Journalist Self-Regulation Practices in the New Democracies - Unesco

Regional Conference
“Observance of Presumption of Innocence
and Protection of Privacy”
Representatives of media self-regulation organizations from six countries – Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine – participated on 23 and 24 November
in Chişinău in a regional conference on observance of presumption of innocence and
protection of privacy in the media.
The event was organized by the Press Council of Moldova and aimed at offering a platform for
exchange of experience in the consideration of the two ethical principles by the journalistic selfregulation
structures. The conference was funded by the UNESCO Office in Moscow for Azerbaijan,
Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Russia.
Before the conference, the guests attended an open meeting of the Press Council that considered
three complaints filed and one case started ex officio. The Council took action ex officio when
a Moldovan TV station broadcast a news item about a juvenile who was sexually abused by a
serviceman. Although they protected the boy’s image, the journalists made public the name of the
victim’s town and interviewed his mother without using an image screen. All this made it possible
to identify easily the juvenile, which can make him vulnerable to stigmatization and discrimination.
Journalist Self-Regulation Practices in the New Democracies
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