The media play an enormously important role in the protection of human rights. They expose human rights violations and offer an arena for different voices to be heard in public discourse. However, the power of the media can also be misused to the extent that the very functioning of democracy is threatened.
Some media outlets, including in European countries, have been turned into propaganda megaphones for those in power, while other media have been inciting xenophobic hatred against minorities and vulnerable groups.
We have also seen that unrestrained commercial ambitions can encourage a culture of illegal and unethical activity in the newsroom – as the phone hacking scandal in the United Kingdom demonstrated with shocking clarity.
Such reckless and intrusive journalism can damage public confidence very quickly – and be used as an excuse by governments to impose media regulation or even censorship. This would, of course, further undermine the existence of critical, investigative journalism.
Self-regulation based on a code of ethics
To prevent such tendencies the media community needs to develop a system of effective self-regulation – based on an agreed code of ethics and a mechanism to receive and respond to complaints, for instance through an ombudsman or a media council.
The idea of self-regulation springs out of the desire by quality-conscious journalists and media to correct their mistakes and to make themselves accountable to the public. One purpose is to develop ethical principles which would protect individuals or groups from unacceptable abuse in the media.
This idea is not new. There have been attempts to build a system for such ethical self-regulation in a number of countries. Unfortunately, these efforts have not always yielded the desired results. During my travels I have seen several examples of how certain media have ignored and thereby undermined these ethical codes. The abusers have most often been in the hands of oligarchs or other, sometimes anonymous, big business interests.
This issue is becoming more and more urgent in a changing media landscape. The traditional media have felt the pain of the global economic crisis. Many thousands of jobs have been eliminated, investment in training and investigative journalism has been cut, and there is precious little space, if any, for research, checking and original investigation.
The emergence of new journalism in the form of bloggers, twitterers, YouTube commentators and others have certainly added important eyewitness accounts, but the communicators behind these are not always trained and fully aware of the extent of their responsibilities.
Ethical journalism and genuine professionalism
The term ethical journalism is highly relevant in this context. Though reporters and editors are not megaphones for any particular interests – not even in matters relating to human rights – they can contribute to a better society through genuine professionalism.
In essence, ethical journalists serve the public’s right to know. They are professional also in the sense that they seek the truth and resist any pressure to convey distortions, be they from media owners, business interests or political forces.
There is a need to encourage a deeper discussion of how to promote ethical journalism, also in relation to social media and other online information. It is positive that the trade unions for journalists have taken up this challenge. However, governments also have a responsibility.
They should protect freedom and pluralism of the media and avoid any regulation which would undermine freedom of expression, including on internet-based media. Any limits should be narrowly and clearly defined and reflected in law.
A media policy with such ingredients would encourage constructive self-criticism in the media community.
Thomas Hammarberg
Further reading: Issue discussion paper "Ethical journalism and human rights"