ABSTRACT
There is some amusement to be had from the phrase ‘public relations ethics’.1 It is, indeed, a risible oxymoron when it describes much past and present PR practice. There is some hope, however, that the phrase will lose a little of its paradoxical connotation. This hope has its source in the conception of the better PR practice argued for in this book – more communicative equality in the political economy and civil society. In the meantime, the wry smiles of the present come from observers noting the assertion of PR people that their work aims at the creation of goodwill, mutual understanding, good reputation and trust.
