Activity Details (ID# 15365)

Activity Synopsis

The objectives of the meeting were to:

-discuss the current state of media self-regulation and self-regulatory mechanisms (press councils) in Russia in particular in view of the results achieved since the last meeting;

-discuss Council of Europe standards on media freedom with representatives of the press councils;

-hold an exchange of views on ways of improving the quality and professionalism of journalism of the media in Russia.
 

The meeting was very well moderated by local expert Yuri Kasakov (Glasnost Defence Foundation, member of the Grand Jury of the Russian Union of Journalists, Russian Federation) with contributions from Council of Europe experts Claude-Jean Bertrand and Ronan Brady.

The discussions centred around ways of improving the quality of Russian journalism and the functioning of its press councils. Of particular interest were questions on the right to private life and the limits of freedom of expression. Participants considered it important to instil in the media a sense of professional responsibility and its duty to the public. 

The participants agreed that the cooperation between press councils has to be continued and increased, in particular as regards the exchange of information on best practices. It was suggested to introduce a mailing-list of self-regulatory bodies and/or to create a website in order to facilitate this exchange.
In addition, participants suggested that further trainings for the different representatives of the press councils should be organised. In particular training on ethical standards in professional journalism was needed in order to enable the members of press councils to judge even difficult cases of alleged violations of media standards.
Another suggestion voiced was to include professional standards as part of journalists’ labour contracts.
Finally, there was support for round table meetings between journalists and media owners in order to start concerted efforts for more quality and accountability of the media.
 

representatives of Russian self-regulatory bodies, journalists, media specialists

 

Mr Claude-Jean Bertrand, professor emeritus, University Paris II, France
Mr Ronan Brady, journalist, Ireland
 

Ms Franziska Klopfer, Media Division, DGII