Is this legal? Briefly explain your answer.
In two or three sentences, what do you say to the employee?
You are a PR writer at a major hospital PR department. A new coworker was asked to help you create a series of brochures for the Cardiac Care Department. These brochures are for patients to read prior to various kinds of cardiac surgical procedures. The coworker recently came to your hospital from a competing hospital about three towns over. He said, “We did the exact same kind of brochure at my former hospital. I have copies of those brochures. Because I wrote the copy, we can just use copy from those brochures to save a lot of time.”
Entertainment PR is exciting and can be challenging. In an instant, a respected entertainer can face a crisis, and the PR professional is left to “try” to clean up the mess. The crisis of Kathy Griffin is one such case. Read “A Question of Ethics” on page 113. Answer the two questions at the end of the case. There is really no right or wrong answer. This is your opinion.
Classmate reply:
Kathy Griffin is a public figure with high public visibility, and thus whatever she communicates, and displays contribute to her reputation and character. As a comedian, she should be a very good judge of character, and also carefully assess words before using them. In this case, Kathy Griffin thought it to be hilarious holding a mask of Donald Trump’s bloody, severed head. Kathy’s reaction to the case warranted sympathy and caution for the national figure she inappropriately addressed. It should have been with concern and genuine to engage her ethical principles in addressing the head of state. After the demeaning act, and the irrefutable response she received, Kathy should have lessened the victimhood she showcased, and stopped blaming Donald Trump for making her life miserable. Having violated her stage name, and brand as a comedian, Kathy’s crisis could have been more controlled by her genuine desire to feel sorry, and seek forgiveness not only from the public but also from Donald Trump. She handled her crisis poorly and did not take the blame.
As her public relation representative, I would suggest that she conduct an interview to curb the ongoing rumors, and also clear her name from her irrefutable misconduct. A more direct interview with Donald Trump would be convenient to ensure the public takes her actions seriously and with good intentions. As a concerned comedian, she should recognize that not only her reputation is important, but also her career. Therefore, she needs to be genuinely sorry, and savage all the deals that she lost in mocking the president. A pardon should also be requested.
