PRSA APR Exam Practice Questions and Correct
Answers, With Rationale – COMPLETE SOLUTION 100
Questions with 100% Correct Answers
You are responsible for an internal employee newsletter. A freelance
photographer provides several photos you intend to use in the next issue. Your
supervisor quickly reviews and approves the newsletter before leaving for an
extended vacation. You are nearing your deadline and in final preparation of the
files, you notice fine print copyright information by the photographer in the
corner of the images. Which one of the following is the best course of action?
A) This is work for hire so you can follow the directive of your supervisor and
proceed with publication of the newsletter.
B) Contact the freelance photographer directly to get verbal approval for
publication.
C) Coordinate with your legal counsel to review the contract terms before taking
further action.
D) Include the copyright information from the photographer in the photo caption
and proceed with publication of the newsletter.
C) Coordinate with your legal counsel to review the contract terms before proceeding
with publication. (EPR 10th, pgs 157-158 and PR: S&T 10th, pgs 302-303)
You are the public relations manager at a automotive manufacturer, reporting to
the company president. Your company is about to announce an expansion, which
will be a major economic boost for the community, at a press conference. Your
boss would like to share some additional details about the acquisition "off the
record" with several community partners following the press conference at a VIP
event, which some media may attend. What counsel would you offer your boss?
1. We trust our partners and this will improve our community relations
2. It is acceptable to share these details if we inform the audience that what we
share is off the record
3. It is acceptable to share these details if reporters do not attend the event
4. You should never share things off the record unless you really want it t get out
4. You should never share things off the record unless you really want it t get out
(EPR p.231)
Which of the following two statements are correct in order for you to use these
photos in ads?
A. The company hired and paid the photographer for the professional event
photos and owns them for future use.
B. These photos can only be used if the photographer has provided written
permission to reproduce the event photos beyond the original purpose of an
,internal newsletter.
C.The employees and family members photographed must have a signed consent
release to have their photos used in an ad for the company.
D. Company employees are not required to sign releases, but their family
members would need to have signed releases to be used in the ads
B. These photos can only be used if the photographer has provided written permission
to reproduce the event photos beyond the original purpose of an internal newsletter.
C.The employees and family members photographed must have a signed consent
release to have their photos used in an ad for the company.
Reference: Public Relations Strategies and Tactics (10th ed): Page 298: Photo
Releases and Page 302: Photography and Artwork.
As the internal communications officer of a large corporation, You've discovered
numerous unofficial newsletters being published and emailed to 3,000 employees
without your knowledge. On further investigation you discover in each newsletter
a national ad appeared with the copyright symbol listed, but with digital
modifications made to each ad changing the color and size. What three
significant copyright laws were violated here?
A. Downloading materials from the Internet, Fair Use, and Statutory Copyright
B. Product Publicity, Photography & Artwork, Copyright Act
D. Common law copyright, Fair Use Doctrine, and Infringement
E. Trademark Infringement, Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and
Copyright Infringement.
E. Trademark, Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and Copyright Law.
(APR Study Guide, pgs. 105-107)
You assign your intern the job of finding a royalty free image to illustrate a blog.
She brings back a great photo - it's from BING images.
What law do you talk to her about?
A) Copyright
B) Plagiarism
C) Slavish copyright
D) Defamation - libel
A. the image on Bing may be copyrighted, you need to show her how to check.
Plagiarism is when you pass off someone's else's work as your own or without
attribution; Slavish copyright is when you copy word for word, and defamation-libel is
when you disseminate a public falsehood about a person or organization.
Jonah Lehrer, the 31 year old wunderkind author of Imagine, was recently fired
from the New Yorker. He was caught for several violations - made up quotes
,including one attributed to Bob Dylan. A Dylan scholar hounded him for the
source and Jonah had to confess he made it up. The publisher of Wired.com
hired a journalism professor to review his work for authenticity. The professor
discovered Lehrer paraphrased without attribution and some of his conclusions
were found to be from the work of another scientist.
Which of the above are violations of copyright?
A) Making up quotes
B) Paraphrasing without attribution
C) Copying another scientist's work for his own book
Correct answer: C.
a is unethical, b is plagiarism.
Your new employee forgot to get an intern to sign a release form for her photo for
the annual report. He also secretly recorded a phone conversation with a client
that he was afraid would turn confrontational. As you debate whether to keep this
employee in your agency, you have him write an essay on which of the following
torts? Choose 2.
A) Public disclosure
B) False Light
C) Intrusion
D) Appropriation
Correct answer - C & D.
Secretly recording a conversation is a violation of intrusion and using a person's image
or name without their permission is Appropriation.
a is embarrassing facts or pictures that come out in public and B is when a truthful
statement is out of context and puts a person or organization in a misleading context.
Your public relations department wants to share a magazine article from another
nonprofit organization with your members. For which of the following scenarios
would you need to obtain permission from the copyright owner to share the
article? (Choose 3.)
A) If you email the article to the members of your organization
B) If you send the members of your organization a link to the article on the other
organization's website
C) If you distribute the article to the members of your organization at its annual
meeting
D) If you reprint the article in your organization's newsletter
A, C, D
[From Cutlip & Center's Effective Public Relations, 11th ed., p. 140]
While looking for material for the next round of commercials, a campaign staffer
hands you a transcript containing unflattering information about the opponent
, and illicit affairs he's had with several women other than his wife. The staffer said
that this information was overheard by a former staffer of the opponent while at a
local bar. Which would be the most ethical choice in this situation for handing the
information you were given?
1. You can use the information because there is no reasonable expectation of
privacy at a bar.
2. You can not use the information since the former staffer did not give express
permission to use what he said.
3. The information is fair game since it was gathered during the bar's normal
business hours.
4. You can not use the information since you aren't sure if the source had a
confidentiality agreement while as an employee of the opponent.
Answer: 4
Reasoning: Similar to "tortuous interference" liability claim by tobacco industry v. CBS
for using information based on a source who was party to a standard confidentiality
agreement as an employee of the tobacco industry.
Source: AP Stylebook 2012, Briefing on Media Law, p. 333.
As the public relations director for your company one of the functions of your
office is to take photos at official company events. For this particular event your
company hires a photographer outside of the company to take photos. One of the
employees emails you and asks for copies of a few of the photos. What is the
best response to provide to the employee?
A. I will provide you the photos after I provide them for legal review.
B. The organization owns an employee's work done on behalf of the organization.
C. The photographs can be found on the company's website and you can select
the photos you would like to use.
D. The photos that the company owns the copyrights that will be placed on the
company's website once they are approved by the legal office.
Correct Answer D
Reference: APR Study Guide Edition 5, page. 106
You are the manager of a public relations department for a nonprofit organization.
Your department director has asked you to help with selecting a summer intern.
She says she would prefer that the intern will not be paid and receive college
credit for the internship instead. You are unsure about the terms of this
agreement. Specifically, you are concerned about whether it is ethical to offer the
internship as an unpaid position. What is your next step in deciding how you will
advise the department director?
A) Identify the key values that you need to consider in making your decision.
B) Identify ethical principles to guide you in making your decision.
C) Identify who will be affected by your decision.
Answers, With Rationale – COMPLETE SOLUTION 100
Questions with 100% Correct Answers
You are responsible for an internal employee newsletter. A freelance
photographer provides several photos you intend to use in the next issue. Your
supervisor quickly reviews and approves the newsletter before leaving for an
extended vacation. You are nearing your deadline and in final preparation of the
files, you notice fine print copyright information by the photographer in the
corner of the images. Which one of the following is the best course of action?
A) This is work for hire so you can follow the directive of your supervisor and
proceed with publication of the newsletter.
B) Contact the freelance photographer directly to get verbal approval for
publication.
C) Coordinate with your legal counsel to review the contract terms before taking
further action.
D) Include the copyright information from the photographer in the photo caption
and proceed with publication of the newsletter.
C) Coordinate with your legal counsel to review the contract terms before proceeding
with publication. (EPR 10th, pgs 157-158 and PR: S&T 10th, pgs 302-303)
You are the public relations manager at a automotive manufacturer, reporting to
the company president. Your company is about to announce an expansion, which
will be a major economic boost for the community, at a press conference. Your
boss would like to share some additional details about the acquisition "off the
record" with several community partners following the press conference at a VIP
event, which some media may attend. What counsel would you offer your boss?
1. We trust our partners and this will improve our community relations
2. It is acceptable to share these details if we inform the audience that what we
share is off the record
3. It is acceptable to share these details if reporters do not attend the event
4. You should never share things off the record unless you really want it t get out
4. You should never share things off the record unless you really want it t get out
(EPR p.231)
Which of the following two statements are correct in order for you to use these
photos in ads?
A. The company hired and paid the photographer for the professional event
photos and owns them for future use.
B. These photos can only be used if the photographer has provided written
permission to reproduce the event photos beyond the original purpose of an
,internal newsletter.
C.The employees and family members photographed must have a signed consent
release to have their photos used in an ad for the company.
D. Company employees are not required to sign releases, but their family
members would need to have signed releases to be used in the ads
B. These photos can only be used if the photographer has provided written permission
to reproduce the event photos beyond the original purpose of an internal newsletter.
C.The employees and family members photographed must have a signed consent
release to have their photos used in an ad for the company.
Reference: Public Relations Strategies and Tactics (10th ed): Page 298: Photo
Releases and Page 302: Photography and Artwork.
As the internal communications officer of a large corporation, You've discovered
numerous unofficial newsletters being published and emailed to 3,000 employees
without your knowledge. On further investigation you discover in each newsletter
a national ad appeared with the copyright symbol listed, but with digital
modifications made to each ad changing the color and size. What three
significant copyright laws were violated here?
A. Downloading materials from the Internet, Fair Use, and Statutory Copyright
B. Product Publicity, Photography & Artwork, Copyright Act
D. Common law copyright, Fair Use Doctrine, and Infringement
E. Trademark Infringement, Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and
Copyright Infringement.
E. Trademark, Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and Copyright Law.
(APR Study Guide, pgs. 105-107)
You assign your intern the job of finding a royalty free image to illustrate a blog.
She brings back a great photo - it's from BING images.
What law do you talk to her about?
A) Copyright
B) Plagiarism
C) Slavish copyright
D) Defamation - libel
A. the image on Bing may be copyrighted, you need to show her how to check.
Plagiarism is when you pass off someone's else's work as your own or without
attribution; Slavish copyright is when you copy word for word, and defamation-libel is
when you disseminate a public falsehood about a person or organization.
Jonah Lehrer, the 31 year old wunderkind author of Imagine, was recently fired
from the New Yorker. He was caught for several violations - made up quotes
,including one attributed to Bob Dylan. A Dylan scholar hounded him for the
source and Jonah had to confess he made it up. The publisher of Wired.com
hired a journalism professor to review his work for authenticity. The professor
discovered Lehrer paraphrased without attribution and some of his conclusions
were found to be from the work of another scientist.
Which of the above are violations of copyright?
A) Making up quotes
B) Paraphrasing without attribution
C) Copying another scientist's work for his own book
Correct answer: C.
a is unethical, b is plagiarism.
Your new employee forgot to get an intern to sign a release form for her photo for
the annual report. He also secretly recorded a phone conversation with a client
that he was afraid would turn confrontational. As you debate whether to keep this
employee in your agency, you have him write an essay on which of the following
torts? Choose 2.
A) Public disclosure
B) False Light
C) Intrusion
D) Appropriation
Correct answer - C & D.
Secretly recording a conversation is a violation of intrusion and using a person's image
or name without their permission is Appropriation.
a is embarrassing facts or pictures that come out in public and B is when a truthful
statement is out of context and puts a person or organization in a misleading context.
Your public relations department wants to share a magazine article from another
nonprofit organization with your members. For which of the following scenarios
would you need to obtain permission from the copyright owner to share the
article? (Choose 3.)
A) If you email the article to the members of your organization
B) If you send the members of your organization a link to the article on the other
organization's website
C) If you distribute the article to the members of your organization at its annual
meeting
D) If you reprint the article in your organization's newsletter
A, C, D
[From Cutlip & Center's Effective Public Relations, 11th ed., p. 140]
While looking for material for the next round of commercials, a campaign staffer
hands you a transcript containing unflattering information about the opponent
, and illicit affairs he's had with several women other than his wife. The staffer said
that this information was overheard by a former staffer of the opponent while at a
local bar. Which would be the most ethical choice in this situation for handing the
information you were given?
1. You can use the information because there is no reasonable expectation of
privacy at a bar.
2. You can not use the information since the former staffer did not give express
permission to use what he said.
3. The information is fair game since it was gathered during the bar's normal
business hours.
4. You can not use the information since you aren't sure if the source had a
confidentiality agreement while as an employee of the opponent.
Answer: 4
Reasoning: Similar to "tortuous interference" liability claim by tobacco industry v. CBS
for using information based on a source who was party to a standard confidentiality
agreement as an employee of the tobacco industry.
Source: AP Stylebook 2012, Briefing on Media Law, p. 333.
As the public relations director for your company one of the functions of your
office is to take photos at official company events. For this particular event your
company hires a photographer outside of the company to take photos. One of the
employees emails you and asks for copies of a few of the photos. What is the
best response to provide to the employee?
A. I will provide you the photos after I provide them for legal review.
B. The organization owns an employee's work done on behalf of the organization.
C. The photographs can be found on the company's website and you can select
the photos you would like to use.
D. The photos that the company owns the copyrights that will be placed on the
company's website once they are approved by the legal office.
Correct Answer D
Reference: APR Study Guide Edition 5, page. 106
You are the manager of a public relations department for a nonprofit organization.
Your department director has asked you to help with selecting a summer intern.
She says she would prefer that the intern will not be paid and receive college
credit for the internship instead. You are unsure about the terms of this
agreement. Specifically, you are concerned about whether it is ethical to offer the
internship as an unpaid position. What is your next step in deciding how you will
advise the department director?
A) Identify the key values that you need to consider in making your decision.
B) Identify ethical principles to guide you in making your decision.
C) Identify who will be affected by your decision.
