The post Testing boundaries – scenario first appeared on Media Helping Media.
]]>As one of the editors of a government radio news service in a developing democracy you receive information of an imminent threat of famine in a rural area of the country.
You are told that, unless immediate action is taken by the government and the international community, thousands of people are likely to die in the next few months.
You know that the government is aware of the situation but would rather not publicise the threatened famine in the hope that it passes unnoticed, as it has often done in the past.
In a recent visit to the famine-threatened region you saw thousands of tonnes of grain being readied for export to foreign markets by remote merchants.
Your research uncovered that these same merchants are known to have financed the mechanised farming of grain in the famine-threatened region.
The grain they harvest, you discovered, is largely intended for export to countries which are known to provide financial aid to your national government.
As you consider what to do, a written press release arrives on your desk from a commissioner of the famine-threatened region, pleading for immediate assistance.
The press release was sent to you specifically in the hope that you would broadcast the information.
You suspect that if you seek clearance from “above” to publish the information your request will either be refused, delayed, or will possibly disappear altogether.
As a result, the available grain will likely be exported and the famine will possibly take its toll.
If you allow the information to be broadcast, and point out the availability of the grain destined for export out of the region, it may shame the government into doing something, such as putting an embargo on the exportation of the grain from the region.
However, broadcasting the information could put your job at risk.
How a journalist responds to such a situation will differ from country to country and culture to culture. There is no easy answer here. However, in the scenario set out above the journalist decided on option 2.
They went ahead and broadcast the information they had without ‘referring up’ because they feared they would be blocked, and they considered it to be more important to save lives than save their career.
After the information had been broadcast they received a stern telling off, but kept their job.
And as a result of the information being broadcast on the government radio channel the authorities announced an embargo on the exportation of grain until enough was available for the hungry in the region.
All the scenarios on Media Helping Media are based on actual events.
The post Testing boundaries – scenario first appeared on Media Helping Media.
]]>The post Sustainable journalism in practice first appeared on Media Helping Media.
]]>The Sustainable Journalism Partnership is a global network of media leaders, journalists and researchers working together to establish how journalism can be made more sustainable and at the same time contribute to a sustainable world.
The following is an attempt to define an ideal practice of sustainable journalism. It is a work in progress — additional remarks are welcome. Hopefully the following bullet points will serve as inspiration if you wish to participate in the development of the concept.
The foundation is built on established ideals, where journalism:
Besides these more traditional ideals, the sustainability challenges of our time put even higher demands on journalism; namely that it:
Transparency is a precondition for sustainable journalism.
It is not just the content that determines whether journalism is sustainable or not, it is also the transparency of the company or organisation behind the publication.
Publishers should:
The production process must comply with the demands of social, economic, and environmental sustainability. This could be a very long list, but, as conditions vary depending on the size and nature of the publishing unit, here are just some examples:
The partnership exists to:
Anyone is welcome to apply for membership of the Sustainable Journalism Partnership. Once accepted you can join other media professionals around the world who are working together to take media viability to the next level. You will receive a monthly newsletter with first-hand information and resources on sustainable journalism as well as access to a community of like minded people.
The post Sustainable journalism in practice first appeared on Media Helping Media.
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