Activity Details (ID# 5874)

Activity Synopsis

The meeting was a one-day event dedicated to an issue of outmost importance for the Romanian media community - the balance between media freedom and journalists' responsibility. The draft of a self-regulation document was presented and debated.
The objectives of the event were to:
· find common grounds for the self-regulation of journalists as a viable alternative to restrictive media legislation and as a tool to foster responsibility of media professionals;
· to draft a strategy for the future actions of the media community aimed at promoting self-regulation;
· to create a sense of belonging to a community, of professional solidarity among media professionals.
 

The meeting gathered representatives of the 26 members of the Convention of the Media Organisations (COM), as well as ones of the organisations aspiring to join COM. A task group prepared a draft of a Statute of the Journalist, a document meant to clarify the relations between journalists, on one hand, and owners, reporting subjects and audience on the other hand. The document was discussed and massively amended during the debates.
The first two sessions, dedicated to international documents on self-regulation and previous experiences in Romania, were of a broader interest and were therefore open to persons not affiliated with COM. The debates related to the Statute of the Journalist were open only for COM members or members-to-be, as they are the ones who have to endorse and implement it.
The dialogue was open and vibrant, even heated. Participants felt free to express their views and propose solutions. Discussions were moderated by journalists both from Bucharest and from the provinces in order to establish a balance and an atmosphere of equal footing.
It was agreed to continue the debates on the Statute and, in parallel, to start a new discussion about a future Code of Conduct for journalists, as a complement to the Statute. CIJ and the Media Monitoring Agency (MMA) will be the ''moderators'' of these discussions (to be conducted over the Internet) and will be in charge of providing COM members with reference documents, possible models, etc. Participants pledged to stay actively involved in the drafting of the two documents.
The Information Office of the Council of Europe in Bucharest expressed its readiness to support the demarche by providing COM members, as well as any other interested parties, with Council of Europe documents related to self-regulation and freedom of expression to be used as reference materials. This is particularly important because some of these documents are legally binding for Romania. It turned out that some of the participants were not aware of some of these documents.
The activity enjoyed a good media coverage, especially by broadcasters.
The event was a good opportunity for COM members to meet and act jointly on what was set as one of their priorities - self-regulation. The target group was fully reached and even extended to prospective members. The meeting also allowed other media professionals to learn about the self-regulation initiative and to provide their opinions and suggestions.
 

The following decisions were taken:
· COM members will continue to work on the Statute of the Journalist;
· COM members will develop a Code of Conduct, to be implemented individually by each association, using various methods (journalists' councils, advisory boards - including media owners and representatives of readers/audience, media ombudsman, etc);
· no single regulating body was considered necessary for the time being. As a unique body it would rather hamper the self-regulation process and could be ''confiscated'' by various groups of interests;
· CIJ and MMA will continue to act as coordinators of the initiative, while the other COM members will increase their level of participation.
The following projects are envisaged in continuation:
· the next meeting of COM will be held in October 2003 (tentative) to discuss the relation between advertising and editorial independence. (Allegedly in Romania, advertising contracts are used as leverage to influence favourable coverage, while advertising with public money is used in a ''carrot and stick'' strategy). Part of the financial support is provided by the World Bank in Romania (funding attracted by CIJ). More funds are needed to fully cover the project;
· a project to support and finalise the work on the Statute and the Code of Conduct, including four more COM meetings plus online assistance and consultation (November 2003 to July 2004) was submitted by CIJ and MMA to PHARE Romania. Evaluation of the project is underway, results are expected in November 2003.
 

Representatives of media associations and trade unions - members of the Convention of the Media Organisations in Romania; journalists, members of Parliament, government representatives 

Ms Mariana Nitelea, Director, Council of Europe Information Office, Bucharest