Suggested In-Class or At-Home Activities

1. Full or limited disclosure

Students in pairs will receive a list of scenarios and decide if full or limited disclosure is needed. Students will learn there are some things you cannot say to anyone and some things you cannot tell every public. In situations such as these, we must allow ethics to guide us. Examples could include the secret formula for a product, the illegal behavior of a CEO, and the personnel records of an employee.

Resources for finding cases and case ideas

• http://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/
• http://lessonplans.btskinner.com/ethics1.html

2. What information would you release? Why? To whom?

In this activity, students will be given a hypothetical situation, a list of facts, and a list of stakeholders. The students will decide when and to whom the facts should be released. Students could also role-play the message delivery and decide the setting, format, and messaging of the facts.

3. Transparency

In this activity, students will examine websites for elements of transparency.

Have students work individually first but have them select from a list of organization types such as corporations, nonprofits, government, sports, or higher education. You could even include influencers if you wanted to do so. You could suggest they look for examples of the transparency process, opaqueness, and transparent internal communication.

After five to 10 minutes, have the students make groups based on the types of organizations they researched. Give the groups another five to 10 minutes to discuss.

Bring the class together and have each group report back what they found. You could continue the conversation by asking each team what they found that was effective and not effective for building transparency.

Lesson 2:

The second lesson continues the examination of transparency by looking at corporate social responsibility (CSR) and regulatory obligations. An example of when CSR activities can lead to crisis and the role of transparency is provided. Transparency guidelines from the Page Principles and the Public Relations Society of America are discussed. The lesson concludes with how transparency is regulated by the government. Various regulatory agencies that affect public relations practice are highlighted.

Learning Objectives

After completing the lesson, students will be able to:

• Describe the role of transparency in CSR activities
• Explain regulatory obligations as related to transparency
• Name three agencies that regulate communication
• Name three agencies that regulate communication
• Apply the regulatory obligations to a case study

Key Concepts

• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Native/Brand Advertising
• Regulations
• Agencies that Regulate Communications
• Deceptive Practices
• Conflicts of Interest

Discussion Starters

1. Brainstorm CSR partnerships that are mutually beneficial. Why are these beneficial? What was the role of disclosure and transparency?
2. You are working for a struggling midsized newspaper, a company comes to you with a native advertising offer? The content will be marked as sponsored content.
   Do you accept the offer?
3. If you were the company, would you sponsor native/brand advertising?
4. Your public relations team works for the largest manufacturer of widgets. The second-largest manufacturer wants to hire your team. How do you handle this?
5. For a press conference, you are worried about not filling the room and it looking empty. What should you do? Should you hire volunteers? Should you require your employees to come? What do you do if the real press notice that they don’t know many in the audience?

Case Study

The second case study looks at the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

A central tenet in this case is the refusal of Norfolk Southern to participate in a public forum. After reviewing the case materials, you can have students take their turn practicing a public forum through The Public Square activity.

In this activity, students will list issues they have strong convictions about and then explore where and how they would present these issues.

Individually have students select issues about which they feel strongly. Encourage students to think of a wide variety of topics. Students can consider local issues like the citizens of East Palestine addressed. But not all subjects have to be hot-button political issues. For example, if they love dogs and think everyone should rescue one, that is a great topic. Having some lighter issues can help with this activity.

After the students have their topics, place the students in small groups to share their lists. Students can talk about why the issues are important and their positions.

Next, introduce the concept of the public square as a common space where people can voice their opinions. Many universities have a public square or commons where students and organizations can voice their opinions. If your university does not have a formal public square, ask students where they could have a public speech or demonstration on campus. A history of public squares, although a violent one, can be found from the BBC at https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20141203-blood-on-the-streets.

End by having the students consider if they would talk about the issue on campus, at a family gathering, on a date, in their hometown, at their statehouse, and at the U.S. capital. Also, have the students expand on how they would change the presentation of the issue with each different setting.

Additionally, the students can discuss if the internet and social media expand or limit the concept of a public square.

Suggested In-Class or At-Home Activities

1. Who Wants to be an Agency Millionaire?

Students will be asked questions about this lesson. This activity will be in the form of a short, fun quiz-show and used to review lesson two on transparency. The quiz can be used with Turning Technologies clickers for more interactivity. This activity is available as a PowerPoint file in this module.

2. Podcast Interview with Lori Quiller, APR, CDME, Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton

The interview with Quiller covers her career in public relations, ethics and transparency, and the Norfolk Southern Train Derailment case. She ends by offering advice for aspiring practitioners.

More information about Quiller is at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lori-quiller/

3. Norfolk Southern Train Derailment in East Palestine, Ohio

In addition to the case summary, students can access many original documents. Below are statements made the Ohio Governor, Ohio Emergency Management Agency, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

• News releases from the Ohio Governor:
  • https://governor.ohio.gov/media/news-and-media/
  • Search for East Palestine to find the relevant releases.
• Statements from the Ohio Emergency Management Agency:
  • https://ema.ohio.gov/media-publications/east-palestine-derailment-info
• East Palestine Informational Website from the EPA:
  • https://www.epa.gov/east-palestine-oh-train-derailment/background

Students can be divided up and assigned one of those resources for review. In class, they can recreate the crisis timeline based on their sources.

As the students create their timelines, have them play the role of public relations counsel to the governor and Norfolk Southern. What would be their strategies and tactics?

Next share with the students the Norfolk Southern CEO’s Washington Post editorial. Does this match what they suggested?

• Opinion Letter from CEO
  • https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/03/08/ohio-train-derailment-norfolk-southern-ceo/;

After creating the timeline and talking about tactics, the students can do an internet search about East Palestine. The community is still suffering the consequences of the derailment. This case is an example of a long crisis—one that doesn’t end once the literal fires are put out.

4. Toms Shoes Impact Report

• Have the students review Toms Shoes Impact Report:
  • https://www.toms.com/us/impact/report.html

The linked videos and infographics are a good way to start a discussion of CSR and its role in public relations. After reviewing the materials, have students answer some of the following questions:

1. Are the company’s activities CSR or something else?
2. Do the company’s activities match its corporate brand and mission?
3. Are the company’s CSR activities good business, good public relations, neither, or both?
4. What are the downsides to Toms CSR?
5. Would you spend more for Toms shoes because of its CSR?
6. Who are Toms competitors? Do those companies conduct CSR?

Module Developers