Activity Details (ID# 12744)

Activity Synopsis

The main objectives of the workshop were:

- to discuss the values, standards and principles of news reporting and media coverage of electoral issues in accordance with the Council of Europe standards (Recommendation No. R (99) 15 on measures concerning media coverage of election campaigns);

- to analyse the benefit of the Code of Conduct for journalists during election campaigns signed last year and the monitoring of Azerbaijani media in the run-up to the Parliamentary elections of 6 November 2005;

- to present European standards concerning private life, defamation, honor and dignity;

- to discuss journalistic methods of obtaining information and relationship with sources.
 

The workshop was very well organised. There was a high level of attendance and participation at all the sessions.

During the discussions, the participants complained of a difficulty in obtaining information from official circles even where such information reflected favorably on the ministry or government office concerned. They also said that there was also great difficulty in obtaining advertising for newspapers that were seen to be independent or anti-establishment.

A lively discussion on journalistic ethics followed. Several contributors indicated that newspapers are not held in the highest esteem by members of the public. Readers frequently did not believe what they read. Circulation was falling because the papers did not reflect the lives of ordinary people. Hundreds of newspapers exist in Azerbaijan and at least 70 percent of the inhabitants do not read any newspaper at all.

The Council of Europe experts explained that the newspapers in their countries would not usually report on the private life of politicians or their families unless there was some compelling reason to do so in the public interest.

Several speakers referred to the particular difficulties of the regional press in Azerbaijan. Difficult as it is to obtain official information in Baku, it is even harder outside the capital city. There are no newspapers, or a very few, and sometime even radio or television doesn’t reach this part of the country.

There is also the problem of getting through to the official information of the government. Government officials were not trained to give out information.

During the discussions on the Code of Conduct, it was clear from the contributions by different speakers that this Code is still a controversial topic among Azeri journalists and that many of them see little benefit in signing it. They even said that the situation in accordance with the Code is getting worse. On the other hand, they said that monitoring the press-violations during election-time last year was a success.
 

The general conclusion was that the participants expressed a kind of pessimism regarding the media freedom in Azerbaijan, but also a strong commitment to their profession and a keen desire to overcome the difficulties they are currently facing. It would be important to organise training workshops for young journalists. 

Editors and senior journalists 

Mr Kees BOONMAN, Chief editor, Netwerk (KRO) (the Netherlands)
Mr Declan BREDIN, Foreign Affairs Correspondent, Irish Times (Ireland)
 

Mr Ilgar IBRAHIMLI, Council of Europe Information Office, Baku
Ms Lejla DERVISAGIC, Media Division, DG II