Working Meeting on Media Ethics Held in Tbilisi
During the first day of the meeting the journalists discussed the differences between the legislation and ethics; they also spoke about the importance of the Charter on Journalism Ethics. The Dutch expert named self-regulation as the best tool for protection from censorship.
"Journalists are not above the law and they can't do everything they're allowed under the law. Avoiding interference in the activities of media outlets is possible through self-regulation. If self-regulation is effective then media garners more trust and the possibility of interference is minimal" - Daphne Koene said.
Journalists spent a lot of time comparing Georgian and Dutch charters on journalism ethics. As it turned out there are very few differences between them, for example, there is no separate article concerning the coverage of issues connected with minors in the Dutch charter, whereas the 8th article of the Georgian charter deals exclusively with the rights of children. However, there are no definite norms about victims and suspects in Georgian charter, whereas according to the Dutch charter: "journalists must avoid using the images and texts that can identify the suspects or convicts".
At the end of the first day of the session the journalists discussed the articles published in Georgian press, which violated ethical standards. They categorized all violations according to the Georgian Charter on Journalism Ethics. It should be noted that the journalists, whose articles were discussed, were also attending the seminar.
"The fact that journalists accept that criticism and admit their mistakes is the indication that media culture is at a higher level now than it used to be several years ago" - Ia Antadze, Director of Civil Development Institute, says.
During the second day of the seminar the journalists discussed the ethical standards that deal with privacy, accidents and suicide. The organizers demonstrated footage of how the Dutch media covered a plane crash during which only one child survived. The journalists discussed how media violated the child's privacy, then the participants discussed the way crime and suicides were covered by foreign and Georgian press, they also talked about the facts of violation of privacy.
During the meeting it became obvious that Georgian media violates the first article of the Charter most frequently. According to that article: "journalists must respect the truth and the right of the public to receive accurate information".
"That article was violated most frequently in the materials we discussed. That means the situation in today's Georgian media is quite serious" - Maia Metskhvarishvili, member of Council of Charter of Journalism Ethics, said. According to her, that seminar enabled the journalists to discuss what norms are violated in their stories and how they should act in certain situations.
Ia Antadze believes that coordination between regional and Tbilisi-based journalists will encourage the acceptance of the principles of the Charter, which is very important at this stage.
"The Charter includes 11 articles. We have assumed responsibility before the public to cover certain issues in a considerate manner and demonstrate particular responsibility towards our readers and viewers. Therefore it's very important to establish common rules of the game from the very beginning" - Ia Antadze said.
During the seminar 9 more journalists signed the Charter; as a result, the Charter now has 160 signatories. Journalists of tabloid Prime Time also expressed their wish to join the Charter.
Audio version of the interview with Ia Antadze:
Audio version of the interview with Maia Metskhvarishvili:
Printer-friendly version
Post new comment