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Maintain code of ethics when reporting, writing: NCEASL to journalists
View(s):Professional journalists have been called upon to maintain a code of ethics when reporting or writing features on incidents or issues involving religious or communal tension. The call came at a workshop convened recently by the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL) attended by senior print and electronic media journalists.
The recommendations made after the two-day deliberations included an appeal that compliance with the Code of Ethics drawn up by the Editors’ Guild of Sri Lanka, be made binding. Other recommendations included promoting greater levels of professionalism in journalism, encouraging the introduction of a respective Code of Ethics/Practice, by individual media institutions to ensure that reportage is within the parameters of the guidelines, publication of this Code of Ethics/Practice for public access, as an accountability mechanism and discretion to be practised when reproducing and reprinting hate speech/content, including the weighing of the broader impact of the publication of hate speech/content.
It also recommended the introduction of a Media Code of Ethics to deal with electronic media and promotion of existing media guidelines among journalists and media institutions, calling for greater adherence to the Code.