"1. The media development community should work within individual media houses to create in-house, publicly reported complaint systems rather than relying solely on outside press councils to do the job. 2. Funding groups should encourage media criticism, in forms such as local journalism reviews. 3.
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Press councils and ombudsmen should be adequately funded from a variety of sources (NGOs, media organizations, international donors) while safe-guarding their independence. 4. In the establishment of a press council, there must be an effective mechanism to avoid, or greatly reduce, the possibility that complainants will take advantage of defamation laws and take their issues to court rather than to the council. 5. To be effective, press councils and ombudsmen should focus on journalistic standards: ethical behavior (such as not accepting payment for stories), fairness, balance, and using appropriate and varied sources for information." (Summary of recommendations, page 7)
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"This handbook on media regulation and self-regulation is based on the outcomes of the International Summer School organized in 2009 in Belarus with the support of UNESCO’s Moscow Office. The event targeted media law experts and media educators from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus and the Russian Fed
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eration. The International Summer School brought together leading Russian and Belarusian experts in the field of media law. Its programme included the issues of international standards of freedom of expression, access to information, protection of honour and dignity, author rights in journalism and communication, self-regulation of the media as well as approaches and methods of teaching media law to journalists and media professionals. Based on the Summer School outcomes, this handbook on teaching the subject of media regulation and self-regulation was distributed among the stakeholders." (UNESCO website, 6 Jan. 2010)
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"Composed of questions and answers, this guidebook is practical and easy to use. There is no ‘one-fits-all’ model that can be readily adopted anywhere. Therefore, the publication does not focus on specific countries, but rather on a wide range of practical concerns. How do the existing self-regu
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latory mechanisms work? What challenges do they face? How to establish or enhance them? Each chapter highlights particular aspects of media self-regulation, including the role of codes of ethics and various accountability mechanisms, such as ombudspersons or press councils. The readers, I hope, will find solutions that they can tailor to their countries’ conditions." (Foreword, page 7-8)
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"Hay varias formas de elaborar el Código de Ética. Una forma es hacerlo en forma cerrada. En esta modalidad solo participan los propietarios, directivos o jefes que tomen decisiones en la radio o televisora. No es lo más recomendable, pero de hecho, algunos medios han optado por este procedimient
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o para simplificar el trámite. Otra forma, contemplada en la Ley de Radio y Televisión, es adscribirse al CE elaborado por el Ministerio de Transportes y Comunicaciones. De acuerdo a Ley, los CE debieron haberse implementado 90 días después de la puesta en práctica de la Ley de Radio y Televisión (Julio del 2004). Cumplido ese plazo, los Medios de Comunicación que no lo han hecho estarían incumpliendo la Ley. Por ello se sugiere que los Medios de Comunicación que no han elaborado todavía su Código de Ética, pueden solicitar al MTC acogerse al Código de Ética aprobado por el Ministerio. El problema de estas dos modalidades, es que al no haber participado en la elaboración del Código de Ética, el personal que trabaja diariamente en la radio o televisora no se va a sentir comprometido ni obligado a cumplirlo o hacerlo cumplir. Si lo hacen será solamente por una cuestión de presión o temor por las repercusiones que ello pueda tener, pero no porque esté convencido de su eficacia y utilidad, por lo que es poco probable que sea sostenible en el tiempo. En ese sentido, la mejor forma es hacerlo en forma participativa, involucrando a todo el equipo del medio de comunicación en su discusión interna: propietarios, directivos, jefes, periodistas y personal de la emisora. Asimismo, es recomendable involucrar también en esta discusión a los que alquilan espacios (concesionarios). Esto puede demorar o hacer más lento el proceso, pero también puede ser mucho más enriquecedor el debate; además ello permitirá aplicar un enfoque ético al conjunto de la programación (y no solo a los espacios informativos o periodísticos), reforzando la coherencia de su línea y su posicionamiento [...] Por otro lado, es importante que los mismos públicos del medio de comunicación puedan participar dando una opinión sobre estos temas. Los Códigos de Ética son instrumentos públicos, de manera tal que desde su diseño inicial debe involucrar la participación y opinión de los públicos con los que se vincula el medio de comunicación. Además, muchas veces la lógica de los públicos difiere sustantivamente de la lógica con la que actúan los periodistas o productores del medio de comunicación, por lo que es necesario contrastar estos puntos de vista distintos. Esto se puede lograr a través de grupos de debate, grupos focales, encuestas, entrevistas u otras técnicas participativas." (Páginas 36-41)
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"This study explores perceptions of freedom of the press by those who practice it: journalists and media organizations. References to freedom of the press in codes of ethics worldwide were analyzed according to the respective characteristics of organizations and the political-economic status of each
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country considered. The findings show that the concern journalists express about their freedom is not necessarily related to with the level of freedom of the press prevailing in their respective countries. Moreover, the codes of developing countries primarily display concern about the most fundamental freedoms of all." (Abstract)
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Provides a mappping of 26 initiatives to develop indicators of media development and their respective methodologies, and analyses these initiatives in terms of their value and relevance to the priorities of the IPDC. The paper also proposes sample indicators and data sources for five principal media
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development outcomes which are broken down into separate categories.
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"This is an evaluation of the project “Promoting Professionalism, Independence and Accountability in Sri Lanka” under the Sri Lanka Press Institute, SLPI. SLPI has two major departments: the Press Complaints Commission of Sri Lanka, PCCSL, and the Sri Lanka College of Journalism, SLCJ. PCCSL is
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a self-regulatory body for press ethics, while SLCJ is running a one-year diploma course in journalism and a number of short term mid-career courses for working journalists. The major funding of the SLPI has come from Sida and Norad for the period 2003–2006. This has been supplemented by funding from DANIDA towards the end of this period. The Institute for Further Education of Journalists, Fojo, has been the Swedish partner to SLPI to support institutional capacity building [...] During a short duration of less than three years SLPI has achieved a lot. The institute is up and running. Most of the practical aspects of setting up an institute have been achieved. In addition, a whole new section for the training of TV and radio journalists which was not on the original plan has been established. Most journalists we met agreed about the concept of self-regulation and commended the SLPI for pioneering the concept. The courses conducted by the College and Fojo have acceptance within the media industry. Despite these achievements, SLPI has been going through a certain degree of turmoil in recent times, mainly linked to management issues. Hence the organisation has entered a period where it needs to sort out these issues and consolidate itself." (Executive summary)
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"[...] this article evaluates various mechanisms of media accountability in Africa, and concludes that they are fraught with tensions among various political interests. It argues that state-controlled mechanisms of accountability are not always conducive to democracy, because they could be subject t
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o abuse. There is, therefore, the need for the media themselves to put in place procedures and demonstrate attitudes and levels of performance that ensure the highest standards of professionalism and levels of probity and accountability." (Abstract)
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"An introduction and a reference guide to the main legal issues facing journalists, this book presumes no prior legal knowledge but covers all the relevant areas including defamation, privacy contempt of court, freedom of expression, and intellectual property." (Publisher description)
"This book is divided into three main parts. In the first part, I speak about one important human right long neglected in Slovenia: the right to obtain information [...] The second part is dedicated to the right to privacy and the mechanisms of its protection when it is invaded, unjustifiably or dis
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proportionately, by the media [...] In the third part, I look into the mechanisms of self-regulation and self-control in the media. This chapter is also an attempt to resuscitate the initiative to establish a press council in Slovenia." (Foreword, page 8-9)
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