The Principles of Ethics of the Journalistic Profession were approved by its General Assembly E.S.H.E.A. on 19-20 May 1998, at a rate of 80,4%.
We read the code of conduct and really wondered what was going on in this country (regardless of the color of the government).
Below are some excerpts from the 8 Articles in the Journalists' Code of Conduct:
The journalist is entitled and obliged:
- To consider the publication of the whole truth as his primary duty to society and to himself.
- To consider the distortion, concealment, alteration or falsification of facts as an insult to society and an act degrading to oneself.
- Respect and observe the distinctiveness of the news, comment and advertising message, the necessary correspondence between title and text and the accurate use of photographs, images, graphics or other representations.
- To transmit information and news unaffected by his personal political, social, religious, racial and cultural opinions or beliefs.
- To investigate in advance, with a sense of responsibility and awareness of the consequences, the accuracy of the information or news that is to be transmitted.
- To treat citizens equally, without discrimination of national origin, gender, race, religion, political views, economic status and social status.
- Respect the personality, dignity and inviolability of the privacy of man and citizen. Only when the right to information requires it can it use, always in a responsible way, data from the private life of persons who hold public office or have a special place and power in society and are subject to social control.
- Respect the presumption of innocence and do not discount court decisions.
- To treat citizens with discretion and sensitivity, when they are in a state of mourning, mental shock and pain, as well as those who have an obvious mental problem, avoiding to highlight their uniqueness.
- To vigorously defend the democratic state, which ensures the freedom of the press and the smooth exercise of the journalistic function.
- To reject and denounce the manifestations of state authoritarianism and the arbitrariness of the owners of the media. and especially of oligopolies.
- To defend journalistic independence in his workplace and to refuse to carry out a project that conflicts with the principles of journalistic ethics.
- Not to accept the writing of a news, comment or article and the production of a show according to the suggestions of his superiors or his employer, if their content does not correspond to reality and to report the unintentional falsifications and distortions of his journalistic product.
- Not to seek or accept remuneration for journalistic work from secret funds of state services and public or private organizations.
- Not to seek and not to accept a salaried or salaried position related to his specialty in Press Offices, public services or private enterprises, which calls into question his professional autonomy and independence.
- Not to seek and not to accept the advertising use of the name, voice and image of, except for public benefit purposes.
- Not to seek and not to accept any benefits in money and kind, which affect his credibility and dignity and affect his independence and impartiality.
How many of the above have you noticed happening in today's media, domestic or not?
Exceptions that confirm the rule certainly exist, but they are measured in fingers.
In iGuRu.gr we are not journalists we never hid it and many times we discriminate by supporting, say, open source software versus Microsoft.
We know that our page is not for everyone, and many times we are glad for that, reading your opinions in the comments. So we prefer an audience that is in the mood for hacking even in "journalism" as ideally defined by E.S.H.E.A.
Where hacking is curiosity, a clever solution, a different way to get somewhere, a reaction to commonplace action, and generally a challenge to stereotypes.
