Reporting Hate Speech, Terrorism & Violence: Guidelines for journalists in South East Asia | Dorothy Byrne to give 2019 MacTaggart Lecture.
29 July 2019
Reporting Hate Speech, Terrorism & Violence: Guidelines for journalists and media workers in South East Asia
In March 2019, a group of journalists, media managers and press regulators from five countries in the Asia-Pacific region [Indonesia, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Philippines and Malaysia] met in Kuala Lumpur.
They came together to collaboratively develop a set of guidelines to assist journalists covering hate speech, acts of violence and terrorism across the region.
Each set of guidelines begins by defining ‘hate speech’, ‘acts of violence’ and ‘terrorism’ respectively. It is important to establish such definitions before developing guidelines on how journalists and media professionals should respond to such situations.
These guidelines are divided into three sections, as there are specific considerations for each scenario, although some of the key principles are applicable in all three situations.
In interpreting these guidelines, consideration must be given to context, editorial justification, freedom of expression, public interest and the capacity of media.
EJN Trustee, Dr Zahera Harb of City, University of London, was one of the lead trainers for the workshop. Dr Harb was also a lead trainer at the workshop in Kingston, Jamaica last year that developed an action plan for media practitioners, managers and owners on Reporting Hate Speech & Violence in the Caribbean.
EJN Chair, Dorothy Byrne, to deliver 44th MacTaggart Lecture
Dorothy Byrne, head of News and has been announced as the sixth woman to give the prestigious James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture.
According to the Edinburgh Television Festival press release:
"As one of the longest-serving heads of commissioning in the television industry, she has been responsible for news and current affairs programmes that have had global and national impact, winning her numerous international Emmy, BAFTA and RTS Awards."
Dorothy said of the announcement:
“I am immensely honoured to be invited to give this address which is normally delivered by much taller people. I believe British television has lost the confidence to think big about society. Naturally, I will also be reflecting on how male behaviour has changed over my decades in television and will have some tips for men in our industry.”
CEO and Festival Director, Lisa Campbell, said:
“Frank, fearsome & fearless, Dorothy Byrne has achieved legendary status in TV. With her decades of experience, ascerbic wit & sharp mind, everyone from media execs to politicians can expect to be challenged, outraged, amused & surprised - with plenty of headlines to follow."
NEW EJN RESOURCE: Migration reporting toolkit for journalists
The Ethical Journalism Network has worked with the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) to develop an online resource for journalists reporting on migration.
The online Toolkitprovides first-hand assistance to media professionals with learning resources, training courses, and opportunities to share and interact in three sections:
Learning: allows users to take courses in which journalists or editors of leading media outlets share their real-life newsroom dilemmas of reporting on migration.
Training: provides material for media trainers to design their own courses.
Sharing:ethical journalism principles. allows users to interact with other users through forum discussions on fundamental rights.
Users can also propose new courses or download the news examples for further discussion among peers.
Drawing on input from leading media outlets like Agence France-Presse, Le Monde, The Guardian, Radio France International, France TV, the BBC, and the Financial Times, the toolkit offers wide-ranging guidance on covering migration from different types of media.
THE STATE OF FREELANCING IN 2019
This Frontline Freelance Register (FFR) survey is to canvass the views of freelance journalists whose work exposes them to risk. The survey covers various issues from physical safety concerns to employment conditions, from mental health to digital security needs. FFR will use the survey results to inform its strategy and priorities. This will help FFR to better represent and support freelance journalists who are exposed to risk in their work.
EJN Annual report 2018/19: Ethics and the Fight for the Future of Journalism
Our year in numbers:
Over the last year, the EJN reached far more than the participants through our core activities than ever before. We carried out 166 programme-related actions (50 more than the same period last year) where the EJN had direct contact with our target groups – journalists and media executives; media academics and students of journalism; policymakers and civil society groups totalling over 7,100 individuals.