THE ETHICAL PRINCIPLES OF MEDIA REPORTING IN THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA
THE ETHICAL PRINCIPLES OF MEDIA REPORTING IN THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

Summary/Abstract: The media professionals, in their daily reporting, should be committed to respecting the human rights and the different cultural values. This obligation stems out of the doctrine for the social responsibility of the media. The nature of the profession comprises principles of conduct and specific rules that should be respected by the media workers. This set of ethical rules is known as a professional code of conduct, or journalistic canons that encompass media freedom, responsibility, independence (in every sense), reliability and trustworthiness. Most of the foreign influential media have developed and are governed by ethical codes or guidelines for reporting in specific situations. In Macedonia, however, the general impression is that most of the media, in their reporting, are not committed to the generally accepted ethical standards, which can be observed by the numerous examples of dominant reactive journalism, bipolar reporting and destruction of the journalistic ethics. One of the reasons for this situation is the absence of the written documents (codes of conduct and ethics) that would lead the journalists in their reporting. The only known document is the Code of Journalists of the Republic of Macedonia, but overall, its principles are not abided by the journalists. This paper, by considering the situation in thirty relevant media in Macedonia, analyses the current situation and recommends further action taking into account the positive experiences of the influential world media. The recommendations and conclusions are aimed at developing ethical codes and principles for reporting in specific situations, as well as encouraging their full implementation in practice.

• Details
• Contents