Journalist Self-Regulation Practices in the New Democracies - Unesco

opinion of the fact that it is entitled to benefit from a quality media product and to
hold the press accountable when it violates the fundamental rights and deliberately or
non-deliberately ignores the ethical and professional rules.
The Press Council of Moldova has started information campaigns about the
accountability of the press and the possibility to demand that it respect the ethical
standards. The Council’s meetings are usually public. At the same time, we have
organized round tables in the regions where we disseminated information about
the work principles of the Press Council. All these actions aimed at one thing – to
inform the public and encourage it to not allow the press violate its rights as well
as to encourage the journalists to take into account all the ethical and professional
standards in writing/editing items.
— To what extent has the presence of a media self-regulation mechanism made the
Moldovan journalists more accountable
— Of course, marvels do not happen. The strengthening of journalism is a long-lasting
process that is based on repeated and persuasive actions, if you want. The journalists
have received an extremely useful tool – the new Code of Ethics based on which they
can organize their work. Periodically they benefit from publications and trainings
about the good journalistic practices, which improves their skills but also enhances
their vigilance in their daily work. The journalists have received a strong argument
for the situations when the newsroom’s practice forces them to act unethically. We
have had examples of “corrections”, when for instance some TV stations that were filed
complaints against with the Press Council, are not abusing of unethical subjects about
juveniles or victims anymore, which makes us think that this is also a positive effect
of our work. I have noticed that some TV stations very often withdraw the subjects
containing violations when they identify the problem. We are glad that, in the end,
the Broadcast Coordinating Council (BCC) in its capacity of legal regulation structure
in broadcasting has reacted to our many collegial appeals and adopted the practice
of monitoring so that not to admit unethical subjects, especially about javelins and
victims. The BCC has even started an informational campaign entitled “What does your
child see on TV” I think these are good results, after two years of work of the Press
Council of Moldova.
Journalist Self-Regulation Practices in the New Democracies
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