Because public relations has roots in journalism and many of its practitioners were once journalists, there is an unfortunate tendency to apply journalism standards to public relations. It is, however, misguided and unfair to both professions. Despite using similar skills, the two fields are fundamentally different and seek different ends. Their ethical standards are also very different. That should not be interpretted as meaning that one of them is better than or worse than the other; they're just different, and it is important to understand those differences.

PR and journalism have some similarities, but . . .
The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), and the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) ethical guidelines all agree about the importance and value of such key concepts as truth, accuracy, fairness, human rights, freedom of speech, and democratic principles. But, that can be somewhat misleading.
The underlying differences between public relations and journalism are far more basic and far more critical than these similarities in what they value.
According to their own professional codes and standards, there are fundamental differences in whom they represent and whose well-being they most directly serve.
DIFFERENCES!!!

Journalism serves the general public, and journalists are expected to act in the public's best interests even if such actions have detrimental effects on their employers.

Public relations, in contrast, serves the specific organization or client who is paying the practitioner to build and manage relationships that help that organization/client achieve its goals.

Principled public relations practitioners and organizations such as PRSA and IABC which they have established are quick to append the caveat that even though public relations is meant to serve the