Balancing Transparency and Privacy in a University Sexual Misconduct Case: A Legal Public Relations Case Study
In 2016, the University of Kentucky became embroiled in an open records debate with its student newspaper, The Kentucky Kernel. Following a professor’s resignation amid a sexual misconduct investigation, the Kernel asked for records pertaining to the case. The University refused, claiming the inform...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The Netherlands Press
2020-03-01
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| Series: | Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://stars.library.ucf.edu/jicrcr/vol3/iss1/5 |
| _version_ | 1797727095014555648 |
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| author | Chelsea Woods Shari Veil |
| author_facet | Chelsea Woods Shari Veil |
| author_sort | Chelsea Woods |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In 2016, the University of Kentucky became embroiled in an open records debate with its student newspaper, The Kentucky Kernel. Following a professor’s resignation amid a sexual misconduct investigation, the Kernel asked for records pertaining to the case. The University refused, claiming the information would violate survivors’ privacy. The decision sparked public backlash, forcing the University to combat accusations that it was prioritizing reputation over student safety. This case study provides insight into the crisis management process by exploring how key actors in the case made decisions. Drawing from theoretical perspectives including stakeholder theory and the ethics of care and justice, this study explores the complexities of addressing incongruent stakeholder perspectives and balancing stakeholder interests, along with offering implications for public relations practitioners. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T10:54:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dcf938d37aea45dab7b634e32921eb20 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2576-0017 2576-0025 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T10:54:56Z |
| publishDate | 2020-03-01 |
| publisher | The Netherlands Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-dcf938d37aea45dab7b634e32921eb202023-09-02T06:36:05ZengThe Netherlands PressJournal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research2576-00172576-00252020-03-013110313610.30658/jicrcr.3.1.5Balancing Transparency and Privacy in a University Sexual Misconduct Case: A Legal Public Relations Case StudyChelsea Woods0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2779-7024Shari Veil1Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityUniversity of KentuckyIn 2016, the University of Kentucky became embroiled in an open records debate with its student newspaper, The Kentucky Kernel. Following a professor’s resignation amid a sexual misconduct investigation, the Kernel asked for records pertaining to the case. The University refused, claiming the information would violate survivors’ privacy. The decision sparked public backlash, forcing the University to combat accusations that it was prioritizing reputation over student safety. This case study provides insight into the crisis management process by exploring how key actors in the case made decisions. Drawing from theoretical perspectives including stakeholder theory and the ethics of care and justice, this study explores the complexities of addressing incongruent stakeholder perspectives and balancing stakeholder interests, along with offering implications for public relations practitioners.https://stars.library.ucf.edu/jicrcr/vol3/iss1/5legal crisispublic relationscrisis communicationstakeholder theoryethics |
| spellingShingle | Chelsea Woods Shari Veil Balancing Transparency and Privacy in a University Sexual Misconduct Case: A Legal Public Relations Case Study Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research legal crisis public relations crisis communication stakeholder theory ethics |
| title | Balancing Transparency and Privacy in a University Sexual Misconduct Case: A Legal Public Relations Case Study |
| title_full | Balancing Transparency and Privacy in a University Sexual Misconduct Case: A Legal Public Relations Case Study |
| title_fullStr | Balancing Transparency and Privacy in a University Sexual Misconduct Case: A Legal Public Relations Case Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Balancing Transparency and Privacy in a University Sexual Misconduct Case: A Legal Public Relations Case Study |
| title_short | Balancing Transparency and Privacy in a University Sexual Misconduct Case: A Legal Public Relations Case Study |
| title_sort | balancing transparency and privacy in a university sexual misconduct case a legal public relations case study |
| topic | legal crisis public relations crisis communication stakeholder theory ethics |
| url | https://stars.library.ucf.edu/jicrcr/vol3/iss1/5 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT chelseawoods balancingtransparencyandprivacyinauniversitysexualmisconductcasealegalpublicrelationscasestudy AT shariveil balancingtransparencyandprivacyinauniversitysexualmisconductcasealegalpublicrelationscasestudy |