Communication Ethics. An Others-Centered Approach to Crisis Communication

Abstract

Abstract The present paper envisages an approach to the field of communication ethics, stressing on the importance of human relationship as a source of moral obligation and learning, and as a precondition of ethical communication. The second part of the paper advances the concept of other-centeredness as a solution to contemporary crisis management. In times of crisis, it often happens that organizations exert pressure on the media and the stakeholders for the sake of defending their own interests. In such moments organizations have the responsibility to engage in ethical communication with its public, by adopting a crisis response strategy in which honesty, human support and good of the people are prioritized, a communication strategy that places others first.