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Media Association, ICFJ to start media ethics course for journalists
“Technological tools have been providing more opportunities for journalists. However, there must be a difference between journalists and others. This is the principle of media ethics,” said the association’s president, Salih Memecan.
The instructors of the course, scheduled to take place Aug. 6-Sept. 17, will be journalist Alper Görmüş, recipient of the 2009 International Hrant Dink Award, and Sherry Ricchiardi, Ph.D., a professor at the Indiana University School of Journalism, specializing in international issues and a senior writer for the American Journalism Review.
Thirty-five journalists from among the applicants will be selected by the Media Association. Selections will be made based on the participants’ willingness to bring the knowledge regarding information and ethics rules that they will develop in the course into to the media organizations where they work. Eighteen applicants who have completed and excelled in the course will be eligible to participate in a three-day conference in İstanbul this winter.
The criteria for selection will also attach importance to diversity among the participants and their media organizations. The program is open to local media and journalists.
Memecan said that they are planning to establish an ethics committee at the Media Association to make the issue a permanent project. “Still, we are not in a position to enforce any rules. Adaptation of our recommendations is totally up to the media organizations. It’s their choice. But we aim to raise awareness about the issue,” he said.
Barış Soydan, project director of the association, said they would stress several issues regarding basic principles of media ethics as well as current issues regarding the topic by looking at several case studies.
Some of the questions that the association and the ICFJ plan to explore in the course are: Where is the line between creating excitement and presenting information in news? What is a conflict of interest in journalism? When can secret telephone conversations be used in news?
Interested participants are welcome to apply between June 7-July 30 on the ICFJ’s site, http://e-learn.icfj.org, and the course will be offered free of charge.
The ICFG is based in Washington and has offered instruction to more than 50,000 journalists from 176 countries. Established in March, the Media Association’s goal is to work toward improving the quality of the media in Turkey. The association is planning to offer its next course on the issue of digital media.
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