14th July 2016
By wp-admin-ss88

Ethical Journalism Network Newsletter – 14 July 2016

NEWS

TURKEY: CHARGES AGAINST FIVE JOURNALISTS MUST BE DROPPED

Charges of acquiring and divulging state secrets, membership of, and administration of a terrorist organisation brought against five journalists, including four former members of Taraf newspaper’s editorial and investigative staff, must be dropped and one of the accused, Mehmet Baransu, must be released immediately and unconditionally, PEN International, English PEN, German PEN, Swedish PEN, PEN America, ARTICLE 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the European Federation of Journalists, the Ethical Journalism Network, IFEX, Index on Censorship, the International Federation of Journalists, Global Editors Network and Reporters Without Borders said in a joint statement Thursday.

Turkish Journalists Association announces winners of Press Freedom Prize for 2016

The Ethical Journalism Network and the other groups in a coalition of international freedom of expression groups was this week recognised by the Turkish Journalists Association (TGC) in their annual Press Freedom Awards. The Grand Jury decided that the Coalition of International Free Expression Groups merit the Press Freedom Prize “for the unique solidarity unparalleled in the past, it showed against the assaults on press freedom in Turkey, for its efforts to bring to international platforms the violation of rights and for instilling in their Turkish colleagues the feeling that they are not alone.”

NEW CODE OF ETHICS FOR AFGHAN JOURNALISTS

Afghan journalists, in collaboration with the Afghanistan Journalists Center have approved a new code (in Dari) of ethics for journalists. The code was developed in response to criticism by the government and the public regarding the professionalism and independence of the media and reflects the viewpoints of over 400 Afghan journalists. Six core values are included in the code – accountability, impartiality, balance, reduction of risk, authenticity and professional behavior at work. It also includes guidance on responding to government pressure and reporting on children.

Read the full article here. (EJN)

SIX WAYS TO MAKE MEDIA COVERAGE OF IMMIGRATION MORE CONSTRUCTIVE

U.S. immigration policy has become a hotly debated issue in the presidential primaries, and it figures to continue in the campaign as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump appear headed to receiving their parties’ nominations later this summer. A University of Kansas researcher who studies issues surrounding human migration, particularly out of Latin America, says how the media has covered immigration issues in the campaign illustrates the wide chasm between the media and academic representations of this complex topic. “Both the mainstream and right-leaning media simplify migration, particularly undocumented, and talk past each other,” said Brent Metz, associate professor of anthropology.

Read the full article here. (University of Kansas)

Correcting media myths about refugees and migrants (UNESCO)

For more on media, migration and the refugee crisis read our Moving Stories report.

Press Release | Foreword | Introduction | Recommendations

TWO OF INDIA’S BIGGEST TV JOURNALISTS LOCK HORNS OVER MEDIA ETHICS

The ongoing unrest in Kashmir, where 23 people including policemen have lost their lives after Indian security forces killed Hizbul commander, Burhan Wani, has also ignited a raging debate on whether some channels in Indian media have resorted to playing patriot games over a militant’s death. And once again, two big names of the Indian TV industry have locked horns with no holds barred attacks against each other.

Read the full article here. (Janta Ka Reporter)

3 THINGS FACT-CHECKING BREXIT TAUGHT ME ABOUT JOURNALISM

It’s now well over a fortnight since the EU referendum, and amidst the turbulence, there is at least some consensus. Whether or not they agree with the result, a huge number of people feel the campaign was rife with confusion, misinformation and a general lack of either facts or clarity. Jonny Bottomley and I spent the campaign trying to dissect, clarify and present the arguments on either side of the debate with our not-for-profit site Referendum.wtf, along with the help of some fantastic volunteers. Our mission was very simple: to provide people with the tools to come to an informed decision on which way to vote. We did this for the simple reason that we did not feel such a service currently existed. But for me, the process shed light on just how far the news currently is from providing what I feel is necessary for any informed debate, let alone a referendum. Here are three things I learned about how we report on issues like the EU.

Read the full article here. (Journalism.co.uk)

Brexit results underscore need for more balanced, vigilant journalism (IJNET)

HOW TECHNOLOGY DISRUPTED THE TRUTH

Social media has swallowed the news – threatening the funding of public-interest reporting and ushering in an era when everyone has their own facts. But the consequences go far beyond journalism.

Read the full article here. (Guardian)

FACE IT, FACEBOOK. YOU’RE IN THE NEWS BUSINESS.

You’ve heard of the accidental tourist. Now we have the reluctant news media.

I’m talking about Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, among others. With the advent of live-streaming options — Facebook Live and Periscope, primarily — their already huge influence in the news universe has taken another stunning leap.

When Diamond Reynolds logged on to Facebook after her boyfriend, Philando Castile, was shot by a police officer Wednesday in Falcon Heights, Minn., her first words as she started recording were “Stay with me.” Millions did.

On the strength of that live video, Minnesota’s governor brought in the Justice Department to investigate what might otherwise have gone unquestioned as a justified police action.

I call that news.

Read the full article here. (Washington Post)

THE DEBATES GAVE DONALD TRUMP THE NOMINATION, AND IT’S THE MEDIA’S FAULT

What could be more open and democratic than a debate? For all the rending of garments and gnashing of teeth now taking place over the massive amounts of free media bestowed upon Donald Trump, it was his dominating performance in the televised debates that allowed him to separate himself from the pack.

Yet the debates themselves were an exercise in faux democracy. What really mattered, especially early on, was who got invited, who got to stand where and who was allowed to speak the most. Unfortunately, the media organizations that ran the debates (along with the Republican National Committee) relied on polls to make those decisions right from the very first encounter in August.

Read the full article here. (Washington Post)

In the age of Donald Trump, is it time to revisit media ethics? (Washington Post)

HOW CAN WE TRUST A JOURNALIST THAT LIES?

One of the things I constantly have to struggle with as a media analyst is the culture that exists in media companies to lie to their readers to make something more exciting than it really is.

Read the full article here. (Thomas Baekdal)

CHANNEL 4 ARE RECRUITING FOR THEIR MA IN INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM AT DE MONTFORT UNIVERSITY. INTERESTED?

A note from the EJN’s chair Dorothy Byrne, head of Channel 4 news and current affairs:

As part of the channel’s commitment to training and diversity we are launching, with De Montfort University, an MA in Investigative Journalism. We have chosen De Montfort because 50 per cent of students there come from a diverse background and it is so important that we reach out to all young people so that we ensure that in future television journalism reflects the diversity of society. It will be a great course and some of the top news and current affairs journalists from the channel and the independent sector will be working with the students.

For more information visit the course’s website. (DMU)

MATERIALS

JOURNALISTS LAUNCH GUIDE TO IMPROVE COVERAGE OF THE 2016 MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS IN BRAZIL

Voters of 5,570 Brazilian municipalities will go to the polls this year to choose the future leaders and legislators of their cities. A journalism institute has just released an online manual to help the local journalists whose job it is to inform these citizens ahead of municipal elections. “There is already a large repository of information available, so we decided to gather a minimum collection of information to guide the reporter concerning what he needs to know in terms of municipal public policy,” said Angela Pimenta, president of the Institute for Journalism Development (known as Projor) in an interview with the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas.

Read the full article here. (Knight Centre)

RESOURCES FOR JOURNALISTS COVERING THE NICE TERROR ATTACKS

Advice for journalists on how to cover terrorist attacks (EJN)

Crime and Terrorist Scenes (CPJ)

Using Twitter and Facebook images of tragedies raises ethical dilemmas (Guardian)

Reporting Terrorism: How Reckless Media Can Make Matters Worse (EJN)

Terror attacks put journalists’ ethics on the frontline (The Conversation)

ACTIVITIES

ETHICAL JOURNALISM IN THE DIGITAL ERA: COUNTERING PROPAGANDA AND HATE SPEECH

On 14 July 2016, the Ethical Journalism Network’s director, Aidan White, attended the Summer School for Journalists and Media Practioners in Florence, Italy. This year the theme of the summer school is “Journalism in the Digital Age”. The summer school is organised by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom is based at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies and the European University Institute (EUI) and is co-funded by the European Commission.