Journalists ethics initiative to be launched in Dubai

by Abbas Al Lawati

for gulfnews.com

February 7, 2009

DUBAI: An initiative on journalism ethics prepared by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is expected to be adopted by journalist associations and unions in the Middle East and North Africa in Dubai on Monday.

The initiative is expected to be a non-binding and voluntary programme that will attempt to regulate journalistic practices in areas of accountability, ethics, equality and objectivity among others.

The launch is being hosted by the UAE Journalist's Association at the Bustan Rotana Hotel in Dubai today and tomorrow, where a conference will be followed by the official launch.

Mohammad Yousuf, head of the UAE Journalists Association, said members of journalist unions from the Middle East, North Africa and a few South Asian nations are expected to be present.

---

---

A number of UAE papers adopted a similar voluntary code of conduct last year but faced criticism within UAE media for not abiding by it. Yousuf said that while abiding by the new initiative is entirely the media outlet's responsibility, a monitoring committee will be launched at the same time and will be comprised of members from the IFJ from various countries.

Violations of the initiative would not be punished, and instead, will only be reprimanded.

"This has nothing to do with laws and policies, but an attempt by journalists to regulate themselves," said Yousuf.

He added that the initiative was tailor-made for the Middle East and North Africa region according to IFJ categorisation. "There are some differences between the initiative we will adopt and those that have been adopted in Europe and elsewhere. Every region has a specific version," he said.

Yousuf also said that trends and challenges to the media will also be discussed, such as the role of citizen journalism and bloggers.

He said it was difficult to accept bloggers as journalists because they did not fall under a framework of accountability and ethics that govern responsible reporting.

The two-day conference will be attended by prominent international, Arab and UAE media personalities who will highlight several media-related topics with a focus on ethics and the importance of commitment by media personalities to the code of ethics.

The first day will include three sessions, the first of which will be held under the title of 'Building of Democracy' by Habib Al Sayegh, the media advisor at Al Khaleej newspaper. Aidan White, Secretary General of the International Federation of Journalists, will give a presentation during this session, among other speakers.

The second session, titled 'Challenge of Pluralism and Diversity', will be run by Abdul Hamid Ahmad, Editor-in-Chief of Gulf News. 'Ethics in War times' will be the headline of the third session during which a number of journalists will speak about their experiences during war.

Sakhr Abu Al Own, AFP correspondent and official-in-charge of the Palestinian Journalists Union in Gaza, will speak about his experience during the 22-day Israeli war on Gaza.

Media ethics not a contradiction, says Pulitzer Winner

by Dan Kraynak
for the Marquette Tribune Online
February 5, 2009

Clarence Page, a Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist from the Chicago Tribune, spoke to the Marquette community about media ethics in the Alumni Memorial Union yesterday afternoon.

Just before Page delivered the College of Communication Burleigh Media Ethics Lecture, William Thorn, the chair of the department of journalism, introduced the award-winning journalist to about 100 people in attendance.

"He doesn't know it, but he's been a part of my breakfast ritual for some time now," Thorn said of Page's columns in the Tribune. "I don't always agree with him, but his columns are always well-written."

Page entitled his lecture, "Media Ethics is Not a Contradiction."

"Many people consider the term 'media ethics' to be an oxymoron — like 'jumbo shrimp' or even 'cheerleader scholarship,' " Page said. "But it's a daily reality in a business made up of daily judgment calls."

According to Page, media ethics can be broken down to two levels. The first level consists of practices that are clearly either right or wrong, such as plagiarism or falsifying stories.

But he said the second level isn't always so black and white.

"What do you do when you think that you know what is best for others, even when others don't know what is best for themselves?" Page said.

Issues of public versus private interest, undercover journalism, culture clashes and the underlining influence of new technology are the main areas of second level media ethics Page addressed in his lecture.
"Media ethics change with the times," he said.

Page said that he, as well as many of his colleagues, thought the Chicago Sun-Times had a Pulitzer Prize all but locked up for the undercover reporting the paper did in the 1970s on political corruption in the city. But when Benjamin Bradlee, the former executive editor of the Washington Post, said it was unethical for reporters to misrepresent themselves, undercover journalism quickly faded away in the mainstream media — along with any Pulitzer Prize hopes the Sun-Times had for its undercover work.

"Today we also have a lot of problems with culture clashes," Page said.

Extreme media censorship in countries like China, violence resulting from the printing of religious figures in newspapers' cartoons in different countries and even domestic disputes between the liberal and conservative media in the U.S. are some of the culture clashes Page said affect media ethics.

But Page also said he gives FOX News credit just for breaking out of the pack.

"They've found a niche that works for them. Bill O'Reilly has been competing with and beating Larry King in TV ratings," Page said. "They report the news in a way to attract different viewers, without distorting the information."

David Thome, a journalism lecturer in the College of Communication, said it was nice to see that Page is an open-minded professional.

"I liked a lot of the comments he made, specifically on FOX News," Thome said. "He was much more tolerant and open than I was expecting."

Distinguishing the difference between efficacy and news reporting is extremely important for an ethical journalist, Page said.

"Show good taste, but then again taste is in the eye or ear of the beholder," Page said. "Audiences these days expect some degree of edginess from reporters. The worst thing you can be, besides from being inaccurate, is to be dull."

"Admit your mistakes and apologize for them," Page said. "And always hold yourself to the same standards that you hold other people to."

Media group axes head for alleged ethical violation

from abs-cbnNEWS.com

February 2, 2009

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) announced on Monday the removal of its former chairman Jose Torres Jr. for alleged violations of The Journalist’s Code of Ethics.

“Mr. Torres was found to have personally solicited money from a source for his personal use. The decision was reached after hearing the allegations against Mr. Torres and after he presented his explanation and defense for his action,” NUJP said in a statement.

Torres denied the allegation. “I deny. There was no solicitation and I disagree with the allegations that were imputed against me,” he said in a phone interview when he was asked to comment on the statement.

The statement did not detail the alleged solicitation.

Torres was removed in November 2008. A new set of officers was immediately elected. Torres, former editor in chief of gmanews.tv, was replaced by Philippine Daily Inquirer Iloilo correspondent Nestor Burgos.

Based on the NUJP statement, Torres violated Article V and XI of The Journalist Code of Ethics.

• Article V. I shall not let personal motives or interests influence me in the performance of my duties, nor shall I accept or offer any present, gift or other consideration of a nature that may cast doubt on my professional integrity
• Article XI. I shall conduct myself in public or while performing my duties as journalist in such manner as to maintain the dignity of my profession. When in doubt, decency should be my watchword."

Torres was said to have violated Article II Section 1 of the NUJP by-laws, which tasks members “to raise the standards of journalistic ethics toward the end goal of securing press freedom and protecting the integrity of the working press in the country."

The NUJP by-laws provides that any officer of the group may be removed from office “upon affirmative majority vote of the Directorate having a quorum.” His membership was also cancelled.

NUJP decided to issue a statement on Torres’s removal “to dispel rumors, erroneous assumptions and in response to queries from friends of NUJP, media organizations and allies on an internal organizational matter.”

“It was a difficult process and the decision was a painful one to make. But it had to be made if the principles of the NUJP and the hard work and sacrifices our members have put in to make our union the foremost organization of practicing journalists in the country are to mean anything at all,” the statement added.