Public interest protected under new code for journalists
A new code of conduct for journalists will emphasise the importance of "protecting the individual from unwarranted suffering from publicity and violation of privacy".
In a clear attempt to protect the public interest, the code sets out unambiguous rules for print and broadcast journalists. These will come into force as and when the proposed Media Council is established.
Journalists who breach the code are likely to be hauled up before the council, should readers or viewers lodge a complaint against them.
The preamble to the code does not specifically state if it will apply to Internet journalists although the proposed council's powers will include supervision of the online media.
The code covers rules of reportage; editorial comment; privacy; use of pictures and sound; methods of gathering information; communalism, religion, gender and stereotyping; sources and confidentiality; plagiarism; and accountability and professionalism.
The rules will insist on credibility and integrity as the basis of journalism, requiring the practitioner to subscribe to universal standards of professionalism and ethical behaviour.
These principles extend the long-standing eight-point code of ethics of the National Union of Journalists, which has not been updated since it was introduced.
Draft for discussion
Malaysiakini received a copy of the draft law on Monday, after having pressed the Malaysian Press Institute (MPI) for the past two months to release details of the proposal.
The MPI intends to submit the draft law to Parliament as a Private Member's Bill, to facilitate the establishment of the Media Council.
MPI chairperson Mazlan Nordin said yesterday that the details would first be finalised in collaboration with editors and journalists at a meeting to be held in about a month.
Malaysiakini readers can access the full code in two parts, today and tomorrow.
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