Module 1

Corporate Communication and Public Relations

1.1.          Corporate Communication: Scope and Relevance

Introduction and Meaning

In today’s information driven society, it must be acknowledged that communication is as essential as food, clothing and shelter. Corporate communication is an essential management tool which has evolved over the years.

Corporate communication may be described as the set of activities involved in managing and orchestrating all internal and external communications which are designed to create favorable workflow in a corporate environment. Corporate communication is the exchange of information by a variety of specialists and generalists in an organization. Corporate communication often concerns itself with people, organizational processes, activities and media.

Corporate communication creates an efficient and effective route of information exchange with employees, consumers, investors and many others, locally, externally and globally. A great deal of management’s current concern for employee productivity and the need to empower people has revolved around the use of teams. But more often what is required is the simplest need of all — communication.

Scope of Corporate Communication

Corporate communication is not just limited to the marketing that an organization puts intent on gain clients or customers. The scope of corporate communication extends to internal communications, public relations, social media, customer communications and investor relations along with non-profit organizations, the government and even education. When combined, these elements of corporate communication strengthen an organization's brand and presence within the marketplace.

As far as corporate communication is concerned, how you communicate together with your employees internally is an essential factor because it defines the image of the organization in the eyes of the general public. That’s why a robust corporate communication plan should encompass the following elements:

• Employee communications, including policies and procedures, events, team-building activities and newsletters.

• Public relations, like press releases, sponsorships, community outreach and crisis management. Public relations include tasks such as community relations and marketing communications dealing with an organization's reputation and service to clients.

• Internet marketing, including social media, company websites, online advertising and apps.

• Customer communications, which includes sales, after sales services and marketing on to potential clients and customers.

• Investor relations, which includes keeping shareholders and other investors regularly informed on the status and progress of the corporate.

• Non-profit Agencies - Options starting from membership organizations to social and cultural groups, hospitals, and health care agencies offer PR opportunities where fund raising is usually involved.

• Entertainment, Sports and Travel - This area is typically concerned with press agentry and promotion of events. Publicity is a crucial element of practitioner duties.

• Government and Military - Communication specializing in promotion of political issues (often including lobbying), information dissemination about government activities to citizens, and knowledge distribution to and about the military.

• Education - Education opportunities cover relationships with alumni, faculty and administration, students, and therefore the general public promoting the school image, recruiting students, and raising funds.

Corporate Communication in India

In India, business and corporate industries have indeed come a long way. As it is found that corporate communication is extremely complex in nature and dynamic in an economic context. The journey of corporate communication has been overarching in today's day and age. In the 1950s, when industrialization had just commenced in India, the focus was more on production and demand-based supply but this concept has kept on changing and today, corporate communication is all more about corporate branding and reputation management than it was about production and supply. India, may be called a brand driven consumer market. Each phase of industrialization has come up with a replacement medium of communication and vision. The objectives of corporate industries moved from attention seeking to relational capital (reputation + bonding). And today, every corporate want to manage their stakeholders through various channels of communications.

In India, corporate communication has seen the phases of commercial revolutions wherein the communication paradigm also shifted between business and society.

Today, organizations want to regulate and manipulate "voxpopuli" to create trust and reputation through digital media. Corporate communication has become quite advanced over the course of more than a century. Be it political, social, economic, legal, business, nobody can deny its importance and relevance today within the context of the India corporate structure.

Most Indian corporate structures consist of a wing that handles all internal and external communication. Internal Communication of an organization refers to the maintenance of a work culture and employee communications; it often has its interactions with Human Resources. Clear channels within Indian organizations, between the wings and their hierarchical structures are maintained through well-planned and thorough internal communication practices.

Consider this instance of effective corporate communication in India. In a most recent scandal, Nestlé, the international food brand had a PR nightmare after “Maggi Noodles” failed FDA’s food standard tests because of unsanitary laboratory conditions in an Indian laboratory. In this case, Nestlé kept their customers informed about the situation through Twitter and subsequently recalled several batches of their product. And eventually Nestlé succeeded in restoring its brand name.

In an organizational structure, more serious crises such as a natural disaster or a fire have severe consequences and have to be dealt by the communications wing. Consider the instance of 26/11 attacks at the Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai which was a sensitive crisis with high stakes due to the nature of its threat to public safety. Harvard Business review, among other organisations, praised the hotel’s response to this crisis and commended its work culture and communications practices that helped minimise the damage and casualty.In situations like these, announcements, press releases and clear communication channels within the organization are required to face the crisis.

Need for Corporate Communication in India

Backed by digital reforms, the startup culture is growing in India and with it the necessity for corporate communication professionals is growing too. Consistent with the Economic Survey of 2015-16, “The number of active investors in India increased from 220 in 2014 to 490 in 2015. As of December 2015, eight Indian start-ups belonged to the ‘Unicorn’ club (ventures that are valued at $1 billion and upwards).” With efforts being made to usher in foreign capital into the country, more companies are expected to open their base in India.

On the web page of India PR and corporate Communications Awards, Rashmi Soni, head of Corporate Communications at TATA Vistara writes, “This is a great time to be a communication practitioner in India. The world’s eyes are set on India’s vibrant consumer market replete with new brands, inspiring start-up ventures, new acquisitions sprouting every day. With each development – strong communication strategy and novel marketing ideas are required to connect with the stakeholders.” because of a growing nexus of companies and shifting trends in media, communication could be a growing field within the corporate world.

Corporate Communication Programmes in India

Many students who are pursuing a Corporate Communication career often first complete an undergraduate degree in Journalism, Mass Communication, English or Business Administration and then opt for a specialised post-graduation. Like many other institutes in India, one of the most prestigious institute, The Indian Institute of Mass Communication offers a Post Graduate Diploma in Advertising and Public Relations. A course with the same title is offered at the School of Broadcasting & Communication, Mumbai; this is a Master’s Degree instead of a diploma. The Xavier Institute of Communications also offers a Post Graduate Diploma course in Public Relations and Corporate Communication.

Need/ Relevance of Corporate Communication in Contemporary Scenario

The father of public relations, Edward Bernays & Arthur Page spoke about the relevance of corporate communication. Bernays said that internal and external communications are the engineers of consent in the interest of the company. Arthur Page's primary focus was to build the goodwill of the company. According to him, It is important for a business to influence society through persuasion or convincing. In today's world, corporate communication cannot considered just as a job in a company but it is essentially a department that is fundamentally creating the social environment of economic value creation and challenging our traditional understanding of communication management.

Corporate communication is extremely relevant in today’s significantly interconnected world. Corporate communication assists in developing a culture of dialogues, feedback, and flexibility. Any organization with effective communication is bound to excel in its specific market.

The success of Tata, Reliance, Facebook, Mahindra & Mahindra and many other such companies define their way of communicating values to their people. Today, mid to large organization understand the importance of corporate communication and why it is imperative for them to incorporate into their organization.

Thus, corporate communication today and in the future will be more targeted, effective, interactive and informative. It has a potential to shape culture, enable better decisions and significantly move the need for building an engaged workforce to capture the value. It is important for every corporate to recognize the need for communication category and usage of communication tools which has the greatest impact on building a strong organization socially and economic point of view.

1.2.          Keys concept in Corporate Communication

Corporate Identity: Meaning and Features

Just as the way we speak, dress, behave, and just as much as what we say and do, consciously or unconsciously, expresses what we stand for and believe in as individuals, in the same manner organisations to express themselves in a variety of ways. This accumulates over a period of time and becomes a company's identity and is a sum total of the company’s history, philosophy, ethical values, ownership, people, technology and performance.

Ideally corporate identity should be able to reflect the inner truth about the organisation. Therefore, a corporate identity is the coordinated and consistent projection of everything an organisation stands for. Corporate identity is not reflected solely by visual elements but it is often identified through visual signs and symbols. Because, the visual expression tends to encapsulate with imagery what the company holds to be its essential belief and philosophy.

Features of Corporate Identity

The most significant features of corporate identity are manifested primarily by visual means. These means include elements such as a corporate logo, font, corporate colours and printed material that has strict design standards. But a business can proceed in a more detailed definition of its data, in accordance with its philosophy. For example, it may develop a specialized way in the design of products, address public relations in a particular way its etc. Below are the main features of corporate identity:

1) Naming may be a created name for companies, products, services, promotions and more. This procedure is allocated into a separate field, as it requires not only creativity, but professional knowledge and experience in advertising as well.

Tips for naming:

• Original, so that it doesn't violate the trademark right, previously registered by other companies;
• Unambiguous;
• Harmonious;
• Vivid and memorable;
• Corresponding selected image.

2) Logo may be a graphical original mark that presents and identifies the corporate or its products. Typically, a logo consists of a text box, an image, or their combination. A well-designed logo will draw and hold the attention of consumers, creating their positive impression and a sort of "aura" of the corporate. Logo represents the company image, depicted a graphical miniature, and aimed to remind consumers that your company exists and that it's just what they require.

3) Corporate colour, selected by company, may be a set of constant colours that are an essential feature of corporate identity. Corporate coloursgamma makes the components of corporate identity more attractive, better remembered, able to make a powerful emotional influence. The main objective in developing corporate colours is to choose them up in such a way, so that they can cause a persistent association with company’s field or direction. While choosing colours, you need to consider the psychological and emotional impact, like sympathy and trust of the consumers in the organization.

4) Corporate font may be a vital and specific element of corporate identity that reflects and emphasizes brand features and peculiarities. Corporate font are often among the simplest elements in corporate identity. Recognition of a nicely-designed corporate font is quite big e.g. Disney or Coca logos.

5) Business card is traditional piece of contact information of an organization's representative. Usually it's manufactured from heavy paper or cardboard, rarely of plastic, wood (plywood) or metal. Conventionally all cards may be divided into personal, business and corporate.

6) Letterhead is another element of corporate identity. Letterhead is the face of the company. Every document that comes out of the company should be printed on company letterhead. That is the reason why it must have high-quality, real and memorable design.

7) Designed envelopes are special envelopes for corresponding, mailing flyers, transferring official information, bound up in envelope with corporate branding mark. The design of envelopes must be concise and rigorous. When selecting the dimensions of the envelope one often focuses on its function.

8) Corporate identity may also can also include:

• Souvenirs
• Outdoor advertising
• Interior design
• Images on vehicles
• Folder
• Booklet
• Poster
• Flyer
• Packaging (or wrapping paper)
• Information sheet and price list
• Site in Internet
• Packs

Corporate Image: Meaning, Factors Affecting Corporate Image

A corporate image refers to how an organization is perceived. It is a generally accepted image of what a corporation “stands for”. The creation of a corporate image can be referred to as an exercise in perception management. It is primarily created by marketing experts who use public relations and other forms of promotion to suggest a mental picture to the public. Typically, a corporate image is meant to be appealing to the general public, so that the business can spark an interest among consumers, create share of mind, generate brand equity, and thus facilitate product sales.

A corporate image is not solely created by the company: there are other contributors to it including news media, journalists, labour unions, environmental organizations, and other NGOs.

Corporations are not the sole types of organization that make these forms of images. Governments, charitable organizations, criminal organizations, religious organizations, political organizations, and academic organizations all tend to possess a singular image, a picture that's partially deliberate and partially accidental, partially self-created and partially exogenous.

Factors Affecting Corporate Image

Images of corporations, however right or wrong they may be, seem to form in a way a very complex communication process involving most varied information sources.

1. Businesses operate within a society. It is this society that supplies the business with its inputs and consumes the goods and services the business produces. Businesses operate due to the goodwill granted to them by society. The fortunes of a corporate body are closely tied to the business environment it is operating in.

2.     Consumer relations are one of the major factors affecting corporate image. It showcases that you care about your consumers. When you make serious attempts to resolve their issues, it establishes that you genuinely want to offer values in their lives that will ensure better connection with your users who will know that you will be there for them, in all the times of their needs.

3.     Quality and availability of goods and services are important factors for creating or destroying a company’s corporate image in public eye. Providing good quality products and services not only reinforces corporate image to the consumers but also allows the company to build up goodwill.

4.     Environmental and social impact caused by the company may also affect its image. For example, if a company does not take care of its industrial waste which may harm the environment, that company often acquires a negative image in the public eye. If a business is active with NGO’s and government organizations for social welfare and is well-known for giving back to the society, they often have a good corporate image and reputation.

5.     Employee relations and welfare is a very significant factor affecting corporate image. Employee friendly companies are shown to have a more positive image in the public eye than organizations having non-friendly workplace environments.

6.     Media and online presence also play a major role in creating and maintain corporate image. A business that flourishes with a competent online presence provides consumers a chance of relating to the organisation. Media such as news channels, newspapers and online articles also influence corporate image through negative and positive publicity.

Corporate Reputation: Meaning, Advantages of Good Corporate Reputation

A company’s corporate reputation can be described as sum of all the views and beliefs held about the company comprising its history and its future prospects, as compared to close competitors. Corporate reputation may be a relative assessment which by definition is fuzzy and variable. Whilst there could also be a weight of opinion to an overall position, there may also be people with very different (more extreme) views.

Corporate reputation is the overall estimation within which a company is held by its internal and external stakeholders based on its past actions and probability of its future behaviour. While being something that's so vitally important, many companies don't give an afterthought about corporate reputation. Even if a corporation is competent at taking care of their existing customers, a business might not notice the likelihood of more business if their reputation was managed well. Although reputation is an intangible concept, research shows that a decent reputation demonstrably increases corporate worth and provides sustained competitive advantage.

Advantages of Good Corporate Reputation

1. Investors

Advantages: Greater access to capital markets

If a business has a track record of good returns and consistent financial performance year after year, it will have better access to capital and outside investment. Share value will increase if dividends are maintained, and outstrip the competition.

2. Customers

Advantages: Broader customer base, consumers paying a premium for products and services, longer lifetime client value, increased revenue, raised online profile

In a competitive marketplace, consumers can be fickle, so winning their trust is of the utmost importance. People are often swayed by personal recommendations; therefore, corporate reputation plays a vital role in acquiring a consistent consumer base. Once they trust the reputation of a company, consumers are more willing to pay a premium for products and services, and loyalty means each client’s value has a longer lifespan. Conversely, customers will disassociate from businesses with a poor reputation.

3. Employees

Advantages: More applicants per role, broader talent pool, attraction of top talent, increased employee retention

Employees want to be proud of what they do, and who they do it for. A positive reputation as an employer helps attract and retain the best talent in the sector. Corporate social responsibility, financial performance, staff reviews, media coverage and brand value are all weighed by prospective employees when evaluating whether to work for a company.

4. Government, Regulators, and Policymakers

Advantages: Less scrutiny, reduced regulatory burden, preferential access to future projects, influence on policy formation

Businesses that demonstrate good corporate citizenship attract regulators and policymakers. And it works both ways. By being seen complying with industry guidelines and rules, and paying its fair share of tax, a company will receive positive media mentions and potentially undergo less intense scrutiny. And by having a reputation for compliance, and earning trust, it may succeed in reducing its regulatory burden.

5. The Media

Advantages: Avoid negative image and shorten bad news cycles, build public rapport, free publicity, opportunities to provide expert comment

Companies which have built a reputation for authenticity are less likely to be pursued by investigative journalists keen to bring down big, bad corporations. The news cycle will move on, as a reputable company experiencing one reputation crisis is less interesting than one suffering repeated shockwaves. The media can also provide positive publicity at zero cost if they like a company. Positive framing by journalists will improve overall public perception. Company representatives will be the go-to sources for comment on sector coverage.

6. Local Community

Advantages: Attract and retain talent, appeal to customers, boost local economy, gain competitive advantage through community promotion, links with community leaders, support for business expansion

A key element in corporate reputation management are community relations. Partnerships, philanthropy, volunteering and charitable donations can promote a business’ long-term strategy. Being a good neighbour results in getting the benefit of the doubt if things go wrong. Staff feel rooted in the community and want to remain. Customers see a business that cares. And local government will offer incentives for it to remain or expand in the area.

1.3.          Ethics and Law in Corporate Communication

Importance of Ethics in Corporate Communication

Ethics is defined as a branch of philosophy concerned with the meaning of all aspects of human behaviour. Corporate ethics therefore, can be described as principles that govern the behaviour of a person or group in a business environment.

Similar to values, corporate ethics provide rules on how an individual should act towards other individuals and institutions in such a professional environment. And unlike values, corporate ethics are, more often than not, a defined set of rules, which a particular group of people use. Meaning all those in a particular group will use the same corporate ethics, even though their values may be unique to each person.

Importance

Ethical behaviour at the workplace is extremely significant. Below are some ways in with corporate ethics is important at the workplace:

1. Strong corporate ethics encourage managers to show appreciation for an employee’s hard work. As a result, team members may be more loyal to the company and strive to be more productive.

2.     Team members who practice corporate ethics have respect for one another and work well together. This camaraderie not only fosters a pleasant work environment, but it also helps with productivity and team collaboration.

3.     When a manager follows corporate ethics, they’re more likely to treat employees well which will result in teams being more inclined to follow their leadership. This will minimize discipline issues and strengthen teams’ trust in managers and supervisors when tough decisions need to be made.

4.     Then you have a positive attitude toward your work and those you work with, you can increase the quality of your work. It will also increase your value to your team and the company as a whole.

5.     Corporate ethics ensures positive ambience at the workplace. Corporate ethics lead to happy and satisfied employees who enjoy coming to work rather than treating it as a mere source of burden. Employees also develop a feeling of loyalty and attachment towards the organization.

6.     Corporate ethics ensures management guides and mentors their employees well. Appraisal and salary hikes should not happen just for the name sake.  Organizations need to have fool-proof systems to measure the performances of individuals. Appraisal system needs to be designed keeping in mind employee’s performance throughout the year and his/her career growth.

7.     Corporate ethics is important as it enables management to treat all employees as equal and think from their perspective as well. Employees must have a say in their appraisal system. Transparency is essential.

8.     Corporate ethics says that organizations need to retain and nurture talents. Employees need to be inducted well into the system. They must be aware of the organization’s policies from the very first day itself.

9.     Corporate ethics also go a long way in strengthening the bond among employees and more importantly, their superiors.

Corporate Communication and Professional Code of Ethics

The norm system governing and regulating professional behaviour isprofessional ethics. Certain common principles underlie professional codes andbodies, e.g. Medical and Dental Council, Police Service Code of Conduct, EstateAgentsCode of Conduct. Codes may not be exhaustive and may not include all the rules andregulations that apply to every situation. The contents therefore have to be viewed withinthe framework of company policies, procedures and the requirements of the law.

In our society ethical concerns have escalated in the past few years and have beenraised at government level. Organisations have hot lines for employees to anonymouslyreport unethical behaviour. In professional fields issues of fairness have beenlegislated and we have a Code of Conduct in place. The question of ethical practice, however, covers broad ground and encompasses everything we do as professionals andthe way we behave towards each other and our clients.

Professionals must become aware of their ethical responsibility towards the clientas well as being on the lookout for possible areas where ethical concerns could arise.

Professionals need to understand what values are and examine their own value systemwhich determines their interactions. What pitfalls regarding business and professionalethics face Professionals and what standards of integrity do they need to be aware of andadhere to, i.e. what ideals should they strive towards?

Most codes have common fundamental principles which boil down to four universalfundamental principles:

1. Respect for People’s Dignity and Rights

     Respect the client’s personal integrity (privacy, confidentiality)

     Be non-judgmental of the intrinsic value of the client irrespective of age, behaviour, culture, gender, race or religion

     If you are not competent to undertake a project/ task refer to another Professional

     Respect the knowledge skills and experience of your colleagues and otherprofessionals

2. Responsible Practice

     The critical focus of this principle is to limit your practice to your field of expertise and competence

     You must have the appropriate knowledge and skill before undertaking an activity

     Undergo relevant training and adhere to best practice

     Keep abreast of new developments in your field

     Use a new technique under supervision of a competent and experienced Professional

3. Integrity in Relationships

     The power relationship is unbalanced between the client and the Professional as most power rests with the Professional (having the knowledge and skill) which leaves the client vulnerable

     Professional codes expect professionals to act with integrity

     For professionals to be accepted in society and successful in their profession they need to be trusted. There is a fiduciary relationship whereby one person (the client), in a position of vulnerability, justifiably reposes confidence, good faith, reliance and trust in another (the Professional) whose aid, advice or protection is sought in some matter. In such a relationship good conscience requires one to act at all times for the sole benefit and interests of another, with loyalty to those interests.

4. Responsibility

     Clients are clearly the Professional’s first responsibility but professionals also have a responsibility to society

     Examples of responsible social actions are to:

• To disperse information that can advance the profession
• To protect the public trust in the profession by “blowing the whistle” on non-professional conduct
• To assisting in some instances where worthy causes cannot afford professional services to protect society from dangerous practices

Mass Media Laws: Defamation, Invasion of Privacy

A Brief History of Mass Media Laws

In India, the concept of mass media laws was introduced during the British Rule.  In 1799, Lord Wellesley promoted the Press Regulations Act and imposed censorship on various newspapers for publishing any information against the British government. In continuation, acts passed in the year 1835 towards media regulation were repressive in nature and imposed restrictions on the printing industry. In 1857, Government passed the “Gagging Act” which mandated licenses for owning and running printing presses and gave multiple rights to the British government to suppress the freedom of the press. The ‘Press and Registration of Books Act” was imposed in 1867 by the British Government. The Vernacular Press Act of 1878 also repressed the rights of media.

But after India gained independence, The Constitution of Indian promulgated the “Freedom of Press” and empowered press to disseminate knowledge to the masses freely and the Constituent Assembly and in Article 19 (1) (a) enumerated certain rights regarding individual freedom of speech and expression.

According to Article 19 of the Indian Constitution:

“All citizens shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, to assemble peacefully, a without arms, to form associations or unions, to move freely throughout the territory of India, to reside in any part of the territory of India, to acquire hold and dispose of property and to practice any profession or to carry any occupation, trade or business.”

Therefore, according to Article 19 of the Indian Constitution, freedom is not absolute but is qualified by certain clearly defined limitations under Article 19 (2) in the interests of the public, integrity and sovereignty of the country, state security, relations with neighbouring and foreign countries, public decency and mortality, or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to offence.

Defamation

Defamation may be described as the act of communicating false statements against an individual or company that damage the reputation of said individual or corporate when observed through the eyes of ordinary man. Any false and unprivileged statement published or spoken deliberately, intentionally, knowingly with the intention to cause damage to someone's reputation is defamation. Any individual's or organization's reputation is treated as their property and any damage to it is punishable by law.

Defamation may be written or verbal. Written defamation, printed or typed material or images are termed as libel and spoken defamation is termed slander.

Defamation Law in India

Article 19 of the Constitution has granted freedom in various areas to Indian citizens. However, Article 19(2) has also imposed reasonable exemptions to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1) (a). Some of these exemptions include contempt of court, defamation and incitement to an offence.

Defamation is considered as an offence under both the civil and criminal law. Under civil law, defamation is punishable under the Law of Torts by imposing punishment in the form of compensation to be awarded to the claimant. Under the Criminal law, Defamation is a compoundable, bailable, and non-cognizable offence. Therefore, in the case of defamation, a perpetrator can only be arrested with an arrest warrant issued by a magistrate. According to The Indian Penal Code (IPC), defamation is punishable with an imprisonment sentence of up to two years, or with a fine, or both.

Invasion of Privacy

In India, the right to privacy is imposed with reasonable strictness. But many times, it is seen that this right is curbed to the side-lines especially in case of celebrities or a public figure. Invasion of privacy is the unjustifiable intrusion into the personal or professional life of an individual without consent. Invasion of privacy, as a tort, typically consists of four distinct causes of action.

Invasion of privacy consists of the following four laws:

• Appropriation of Name or Likeness
• Intrusion Upon Seclusion
• False Light
• Public Disclosure of Private Facts

Appropriation: – Appropriation of a person’s name or likeness for commercial or trade purpose without permission or consent is considered as an invasion of privacy. Uses of an individual’s photograph, a sketch of the person’s name or nickname are all considered 'use of a name or likeness'.

E.g. In 2005, the famous musician Tom Waits declined an offer made by an advertising agency to do an ad campaign for a new automobile, the company advertisers then hired someone who sounds like him to do the soundtrack, to which Waits sued the organization for appropriating his likeness.

Intrusion upon Seclusion: – Intruding someone’s private affairs, physically or otherwise, without their consent, is subject to liability if the other individual finds it offensive and unacceptable. For example, illegally intercepting private phone calls, snooping someone’s private records without their permission, taking photographs without consent etc. are all encompassed under invasion of privacy

E.g. – The famous Ratan Tata – Radia Tape case is an example of intrusion upon seclusion which showed a woman attempting to influence policy by controlling politicians and journalists, destroying reputations and careers in the process.

False Light Claim: – False light laws protect the right to not have potentially misleading or damaging information about oneself publicly disclosed. This may include the disclosure of information that may or may not be true but is nonetheless misleading or damaging to someone's reputation. For example, it may be considered as an invasion of privacy if a photograph is published with a caption in a news article about a protest describing a person as a participant, when in fact, the person was only observing the protest. Generally, false light laws consist of the following elements:

• The defendant publicly disclosed information about the plaintiff;
• The information places the plaintiff in a false light, and
• If that false light is highly offensive to a reasonable person.

Public Disclosure of Private Facts: – As the term suggests, public disclosure deals with encroaching someone’s private territory. If some confidential information about an individual is leaked to the public without their consent, for instance, it would be considered as an invasion of privacy. Many times, it is observed that the media tries to cover all the irrelevant personal information about the public figure which is not of much concern.

Copyright Act

A Copyright protects the original work of artists in the area of literature, dramatics, music, artistic works, anonymous and pseudonymous works, posthumous works, cinematograph films, sound records, government work, public undertaking, international agencies a photograph.

The duration of the copyright protection is variable. Infringement of a copyright occurs when an individual or an organization steps over the bounds of a copyright owner’s rights without permission. The Copyright ACT, 1957 consists of the various copyright laws in India.

Copyright Guidelines

• To protect legally, it is extremely important for a corporate communicator to copyright all the literature, brochures or relevant documents that deal with company information or confidential data.
• No download/upload should be carried out of an individual or organization's work without having proper information about its protected rights.
• Always seek permission or consent for materials used for sale.
• All celebrity and political figures' letters, photographers are to be protected under the copyright law.
• Government documents are not copyrighted but one must avoid implying government endorsements.

Registration of Copyright

In India, the registration of copyright for sensitive data or products is not mandatory as the registration is treated as mere recorded fact. The registration will not confer or create a new right and is not a prerequisite for initiating action against infringement. This view has been upheld by various Indian courts in a catena of judgments.

Need for Registration of Copyright

Among the enforcement authorities in India, the awareness of Intellectual Property (IP) Laws is considerably low, and most of the IP litigation is confined to metropolitan cities. Despite the fact that the registration of copyright is not mandatory in India and is protectable through the International Copyright Order, 1999, it is advisable to register the copyright as the copyright registration certificate is accepted as a "proof of ownership" in courts and by police authorities, and acted upon smoothly by them.

Digital Piracy

Digital piracy is a form of piracy which includes the unauthorized online distribution of electronic copies of copyrighted material such as software, movies, and music among others. Recently, it has been observed that many filmmakers have shown their concern towards the release of their movies on various digital platforms prior to their release dates as it gets leaked on piracy websites or as torrents which impacts their business and in larger context, employment. There are many factorsthat lead to digital piracy, they include:

Availability of hordes of Unauthorized Websites: These websites make digital content such as movies and music readily available, sometimes even before their theatrical or official release and allow users to download the media content for free causing financial damage to copyright owners.

High-Speed Internet: Today, high-speed technology and availability of many apps through which we can share huge amounts of data in few seconds capitalize the high traffic by selling the advertising space of their webpage to advertisers to reach the target audience. Promotional tactics such as these help them to generate revenue through digital advertising. Advertisers like these may be harmful to all individuals who are associated with it. It might lead to indulgence in illegal activity.

Unsafe Digital Environment: The websites on where digital advertising is shown might be interpreted by consumers that it is a well-known brand but it might not be actually the case.

Therefore, it becomes the responsibility of a communication expert of a company to avoid ads going to suspected IP infringing websites. Also, it is essential to eliminate fraud traffic, combat malware, fight internet piracy, and promote brand safety through transparency.

Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) has provided the list of ethical rules to publish information through digital media:

• All online content should be accurate and scrutinized carefully.
• It is important to cite the sources used when publishing information online.
• Ensure credibility of all downloaded or uploaded material
• When errors are corrected, it needs to be mentioned.
• All printed materials obtained from online sources need to be used with proper permissions.
• Information gathered through online mediums must be confirmed, checked, validated and authenticated using a list of sources.

RTI

The Right to Information Act 2005 (RTI) mandates timely response to citizen requests for government information and relevant data. It is an initiative taken by Department of Personnel and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions to supply a– RTI Portal Gateway to the citizens for quick search of data on the intricate details of first Appellate Authorities, PIOs etc. amongst others, besides access to RTI related information / disclosures published on the net by various Public Authorities under the govt. Of India as well as the State Governments

Objective of the Right to Information Act

The basic object of the right to Information Act is to empower the citizens, promote transparency and accountability within the working of the government, contain corruption, and make our democracy work for the people in real sense. It goes without saying that an informed citizen is best equipped to stay necessary vigil on the instruments of governance and make the govt more accountable to the governed. The Act can be considered big step towards making the citizens informed about the activities of the government.

The Schema of RTI Act

The Parliament recognized that proper and efficient functioning of a democracy requires an informed citizenry and transparency of data and that such transparency is significant for checking corruption and to hold governance and their instrumentalities accountable to the citizen of the country. The Parliament was also conscious that random and uncontrolled revelation of information is probably going to conflict with other public interests including efficient operations of the governance, optimum use of limited fiscal resources and preservation of confidentiality of sensitive information.

In its undertaking to balance out and harmonize these conflicting interests while preserving the paramountcy of the democratic idea, the Parliament enacted the RTI Act. The object of the RTI Act is to lay out a practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities, so as to push transparency and accountability within the working of public authorities.

Sec. 4 of the Act imposes an obligation on public authorities to take care of its records duly catalogued and indexed in a manner and form which facilitates the right to information under the Act.

Sec. 6 of the Act entitles an individual desirous of obtaining any information under the Act, to form a request in writing to the Central or State Public Information Officer specifying the particulars of the data sought by him. The applicant is not required to give any reason as to why he is requesting for the information.

Sec. 7 of the Act requires the public Information Officer to either provide the knowledge or reject the request for any of the explanations laid out in Secs. 8 and 9 within 30 days of receipt of the request. If the Officer fails to offer a choice on the request within 30 days, he shall be deemed to have refused the request.

Under Sec. 19, if an individual doesn't receive a decision within 30 days or is aggrieved by the choice of the public Information Officer, he may prefer an appeal to an Officer who is senior in rank to the public Information Officer in this Public Authority.

Sec. 20 of the Act empowers the information Commission to impose penalty on the public Information Officer if the Commission is of the opinion that the Officer with none reasonable cause refused to receive an application for information or has not furnished the data probed for within the required time under Sec. 7(1) or mala finely denied the request for information or knowingly has given incorrect, incomplete or misleading information or destroyed information which was the topic of the request or obstructed in any manner in furnishing the information.

Sec. 22 of the Act is a non- obstante clause giving overriding effect to the provisions of the Act.

Under Sec. 25, the information Commission is required after the completion of every year to formulate a report on the implementation of the provisions of the Act during that year and forward a copy thereof to the appropriate Government.