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DiStaso, Marcia W. and Denise Sevick Bortree (Eds.). Ethical Practice of Social Media in Public Relations. New York, NY: Routledge, 2014, Pp. 251. ISBN13: 978-0-415-72753-2 (cloth) $140.00
Social media have increasingly become focal points in the everyday life of individuals and in the everyday operations of organizational life. Thus, social media increase the visibility of organizations in ways that require an examination of what governs the systems of principles employed by different organizations in various relationships. In Ethical Practice of Social Media in Public Relations, the contributors explore four broad areas-transparency, social media policies, corporate social responsibility, and ethical frameworks. This is the third book in the Routledge Research in Public Relations series. The edited book is divided into four parts.
Part 1, "Transparency and Online Identities" has four chapters. In the first chapter, "Openness and Disclosure in Social Media Efforts: A Frank Discussion with Fortune 500 and Philanthropy 400 Communication Leaders," Richard D. Waters presents a research study that uses in-depth interviews with 25 communication leaders to answer three exploratory research questions. One significant finding from the research was:
that although one-third of practitioners still define openness and disclosure by demonstrating a willingness to discuss organizational-level matters, there is an increasing recognition that social media are aiding in organizational openness. Disclosure, on the other hand, remains a sensitive situation in regard to their social media presence. Two concepts that have been closely linked in public relations practice are now showing signs of separation in social media, (p. 16)
Chapter 2, "Considerations Regarding Ghost Blogging and Ghost Commenting" by Tiffany Derville Gallicano, Thomas H. Bivins, and Yoon Y. Cho, offers another study in which the researchers "conducted audience research to explore the extent to which blog readers expect ghostwriting on the corporate, politician, and nonprofit blogs they read" (p. 25). A research company was used for data collection. The researchers found that "a fair number of blog readers expected ghost blogging for CEOs and politicians, not many blog readers approved of the practice" (p. 29). In addition, "a small percentage of people who read nonprofit blogs expected ghost blogging, and a large number disapproved of the practice" (p. 29).
In Chapter 3, "Bank of America's Facebook Engagement Challenges its Claims of 'High Ethical Standards,"'...