Comments on: Ghost Writing Ethics 2.0: PR Firm Caught with Pants Down, Public Outraged, Politics as Usual?

By: Ballsy Little Squirrels: McCain Campaign Stumps LiteralMayhem on Ghost Writing Ethics | Literal Mayhem

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 16:26:03 +0000

[...] of the more popular posts on this site is one I put up on ghost writing ethics. It’s still getting lots of regular hits even after several [...]

By: Darika

Darika — Sun, 11 May 2008 14:33:20 +0000

Hey Martin. Thanks for your comment about this issue over on my post about ghost blogging.
I think you and I may be close to agreeing on a few points. I’ve had quite a lot of response so am probably going to look attempt a follow up post soon.

By: Reader Q&A: The Ethics of Ghost Blogging | Morningstar Marketing Blog

Reader Q&A: The Ethics of Ghost Blogging | Morningstar Marketing Blog — Sat, 10 May 2008 18:06:22 +0000

[...] of blogger scorn whenever something seems deliberately deceiving – like the fake Wal-Mart blog, PR companies ghost blogging, and even an April Fool’s joke by a popular author – for the most part, the vast majority of [...]

By: letterhead

letterhead — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:51:14 +0000

Thanks for the feedback. Ghost blogging is a tough one.

Rob, I see your point about blogs being “personal comment.” And where the blog is specifically opinion, rant, commentary, insight, etc., with an individual voice, that kind of blogging is hard to ghost write and probably shouldn’t be.

But a lot of blogs these days are simply promotional tools. They tout the latest management techniques, or how to make money on Ebay, or the top ten ways small businesses can do PR, or some other very un-personal (and usually uninteresting/unoriginal) content.

Those kinds of blogs (like the “thought leadership” blog the Council of PR firms is about to launch) are ghost written all the time. To me, they are rarely interesting, or have enough personal voice to be engaging, but they are what they are.

I guess for me it’s not a question of “should or shouldn’t”… it’s a question of what kind of content is produced by each approach. Ghost writing in a personal format like blogs is acceptable, I just don’t think it gets you very much.

Anyway… thanks to both of you for your responses!

By: Bill Sledzik

Bill Sledzik — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 23:32:52 +0000

Discovered your blog this past weekend and have enjoyed catching up on old posts in my spare time.

I teach public relations classes at Kent State, but I also teach a class in Ethics that mingles students from PR, advertising and news/editorial. I’ve sent a link to this post to all our ethics instructors in hopes they share it with their students and talk about this issue in classes.

You nailed it.

By: Rob Jewell

Rob Jewell — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 19:54:53 +0000

This is an excellent article on an important topic. The issue of “ghost writing” comes up a lot in a mass communication ethics class that I teach at Kent State University. The discussion generally involves the subject of truth — as viewed from the perspective of journalists and public relations people.

Also, I worked in corporate public relations for almost 30 years. I never had any ethical or other issues with “ghost writing” speeches, letters, articles, quotes in news releases, etc. I can’t think of a time when I didn’t follow the eight points you list. And I would like to think that on occasion I even worked in a quote that sounded like someone actually said it.

But for some reason I have a problem with ghost writing on any level when it comes to blogs. Here’s the one place where it should be a personal comment. That’s my expectation when I read a blog. Otherwise I don’t think it is anything more than another form of an electronic newsletter. Ho-hum. I’m sure I’m on the wrong side of this issue with many who are trying to make money in public relations jobs these days. But what the heck? Even some of my students agree with me.

Rob Jewell