MOSCOW, January 20 - RIA Novosti. The magistrate's court in Moscow equated the performance of a professional duty by a journalist with an offense - on Wednesday, RIA Novosti photojournalist Andrei Stenin, who was carrying out an editorial assignment to photograph an unauthorized picket, was fined 500 rubles for participating in this event. The decision has not entered into force, and the management of RIA Novosti intends to challenge it and ensure that the journalist’s legal rights to fulfill his professional duty are respected.
The incident occurred on December 12 last year under the windows of the presidential administration. 12 people took part in the unauthorized picket, each of whom was holding a sheet of A4 paper in his hand. Lined up, the picketers spelled out the word “Solidarity” and shouted the slogan “Observe the Constitution.”
Guilty without guilt
One of the proofs that an unauthorized event actually took place in Moscow was Andrei Stenin’s photo report in court. In the photographs he took on December 12, 2009, near the presidential administration building, people are clearly visible in a line with A4 sheets and the phrase “Observe the Constitution!” thus formed. Obviously, the RIA Novosti photojournalist is not among the picketers. Moreover, in the arrest report, the police indicated that the picketers spelled out the word “Solidarity.”
In addition, the deputy head of the visual information editorial office of RIA Novosti, Maria Vashchuk, spoke in court, who confirmed that on December 12, Stenin was sent by the agency’s editorial office to cover the picketing and, thus, could not take part in it, but fulfilled his journalistic duty. However, the court ignored her testimony.
The judge made her decision on the basis of evidence presented by the police - a protocol on an administrative offense and the testimony of two employees of the Kitay-Gorod police station, where Stenin was taken.
At the same time, the police report contains the names of the witnesses - police officers who signed the reports and explanations, and Stenin was given a copy of the same report, on which the names of the officers are not present.
“This clearly indicates that the protocol was drawn up in violation of procedural law and was subsequently “finalized” at the Kitay-Gorod police station. In other words, Stenin was accidentally detained along with the rally participants, without any reason, and then the police “The judicial machine began to work to protect the “honor of the uniform,” says Deputy General Director of RIA Novosti, head of the agency’s legal directorate, Mikhail Safronov.
At the same time, the court did not notice this “gap” in the evidence and did not take it into account, but decided to recover 500 rubles from Stenin as state income.
Invisible photographer
In the photographs of the RIA Novosti correspondent presented to the court, the phrase “Observe the Constitution!” is fully visible, as are all the picketers. Stenin himself does not use any letters or punctuation marks in these photographs. However, the court found that Stenin not only participated in the picket, but also held a sheet of A4 paper in his hands, stood in a line and shouted slogans. At the same time, despite the fact that the photographs clearly show the picketers’ written call to “Observe the Constitution!”, the judge in her decision indicated that they allegedly composed the word “Solidarity,” as the police indicated during the trial.
The court decision states that the photo report from the scene does not indicate the circumstances of the picket held on December 12, 2009.
During the trial, Stenin himself pointed out all the circumstances of his detention and explained to the court that he was innocent.
“I was carrying out a journalistic assignment, and did not participate in an unauthorized picketing... Everything was quite ordinary: they (the police) swooped in and started indiscriminately forcing everyone to their knees, then they took me to the police station. I tried to show my journalist ID, but it was confiscated.” , said the photographer.
For unknown reasons, the court considered Stenin’s position an attempt to avoid punishment.
“Assessing Stenin’s testimony regarding his denial of participation in the picket, the court does not trust it and considers it aimed at avoiding responsibility,” the court decision says.
Thus, the journalist was found guilty only because the court believed the words of the police officers more than objective evidence.
On September 1, 1991, Central Television special correspondent Viktor Nogin and his cameraman Gennady Kurinnoy, who were covering the Serbian-Croatian conflict, died in Yugoslavia. Their car with TV markings on the road from Belgrade to Zagreb, at the exit from the Croatian town of Kostajnica, came under fire, as a result of which the journalists were killed. Viktor Nogin and Gennady Kurinnoy are still listed as missing - their bodies have not been found. In the course of several long-term investigations (and there were four of them), it was never possible to officially establish the details of what happened and find those responsible for the deaths of Soviet journalists.
This tragedy caused the widest public outcry throughout the Soviet Union and forced Russian journalists to think about a professional day of remembrance, when they could remember the feat of all the fallen media workers.
Remembrance Day was established in 1991 by the Union of Journalists of Russia as a reminder of the dangerous work journalists perform, sometimes risking their own lives, and the significant contribution they make to the development of society.
On May 21, 2011, at the site of the death of the journalists, near the Kostajnica site, a memorial was opened, the inscription on which reads: “On this spot, on September 1, 1991, Russian journalists of the USSR State Television and Radio, Viktor Nogin and Gennady Kurinnoy, tragically died while performing their professional duty. Everlasting memory".
05.21.11. Opening of a memorial at the site of the deaths of Viktor Nogin and Gennady Kurinny.
Over the past twenty years, 341 journalists have died in Russia while performing their professional duties. Unfortunately, the number of victims is constantly growing. According to the Glasnost Defense Foundation, in Russia this year there have been more than 60 attacks on journalists: employees of the REN-TV, VGTRK, Moscow branch of the BBC, LifeNews. Six journalists were killed during the conflict in Ukraine. Italian photojournalist Andrea Rocchelli and his translator Andrei Mironov died under unclear circumstances while covering the blockade of Slavyansk; Channel One cameraman Anatoly Klyan, who devoted 40 years of his life to television, died in the combat zone near Donetsk; VGTRK correspondent Igor Kornelyuk and sound engineer Anton Voloshin came under mortar fire near Lugansk; RIA Novosti photojournalist Andrei Stenin came under fire in the Donetsk region. Most of these people died under unclear circumstances, and those responsible for their deaths were either not identified or were not punished.
Some journalists miraculously managed to avoid death - LifeNews TV channel reporters Marat Saichenko and Oleg Sidyakin were taken prisoner by the Ukrainian military on May 18 of this year, where they spent a week and were released after interrogation.
LifeNews TV channel reporters Marat Saichenko and Oleg Sidyakin are captured by Ukrainian security forces
But journalists risk their lives not only during hostilities, covering events taking place in hot spots. And in peacetime, unfortunately, attempts are made on their lives. Anastasia Baburova, Artyom Borovik, Vladislav Listyev, Anna Politkovskaya, Paul Khlebnikov, Dmitry Kholodov, Natalya Estemirova - this is far from full list journalists who died at the hands of criminals in peacetime for the conscientious performance of their professional duty.
Dmitry Kholodov, a journalist for Moskovsky Komsomolets, died in his office in 1994 due to an explosive device planted in his briefcase. Vladislav Listyev was killed in the entrance of his house in 1995. In 2000, Artyom Borovik died in a plane crash, the details of which are still unknown. Paul Klebnikov, editor-in-chief of the Russian Forbes, was shot dead in 2004 while leaving the magazine's office. Anna Politkovskaya, a human rights activist and journalist for Novaya Gazeta, was shot dead in the entrance of her house in 2006. Anastasia Baburova, a freelance journalist for Novaya Gazeta, was shot dead along with lawyer Stanislav Markelov in 2009. That same year, Natalya Estemirova, a human rights activist and journalist, was kidnapped near her home and then killed. Her body was found with bullet wounds to the head and chest.
On October 17, 1994, an explosion at the editorial office of the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper caused the death of journalist Dmitry Kholodov.
Journalism awards are named after them. Thus, every year the winners of the Vlad Listyev Prize for creating television programs and the Artyom Borovik Prize for the best investigative journalism are awarded.
The whole country mourned the death of Vladislav Listyev, a journalist and the first general director of the OTR company.
Memorials and monuments are opened in their honor. Last year, a memorial plaque to Anna Politkovskaya in the form of bronze notebook sheets was installed on the building of the Novaya Gazeta editorial office. In Grozny in 2007, a monument was erected to journalists who died for freedom of speech.
They are remembered at memorial events. This year the Amnesty International campaign “Flowers for Anna” took place. On the day of Anna Politkovskaya’s death, paper flowers were laid at the memorial plaque at the Novaya Gazeta editorial office as a sign of solidarity. Journalists from 39 publications, both Russian and foreign, took part in the action.
In the period from January to November this year, according to the Glasnost Defense Foundation, three journalists were killed in Russia - Vitaly Voznyuk, a correspondent for the Pskov newspaper Prizyv, Timur Kuashev, who collaborated with the online publications Caucasian Politics, Caucasian Knot and the independent magazine "Dosh", and the chief editor of the Kirov newspaper "Rodnoy Krai" Galina Koshcheeva.
Despite the danger, dedicated journalists continue to obtain information for their readers in any, even the most difficult conditions, not sparing themselves and their lives, fulfilling their high professional duty. They work honestly and selflessly for the benefit of society. We must always remember their feat.
Word " duty“in everyday use carries a clear indication of a certain dependence: “owe” is always someone’s to someone, “debt” is always someone’s to someone else. And this seems to fill him with heaviness, causing associations with chains, chains, which he wants to get rid of as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, people can hardly find a more reliable means of ensuring normal interaction in social life than the consciousness of duty, the sense of duty, and the ability to perform duty.
Professional duty enters a person’s life when his professional path is just beginning. However, over time, the idea of it can be modified, because it develops in a long process of interaction with the professional community due to the mastery of ideas reflected in the personal and transpersonal forms of its professional and moral consciousness. At the same time, since internalization, the “appropriation” by an individual of the content of the professional consciousness of a work group, does not occur immediately and not in full, the awareness of professional duty - a system of instructions that must be followed - does not immediately come to the person. That is, there are situations when a journalist intuitively follows certain unwritten laws, without fully realizing how strong some values and beliefs are in him.
The process of forming professional duty for each individual journalist has two sides. One of them consists of the study of the relevant ideas of professional consciousness, the second - the internalization of those that relate to the essence of journalistic work and directly to the area of the chosen specialization - the desired “field of self-realization”. In fact, this second side represents personal self-determination of professional duty, giving rise to the conviction of the need to personally participate in the fulfillment of obligations accepted by the community (“If not me, then who?!”), and ultimately leading to the emergence of a system of internal motivations of stable professional attitudes . Thus, seemingly external requirements firmly enter the structure of the journalist’s personality, adjust many of its parameters, and partially transform previously established attitudes.
The content of the professional duty of a modern journalist is described, in particular, in the “International Principles of Journalistic Ethics” adopted at the IV Consultative Meeting of International and Regional Journalist Organizations, held in 1984 in Paris and Prague. This document states: “The primary task of a journalist is to ensure that people receive true and reliable information through an honest reflection of objective reality.”
It is precisely this guarantee that lies at the core of the general formula of professional duty.
However, according to the “Principles...”, this formula should include a number of provisions that are extremely important in the modern period, namely:
To ensure that “the public is provided with sufficient material to enable it to form an accurate and coherent picture of the world”;
Promote “general accessibility in the work of the media”;
To advocate “for the universal values of humanism, especially peace, democracy, social progress, human rights and national liberation”;
“to promote the process of democratization of international relations in the field of information and communication, in particular to protect and strengthen peace and friendly relations between peoples and states.”
It is probably possible to give a broader and more specific list of obligations that the journalistic community undertakes in accordance with the functions that brought journalism to life. However, this is hardly necessary: the essence of professional journalistic duty is conveyed by its general formula. As for concretization, it inevitably occurs with self-determination of professional duty both at the personal level and at the level of editorial teams.
Situations are not excluded when the degree of subjectiveness in the interpretation of the content of professional duty turns out to be so high that talking about the possibility of the identity of such ideas and the general formula of duty turns out to be meaningless. In these cases, dysfunctional effects are inevitable in the activities of journalists (and sometimes publications and programs). Examples of this kind abound in the practice of the tabloid press. Many of the employees of such publications see the meaning of their profession in producing rumors, gossip, and inventing fables that come under the sign of objective information. Meanwhile, the presence among the functions of modern journalism and the entertainment function (namely, the tabloid press primarily connects its activities with it) does not at all imply that this function should be performed using means that are fundamentally incompatible with general formula journalistic duty.
One way or another, relying on their own components of journalistic duty, each media employee chooses his own unique path, which is reflected in the professional image of the journalist.
End of work -
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As journalism develops and its role in the life of society increases, due to the growth of the audience, the expansion and deepening of interests and requests in various areas of the media, the requirements for media workers are steadily growing. Therefore, the question of the professional preparedness and dedication of a journalist and the extent to which he fulfills his duties to society, of a self-critical analysis of his activities in conditions of constant and increasing time shortages and changing requirements for journalism is extremely urgent.
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The problem of responsibility for fulfilling one's duty is described by the system deontological principles and norms. Deontology (Greek deon - “ought” + logos - “teaching”) is a system of ideas that characterizes the professional duty of a journalist (as in other areas - a doctor, lawyer, businessman, law enforcement officer, etc. - where professional activity is associated with wide communication with people) across the entire spectrum of its properties, manifested in creative activity. The very entry into the journalistic corps presupposes that he assumes a wide range of responsibilities.
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The deontological norm, therefore, is the clear self-awareness of a journalist, which is manifested in a self-critical assessment of all the “components” of his personality as a professional, aimed at comprehensive self-improvement, starting with inclinations and abilities and ending with the formation of his personal and professional image.
There is nothing in the appearance and behavior of a journalist that does not require deontological analysis and decision-making. Even such “little things” as the manner of dressing, speaking, communicating with others, etc., since they affect the character and degree of fulfillment of professional duty, require deontological self-esteem and necessary cases"corrections".
The main - fundamental - requirement of deontology concerns the formation of such a social position and its implementation in such a way that creative activity contributed to social progress within the framework of a humanistic orientation and, on this basis, the consolidation of society.
Developing a humanistic orientation in one form or another requires the journalist to be active in the cognitive sphere. His duty is to get acquainted with various social concepts and responsibly choose and form his view on the needs of social development and ways to achieve the “desired future.”
And all this is connected with the improvement and development of those personal qualities(intellectual, strong-willed, moral, etc.), which would ensure the success of the activity. Of course, the same applies to general humanitarian and specialized knowledge, which constitutes the “knowledge” basis and support for creative activity.
The deontological norm is also the analysis of one’s own experience journalistic activity, as well as the activities of journalists from other media in the perspective of improving creative skills and abilities to implement a conscious social position.
Deontological norms and principles live not only in the minds of journalists and the works of scientists, but are also recorded in many documents - various kinds of codes, acts, charters (by the way, the code of honor of knights arose in the 12th century, later - the codes of officers, doctors, lawyers, artisans, merchants, in our time - in almost all spheres of public activity). Due to the differences in professional roles (editors, owners, reporters, etc.) and social positions of different media, many such documents have been developed. But despite all the differences, there are basic deontological commandments that exist and must be supported by the entire journalistic community.
The more freedom of action (social, creative, legal, economic) journalism, editorial teams, and individual journalists have, the higher their level of responsibility for the nature and consequences of using freedom. The pattern is not accidental: the more freedom, the more opportunities to influence the life of society, and this inevitably gives rise to the question (of society in relation to journalism and individual media, editorial offices - to journalists, journalists - to themselves): is it correct, in the right direction? used? Is he not abusing his freedom of activity and, moreover, is he not violating its requirements?
For journalism and a journalist, responsibility is both objective and subjective. From the objective side, it is a set of requirements that should be implemented in accordance with socio-historical necessity, with the laws of reality independent of human will. From a subjective point of view, it is the understanding and willingness of journalism and the journalist to assume a set of responsibilities prescribed by law, ethical codes, programs of the parties in which the journalist is a member, the direction and information policy of the media of which he is an employee.
Responsibility- this is the manifestation (awareness, acceptance and measure of fulfillment) of professional duty, the ability to relate one’s position, activities and its results to necessity. In this case, a number of collisions arise, the main one of which is between the objective requirements of life and their awareness, between objective duties “to history” and the subjective understanding of duty. Therefore, a journalist who feels his responsibility is in a state of constant reflection and search for such a nature of activity in general and a specific action within its framework that would be the true realization of his social duty. The conflict between a sense of duty and real behavior gives rise to self-condemnation and internal discord in a private journalist, which results in either a return to the path of responsible behavior or a movement along the path of least resistance, “according to circumstances.”
The vast space of duty and its responsible implementation consists of at least four areas - civil, ethical, legal and internal.
The requirement for a journalist is to act responsibly. The results of fulfilling civic duty are subject to public judgment. Violation of the law - legal proceedings. Unethical behavior - “court of honor.” Failure to comply with the editorial charter, deviation from program requirements or the direction of the media - discussion among colleagues, sometimes (depending on the extent of the violation) with harsh conclusions (up to termination of the contract).
The problem of civil liability is internally complex. Its essence is awareness and desire realize national interests as effectively as possible, a commitment to solving problems of the region, country, world in the interests of all citizens, all humanity. But due to social differences and due to the unequal understanding by various social forces, the media and individual journalists of the essence of their civic duty, it is understood differently in specific content terms during real journalistic actions. However, despite all socio-political differences, there are frameworks of civil behavior that require a responsible approach. Their essence is related to the development of the audience civic consciousness, the formation of an “adequate citizen”, responsible and active.
First of all, a journalist is responsible for developing his civic position, a system of socio-political guidelines, and a set of attitudes in the field of his narrow specialization. The question is what this position will be: will it be as close as possible to the objective or will it subjectively “serve” the private egoistic interests of any group that stands aside from social development or even interferes with it? Of course, in conditions of pluralism, in ideology, politics, culture, when the range of opinions is extremely wide, a journalist has the right to take any position. But a responsible choice requires serious consideration of the position from the point of view of how much it meets the interests of the people and the general humanistic requirements of social development, how much the protection of the needs of the “part” is combined with the requirements of the “whole”. In other words, Civil responsibility is high when the position combines and compatible these two groups of interests.
Therefore, the choice of media with its direction and features of information policy also falls within the scope of civil responsibility. A journalist then works fruitfully and behaves responsibly when he is “in his circle” of like-minded colleagues, when there is no conflict between his beliefs and the direction of the media. Can the behavior of a journalist be called responsible if in his works he pursues a line with which he internally disagrees? It is precisely the agreement with the editorial team on fundamental issues that allows him to be creatively independent, to work without regard to possible rejection, not to act as a conformist or nonconformist in relation to the direction adopted by the editors, but to be a convinced defender of the accepted general line. Of course, when drawing the chosen line, various nuances may arise, and certain “correction factors” may be proposed, which appear as a consequence of an independent, unblinded study of life.
And since different media and different journalists have different “pictures of the world”, then, of course, they are also responsible for what and how other approaches and judgments are communicated. Responsible behavior is the antithesis of silence and even more so of distortion of other positions, rudeness, phrases, and verbal tricks in polemics. The civic duty of a journalist is also the need speak out against publications and programs if they are found to deviate from the truth, false “moves” in argumentation and conclusions and other violations of the requirements of objectivity. IN in this case It is important to maintain dignity and a sense of proportion, not to allow literary horseplay, and even more so not to elevate minor mistakes of other journalists to the rank of fundamental errors. The point is to avoid turning from a critic in the name of truth into a critic, from a responsible politician into a cheap politician, when the place of concern for public needs is taken by the calculation of easy popularity.
In this case, both polemics and discussions, no matter how heated they may be, should be conducted from a position of high civic responsibility: after all, the difference in views has a common solid basis - this is concern for the development of the country and the whole world. When implemented responsibly, a civic position formed in this way has another important consequence. In the course of comparing views, in the process of polemics and discussions, positions and approaches, ideas and solutions will come closer (without merging due to basic social differences in society) and will be increasingly filled with constructive content for the benefit of both the “part” and the “whole” in perspective of humanistic development of society as a whole.
Consequently, for journalism and journalists, responsibility to society comes first for the measure of compliance of the position and the nature of its implementation with the objective needs of social development. Hence the responsibility of the journalist for complete awareness of the audience regarding what is happening in the world, for the system of assessments and conclusions given.
Responsible behavior does not allow reliance on unverified data, rumors and gossip. It’s like a scout: one thing I “saw myself,” another I “heard,” the third I “guess.” Responsible behavior requires distinguishing between the indisputable and the doubtful, what happened and what was expected, fact and opinion, etc. Otherwise, explicit or implicit disinformation is inevitable.
If it is necessary to give “snapshots”, “stop” the movement, evaluate phenomena in the process of development, create works without complete data, often without knowing the underlying causes of events, the journalist is not immune from incompleteness, inaccuracies, and errors. At the same time, responsible behavior is to ensure that these detect defects and errors, point them out and correct them in subsequent publications. The reluctance to correct mistakes has many negative consequences: the entrenchment of false ideas in the audience, the loss of trust in the media if the mistake is “caught” (sometimes with critical or sarcastic commentary) by other media, and the corrupting idea of permissiveness in journalism.
A journalist must also treat his personal behavior and creativity with civic responsibility. After all, society has the right to expect from him maximum realization of creative potential- abilities, knowledge, experience. In addition, not only what was done is subject to civil court, but also what was not done - passivity, silence, failure to fulfill duties. A responsible journalist is an active, purposeful, searching professional journalist, and not an employee who just carries out tasks. And if he is faced with situations that require public disclosure, journalistic intervention, it is irresponsible to remain silent, no matter what considerations dictate this.
Responsible performance of professional duties requires competence. Lack of knowledge makes it difficult to study a complex issue and presents the journalist with a choice: either honestly admit the impossibility of solving the problem and refuse to work on this issue, or, having taken up the topic, actively replenish the missing knowledge, consult with colleagues and specialists. Hiding unpreparedness is irresponsible.
A journalist should always be prepared for the unexpected professional difficulties, to long, difficult, and sometimes dangerous unusual work. He is obliged to engage in “dirty deeds” when faced with the “bottom” of society. It is impossible to do without this if you want to benefit society by investigating not only “exploits.”
At the same time, having the right to publicly intervene in various aspects of life, a journalist must take an extremely serious approach to the issue of presenting the results of his investigation to the public. His decision should be based on a thoughtful idea of the possible results of a public announcement, about what the consequences may be, how this will affect the case and the people whose names are mentioned in the work. The criterion of responsibility here is social significance, social necessity, and the nature of the aftereffect of the publication. It is worth remembering the rule of doctors: “Primum non nocere” (“First of all, do no harm”).
Very often, the editors do not have the opportunity to double-check the facts, assessments and conclusions of a journalist who brought material not only “from distant travels”, but also from “near abroad”, or even from a press conference organized by the mayor of the same city. And this is justified if the editorial office employs like-minded people who trust their employee, the reliability of the data he collected, the insight of his interpretation, fairness and foresight. But in this case, the journalist’s responsibility is even higher, because he, as it were, simultaneously acts and the investigator, and the prosecutor, and the lawyer, and the judge, which is extremely difficult, since there is a danger of “distortions” (especially if the “case” is considered “in the last resort”, before publication). Therefore, a journalist’s “verdict” should be comprehensively balanced, focusing on facts, and often conjectural conclusions and assessments. Moreover, one-sidedness, partiality, and “bitterness” of judgments are excluded.
Civil responsibility hangs over a journalist at all stages of work - from the decision to speak on a given topic through all the steps of collecting, processing and interpreting information to publication and its results. Sometimes there is a need to repeatedly address the topic raised, to additionally intervene in the course of events, to report changes, and sometimes corrections, additions, changes in characteristics and sentences. Responsibility at the same time obliges the journalist to monitor what real results the speech brought, what unexpected negative results arose, and decide how to respond to them.
Within the editorial team, the journalist, of course, bears strictly defined personal responsibility. And journalists of senior rank have a double responsibility - for themselves and for the team they lead. The measure of responsibility of a journalistic team does not consist of the sum of the personal responsibilities of each of its members - it is measured by the strength of the creative potential of the entire team as a single whole.
Along with civil responsibility, as its continuation, specification and regulation, principles, norms and rules of ethical responsibility are formed in the journalistic environment. Ethics (Greek etos - “custom”) is a science that studies and formulates theoretical basis. From them follow practical requirements morality (lat. mores - “mores”) as an area of professional consciousness. Reflection and implementation in practice of the theoretical foundations of ethics and practical requirements of morality is manifested in real behavior as morality, everyday mores.
The requirements of morality as one of the regulators of behavior, unlike legal norms, are not formulated in legislative acts. They are developed in the course of public practice, and their implementation is controlled by public opinion, public (in journalism - journalistic) organizations, work collectives, which sometimes create “courts of honor” or similar bodies operating on a voluntary basis.
The essence of professional ethics is the scientific provision of morally impeccable performance by professionals of their role in accordance with generally accepted ethical principles in society. Thus, along with “general” ethics, medical, legal, and pedagogical ethics arise. Journalistic ethics is a special area of professional ethics.
Professional ethics of a journalist- these are not legally fixed, but accepted in the journalistic environment and supported by the power of public opinion, professional and creative organizations - principles, norms and rules of moral behavior of a journalist.
They are based on the idea of the best ethical performance of professional duty in accordance with the ideas of good and evil as they apply to journalistic activity.
Based on ideas about professional duty and highly moral forms of its fulfillment, a system of views on the behavior of a journalist is formed, in which the dignity of the profession and the honor of a professional are maintained. Professional ethics develops a certain set of principles, norms and rules decent behavior. Along with this, ethics also includes prohibitions, qualified as misbehavior, recorded either in “unwritten” or in “written” (fixed) codes of honor developed by journalistic organizations. Compliance with ethical standards is monitored both internally and externally. “From the inside” is the journalist’s conscience, which, depending on the nature of his behavior, either makes him experience shame, humiliation, self-condemnation, or causes him pride and satisfaction. Journalist organizations and their temporary or permanent “courts of honor” operate “from the outside.” There is also public control over journalists' compliance with ethical principles.
Gross and repeated conscious violations of the requirements of journalistic ethics place the violator outside the ranks of the journalistic corps. Anyone who joins the Union of Journalists of Russia undertakes to comply with the Code of Professional Ethics Russian journalist. Awareness of the danger of terrorism has prompted journalistic organizations to take into account the positions government agencies develop documents (for example, the Anti-Terrorism Convention) containing standards for obtaining and disseminating information, and other forms of behavior of journalists in situations related to the activities of terrorists. Television organizations adopted the Charter “Against Violence and Cruelty”.
Ethical codes first of all formulate the general principles of moral behavior of a journalist. A lot of “written” codes have been created in the world, and even in one country there can be several of them. Thus, in the USA there are “Canons of Journalism” adopted in 1923
the American Society of Newspaper Editors, and the Code of Ethics (1929) of the National Association of Broadcasting and Television Station Owners. Then they were supplemented by the “Radio Code” and “Television Code” and other ethical documents developed for individual areas of activity. But in general, the principles are defined in more or less similar formulas. For example, the National Union of Journalists of Great Britain requires in its ethical rules to maintain accuracy, correct erroneous reports, and opposes distortion and suppression; defends freedom of points of view; insists on obtaining information only honestly; prohibits invasion of privacy; indicates maintaining the confidentiality of information sources; prohibits taking bribes and using information for personal purposes by a journalist; opposes discrimination on national, racial, religious and other grounds.
In 1980-1983, representatives of international and regional journalistic organizations determined “International Principles of Professional Journalistic Ethics”. Taking them into account, each regional or national journalistic organization develops its own codes of ethics. In our country, the first code of professional ethics was adopted by the Union of Journalists in 1989. It is based on the principles of responsibility, truthfulness, objectivity, integrity, honesty, respect for the honor and dignity of the individual, respect for universal values, professional solidarity, etc. In 1994, the Code of Professional Ethics of the Russian Journalist was developed.
General ethical principles find concrete embodiment and become rules and prohibitions in those situations that are common for practical activities in journalism:
journalist - audience,
journalist - source of information,
the journalist is a character in his work,
journalist - editor,
journalist - editorial team,
journalist - professional colleagues
Ethics in Relationships "journalist - audience" are of an integrating nature, i.e. here the measure of the morality of the journalist’s behavior in all other areas is “summed up”; the moral and ethical level of his consciousness and behavior is most fully and clearly manifested. First of all, it is a moral obligation, clearly imagining “your” audience, to fulfill your duty to it to fully and effectively satisfy its needs and interests in the field of information. Bearing in mind that a journalist creates for an audience, it is important to resolve ethical issues every time. Does the audience need this work? Is he wasting her time and meeting her real needs? Is the work able to interest the audience? Will the reader put the issue down; will the viewer turn off the TV; will the listener switch to another wave? And accordingly, will this work support the trust, prestige and authority previously won by the journalist?
At the same time, a journalist who feels his moral responsibility to the audience constantly decides for himself the following questions: will the information be correctly perceived by the audience; whether facts and judgments will be adequately understood; how the argument “works”; How far will the audience advance in understanding reality thanks to his efforts? After all, even a shift in emphasis, not to mention “denigration” or “varnishing,” is a violation of ethical obligations.
In the same series of ethical responsibilities to the audience is a comradely attitude towards it. For a journalist, the position of an arrogant mentor, a lecturing mentor, is excluded, as well as the role of a “vulgar writer”, lisping and flirting with the audience. A serious, honest, accessible conversation on the most complex issues, the ability to lead an audience, contribute to its development and increase the level of understanding of the environment is a necessary requirement of ethics. The desire to be understood forces the journalist to listen sensitively to the reaction of the audience, work patiently in it, answer questions and objections, and again and again, with the involvement of new material, return to important, but not yet fully mastered ideas and conclusions, while relying on simple and understandable facts , examples and evidence.
If we try to define the ethical standard in the sphere of relations “journalist - audience” in one word, then, perhaps, this word will be “conscientiousness”. At the same time, the integrity of an ethically discerning journalist is demonstrated regarding both facts and opinions. Regarding facts, the requirements are common to all journalists: completeness, truthfulness, accessibility. If a conscientious journalist still has doubts about the accuracy of the information he has about the facts, their completeness, and the accuracy of the details, then it is his duty to honestly point out the doubts and their possible unreliability.
It's much more difficult with opinions. After all, the interpretation of an event or fact is in one way or another connected not only with universal, but also with group values, aspirations and ideals. Therefore, it is essential to identify what is special about the journalist’s position, and if there are or is the possibility of other opinions, honestly indicate them or at least just note the admissibility of other positions regarding the facts presented, informing where one can get acquainted with them. And this is all the more important the wider the pluralism of opinions.
Many ethical standards govern relationships “a journalist is a source of information”, defining the forms of obtaining and using information and materials available to a private or official person. At the same time, contacts between a journalist and a source of information can be “open” in nature (when the journalist appears before the carrier of information as an official employee of the media and communicates his intentions). Or “hidden” (covert surveillance, when a “journalist changes profession”, acting as a taxi driver, salesman, conductor, etc., or when his presence is not known at the time he uses a hidden camera, hidden microphone and etc.).
Open collection of material obliges the journalist to introduce himself to those individuals and officials with whom he enters into business contact, to acquaint them with the intentions of the editorial office and the range of issues that interest him. To interview officials and obtain documents from them, the consent of their managers is usually required, and to participate in official events, business meetings, etc., not of a public nature - an invitation or permission to attend.
In the process of contacts with private individuals, the desire to obtain maximum information cannot turn into cheeky and categorical demands, accompanied by disregard for the interests, desires and point of view of the interlocutor. A private person's refusal to provide information and express judgment should be respected. References in conversation to the needs of the editorial office and journalistic duties should not bear the features of hidden pressure and can only be a reminder of the duties performed by the journalist.
It is a different matter when contacting officials who are required by law to provide information or assist in obtaining it. Here the journalist has the right to recall their responsibility for accurate and complete information on issues within their competence.
When receiving information, investigating circumstances, studying the essence of events and actions, it is necessary to behave impartially, without prejudice, one should not rush to conclusions, express one’s judgments and give an assessment (“for” or “against”) until one is sure that that sufficient evidence has been collected. Therefore, when collecting information, it is important to adhere to a rule similar to what lawyers call the “presumption of innocence,” i.e. proceed from the idea that until this or that idea, assessment, accusation, or conclusions are not proven. At the same time, persons whose activities have become the object of a journalist’s attention should not be required to prove their innocence in response to alleged accusations. Of course, in any case, rudeness and tactlessness are excluded.
Tact (Latin tactus - “touch”) is a sense of proportion, suggesting behavior appropriate to the situation, the ability to behave appropriately, communicate with people, taking into account their position, idea of what is proper, accepted norms of behavior and at the same time maintaining self-respect and “safeguarding” public respect for the profession.
Compliance with tact is manifested both in the manner of conversation, the ability to take into account the state of the interlocutor, to interest and make him talk, and in the ability to listen and behave during the conversation. A tactful journalist will not conduct a conversation without first collecting information about the interlocutor (if possible), will not ask him about things in which he is incompetent, and therefore can only give superficial or banal information. At the same time, during the conversation, it is important to listen to everything the interlocutor wants to say, without interrupting him, but only tactfully directing the flow of the conversation. And it is important to understand why a person speaks exactly this way, in such a form, in such a sequence and for so long - the further use of the information received depends on this.
A tactful journalist will not interrupt his interlocutor from work, but will first arrange a meeting with him at a convenient time and in a confidential atmosphere, will be well prepared for the conversation, filming or recording, will try to attract attention to himself as little as possible and not disturb people with his activities. If it is necessary to observe the informant (object of interest) or film him or her during work, tact requires minimizing interference. After all, the bustle of photojournalists, say, during “the celebrations and sorrows of the people” is tactless (but shooting with a silently working camera, and without additional lighting, during a music competition is proof of tact). Tact, of course, is manifested both in the manner of dressing in accordance with the situation (how to treat, for example, a white shirt and tie at a blast furnace or a denim suit at an academic meeting?), and in the manner of speaking, asking questions, objecting, i.e. . in how a journalist behaves while working “in public.”
Many ethical difficulties arise when deciding when, to what extent and form one can use dramatization - to make “staged” shots, “takes” in documentary filming, precede documentary shots with “staged” ones with the participation of the same characters, etc. The point here is not even that the dramatization gives itself away (you can, after all, cleverly “put it under the document”), but in the ethics of the technique itself, which is based on the substitution or even distortion of the documented “former”. Without excluding such a technique from the journalistic arsenal - using “recovered documentary”, one should indicate the tasks and nature of the use of this form.
Covert surveillance is justified in two cases. The first is when it is important to see “undisturbed” life (since open observation one way or another changes the behavior of people in the situation being studied), to see and understand it in its natural flow and manifestation, “from the inside.” The second is when it is necessary to obtain information about deliberately hidden aspects of life, secret operations, documents kept secret (remembering that maintaining a secret is the business of those to whom it is entrusted).
In the first case, it is important to consider whether the object of observation is chosen correctly. Is it necessary, for example, to hunt for information about intimate aspects of life, as the paparazzi do? Is it permissible to act in the accepted role (in particular, it is impossible to pose as an official - an employee of the police, investigation, control, etc., act under the guise of a criminal, feign illness, etc., which is either prohibited by law or unethical). It should be remembered that when organizing covert surveillance, it is impossible to do without coordinating the action with the relevant representatives - the director of the plant, the head of the construction team, etc.
During covert observation, it is important to behave within the framework and forms characteristic of the usual behavior of people “replaced” by the journalist, and to be as neutral as possible, so as not to violate the “purity” of the situation and not provoke “necessary” actions and statements.
Covert surveillance is a difficult and dangerous matter, and it should be decided upon in exceptional cases, while respecting the rights and legitimate interests of those who become the object of surveillance.
When using the obtained empirical information, a number of ethical problems also arise. Often, when providing information, the interlocutor warns that he is providing information “not for publication,” or asks that the published materials be given without reference to the source, in one form or another, only in extracts, etc. These requirements of the informant are mandatory, except in cases where his testimony is of extreme public importance or is of interest to the justice authorities.
And even when a journalist has the consent of the informant to publish information, he must carefully consider whether it should be published and in what form (in whole or in part, indicating exact data or changing names, geographical names, etc.). After all, the informant’s consent may be given out of carelessness or ignorance of possible negative consequences for him. The journalist has a responsibility to consider the consequences of publication in order to avoid undesirable results. This is especially true for information obtained through covert surveillance.
The journalist must be extremely careful when isolating from the entire volume of information those that will be included in the publication, when editing photo and film frames, magnetic (video and audio) film, so as not to distort the meaning and nature of the information received and not cause accusations from the informant. An extreme violation of ethical standards is the deliberate “pulling out” of fragments and the editing of statements and frames that deliberately distorts the truth. In the same way, the use of information for criticism raises serious ethical doubts if its collection was explained by the search for “positive examples,” etc. A journalist does not have the moral right to publish information received from another person, presenting it as his own. It is especially unacceptable to use self-critical statements against the person to whom they belong, or to pass off decisions developed but not adopted in certain organizations as one’s own proposals.
When preparing and publishing an essay, interview, feuilleton, a journalist must solve ethical problems in the system "journalist character".
In most cases, from an ethical point of view, it is unacceptable to choose family and friends, friends or people with whom the journalist has a personal relationship (teacher, boss, etc.) as a character (positive or negative). There must be compelling reasons of public order to choose such a person as a character. At the same time, such a decision should be explained in the publication. And vice versa, ethical duty commands one to speak out without fail in cases where remaining silent means harming the work in which this person is engaged. This moral obligation applies to both positive and negative characters. After all, both support and criticism can be a beneficial intervention in a person’s life.
And when dealing with a real person, citing documented facts about him, a journalist (unlike a writer or artist) is obliged to carefully weigh what and how to report about his hero, so as not to violate the well-known rule “first of all, do no harm.” This is the question of what specific features of the portrait, character, details of the biography, aspects of life, relationships with others, if disclosed, can cause damage to the hero in his future life and complicate it. It is also important how to present the selected details and details so that unwanted shades and associations do not arise when perceiving the work. Film and photojournalists know that “ close-up”, filmed in moments of acute emotions or work stress, sometimes turns out to be unsuitable for publication precisely for ethical reasons. And it is absolutely unacceptable to play ironically with names, surnames, appearance, physical imperfections - something for which a person is “not to blame.”
Finally, if the journalist still considers it necessary to introduce some ethically difficult episodes, facts, features, details into the work, he has to decide on the issue of their partial or complete “undocumenting”, i.e. should titles, dates, names, etc. be changed?
Acting as an editor and critic of the works of colleagues, a journalist enters the area of ethical relations “journalist - author”. Behind every letter, material, ordered or received spontaneously, there is a person who requires a sensitive attitude towards himself (here we are not talking about graphomaniacs, this is a special case). Do not offend with silence or an unmotivated, especially a carbon-copy refusal, but respond in a timely and business-like manner, tactfully give advice on finalizing or revising the work, point out possible steps for further cooperation with the editors - all this reveals the moral side of relationships with authors .
By ordering material or receiving an assignment from the editorial office to work on “someone else’s” text, the journalist thereby takes upon himself the responsibility to help the author. But this does not at all mean obtaining the right to a peremptory demand to do exactly as the editor wants, or, conversely, to agree with everything that the author suggests. The norm is respect for the author's thought, argumentation, composition, and style. And if there is a need to refine or rework the work, a clear argument based on the position of the editor and the capabilities of the author is important. If, in general, the editors are satisfied with the work and disagreements arise only on certain issues, it is possible and necessary to make reservations on behalf of the editors when publishing this work in the “sidebar” or in the notes.
When preparing a text for publication, it is advisable to coordinate even minor amendments with the author. If this is impossible (which happens during operational work), it is worth conducting a mental experiment: how would the author react to these amendments? And after publication you should explain it to him. On the other hand, the author who, counting on editorial revision, leaves the material raw and considers its “finishing” to be the editor’s job, does the wrong thing. The editor also has to deal with stubborn authors who, no matter what, insist on having their way. Ethics requires patience and frankness in dealing with such authors.
A gross violation of ethical standards is “co-authorship,” when a journalist practically writes a work for him only on the basis of raw initial data provided by the “author.” Unfortunately, this happens, and the author who “organized and wrote” the work is sometimes paid part of the fee. The norm in this case is either co-authorship, or an indication that this material is a literary recording, or its presentation in the form of an interview.
Ethical issues arise in the sphere of relationships "journalist - editorial team". By joining an already established editorial team with a clear direction and nature of the implementation of editorial policy, the journalist becomes an integral part of this team and assumes an appropriate share of responsibility for its implementation. At the same time, he is expected not just to blindly follow the accepted line, but - with unity on fundamental issues - to creatively implement it, to actively participate in development, clarification and addition. Otherwise, he is not a creative person, but only a performer, a simple employee. This is especially important if the journalistic team itself is the founder of a publication or program.
In the event of serious disagreements in determining and implementing the accepted direction, or even more so, a journalist’s deviation from the ideological and political position of the editorial office, it is inevitable that his relationship with the team will break and he will move to another media outlet (or create his own). In conditions of pluralism, both are feasible. Transitions are also possible and necessary if difficulties arise in the process of adaptation to the editorial office or if there is a feeling of incomplete self-realization.
Normal relations between a journalist and the editorial office involve maintaining editorial professional secrets, mutual assistance and support, and doing everything that the editorial office needs for its successful functioning (even beyond the scope of the responsibilities specified in the contract). Of course, a journalist should not speak in other media without the consent of the editors, even under a pseudonym (especially if an employee, on behalf of the editors, received access to unique data), but about reprinting (even revised) his works in other media, collections, etc. he is obliged to notify the editors and obtain their consent.
A continuation of the norms of relations between a journalist and the editorial office are ethical rules in the field "journalist - colleagues". Strict distribution of responsibilities and observance of hierarchical relations between employees are combined in journalism with collegiality and comradely interaction, when a team united in its principled positions jointly solves complex creative, organizational, mass and other issues of running its publication or program. It is ethically obligatory to feel like you are part of a team, responsible to it in all steps of your activities. If this condition is met, the journalist, when fulfilling his duties, has the right to count on the support of colleagues, their help, and their willingness to substitute at the right time. Such a team does not tolerate unfriendly relations between employees, indifference, division of work into “white” and “black”, etc.
And at the same time, this is a fundamental relationship, and in the course of solving creative problems in such a team, disputes can arise (and it’s good when this happens), searches are conducted in different directions, and different opinions and proposals are expressed. The duty of partnership obliges collegial, joint discussion and problem solving, overcoming disagreements, when administrative style is reduced to a minimum. This, however, does not exclude “commands” coming from the editorial management - it is important that these “commands” are the result and implementation of a decision made collectively and supported by the creative core of the editorial office.
Realizing that the editorial team is gathering different people, With different characters, work experience, approaches, strengths and weaknesses, each editorial employee should show maximum tolerance and understanding, unless there are fundamental disagreements. After all, diversity of opinions, the presence of different points of view is one of the most important positive features of a team, which can fully realize its creative potential thanks to the diversity of its “units.”
A sense of comradeship, solidarity, and mutual assistance in journalism are characteristic not only of employees of any one editorial office - they are characteristic of the entire circle of fellow journalists when it comes to professional problems (despite existing ideological and political differences). Professional partnership obliges mutual assistance in the “technical” aspects of activity, encourages the exchange of intra-journalistic information, joint search for information and business contacts, etc.
The partnership does not exclude creative competition - the desire to be the first to find sensational facts and materials, to “give out” what in professional slang is called a “wick” (unusual, attracting everyone’s attention, “nail” material), and thereby get ahead, “jump on the dashing horse" colleagues. However, the desire for primacy and exclusivity in information work and the resulting activities (sometimes even “covert operations”) have ethical restrictions if their conduct causes harm to colleagues and the overall journalistic cause.
If there are strict principles, ethical standards are less regulated, and the rules of conduct for a journalist are determined almost for each specific case. This is important to keep in mind, firstly, so that journalists can distinguish ethical norms from legal norms and, secondly, so that they understand that the ethical (or unethical) of their behavior will be determined on the basis of general principles, situationally, within a fairly broad framework. This does not mean that ethical decisions are voluntaristic in nature, and ethics is relational, relative and subjective. This only means that a journalist must have, knowing the principles of ethics, a highly developed moral consciousness, moral sense and experience ethical behavior, which in each specific case will help him decide for himself and in relation to his colleagues what and how ethical or unethical. Therefore, the “court of honor” in journalism must take into account specific circumstances and subtly understand the nuances of relationships between people. Ethical analysis and self-reflection are a necessary, albeit very complex, component of journalistic practice.
Those who act most harshly in the journalistic environment are legal norms and corresponding forms of responsibility. Law is a set of generally binding rules established or sanctioned by the state (prohibitions, permissions, obligations, measures of encouragement and punishment) governing social relations and secured by measures of state influence. Sources of law - the Constitution, the fundamentals of legislation in a particular area, codes, laws, decrees, regulations and other by-laws issued on the basis of laws and in pursuance of them. There are also non-legal social norms adopted by public, cooperative organizations, unions and societies (statutes, regulations, etc.), usually registered by authorities if they are adopted in accordance with the law.
Subjects of law who have legal obligations and rights under the law are individuals(citizens who have legal status), legal entities (organizations whose legal status is fixed in the charter, regulations, regulations or other documents), officials (whose labor duties are related to the performance of organizational and administrative or administrative functions). The law obliges all subjects of law to observe law and order and prosecutes offenses (crimes and misdemeanors). From here it is clear that for all subjects of law, including journalists, it is important to have a developed legal consciousness and be guided by legal norms in their activities.
For the legal consciousness of journalists, based on the legislation of the country in its entirety, the Law of the Russian Federation on the Mass Media and other laws related to the functioning of the information sphere (on state secrets and archives, countering extremist activities, certain types journalism, etc.). Journalism also concerns a number of sections of criminal, criminal procedural and civil law.
Legislation determines the procedure for establishing, registering, re-registering, terminating and suspending the activities of media outlets. For the activities of a journalist, the status of the founder and the editorial office in which he works is of paramount importance. The founder and the editorial board are bound by the editorial charter or an agreement that defines the mutual rights and obligations of the founder, the editorial board and the editor-in-chief. The charter defines the powers of the editorial staff and its staff; the procedure for the formation of the editorial board and the appointment or election of the editor-in-chief; grounds and procedure for suspension, termination or reorganization of the editorial board, including changes in the founder and status of the editorial board; the procedure for approving and amending its charter.
Since it is the charter documents that contain the main characteristics of the topic, specialization, direction of the main lines of the publication or program, the democratic norm of legislation is extremely important, which determines that the charter is adopted at a general meeting of the team of journalists and approved by the founder. Consequently, a journalist is a full participant in the development of media information policy and, accordingly, bears responsibility for its implementation. (The legal position of the media was discussed in more detail in Chapters 5 and 6.)
The basic rights and obligations of a journalist, regulated by law, are enshrined in the Law of the Russian Federation on the Mass Media and other acts. They concern all aspects and stages of a journalist’s activity - intra-editorial relations, the collection, preparation and publication of material, and the consequences of publication.
As an employee of the editorial office, a journalist must comply with the norms of behavior of an official, according to which violation of the established order of activities and relationships, irresponsible attitude to one’s duties, red tape, negligence, infringement of the rights and interests of citizens, refusal to comply with legitimate requests and demands of persons with whom he is punishable are punishable. enters into business relationship, abuse of official position or exceeding one’s powers. Use of official position for personal gain, bribery, forgery and other acts of a journalist that violate the norms of behavior of an official are prosecuted by law.
In his professional activities, a journalist is obliged to “comply with the charter of the editorial office with which he has an employment relationship.” At the same time, he has the right “to refuse to prepare, under his signature, a message or material that contradicts his convictions,” although he cannot do the same when preparing material that does not bear his signature. A journalist has the unconditional right “to refuse the assignment given to him by the editor-in-chief or editorial staff if it or its implementation is associated with a violation of the law.”
When collecting information, the journalist’s first and foremost right is to “seek, request, receive and disseminate information.” When establishing contact, he must present “at first request an editorial ID or other document proving the identity and authority of the journalist.” A media worker has the right to visit various institutions and organizations or their press center. It must be accepted by officials in the event of a request for information and, accordingly, “gain access to documents and materials, with the exception of their fragments containing information constituting state, commercial or other secrets specially protected by law.” A journalist has the right to copy the materials he needs, “to make recordings, including using audio and video equipment, filming and photography, except for cases provided for by law.” In this case, it is necessary to inform the informant about the recording.
The law specifically stipulates the right “to visit specially protected places of natural disasters, accidents and catastrophes, riots and mass gatherings of citizens, as well as areas in which a state of emergency has been declared; attend rallies and demonstrations.”
When collecting information in various institutions and organizations, the work of a journalist is greatly facilitated by obtaining accreditation from these institutions (Latin accredere - “to trust”), certified by a document for the right of unhindered access to sources of information in accordance with the rules established by these organizations. At the same time, “bodies, organizations, and institutions that accredit journalists are required to notify them in advance of meetings, meetings and other events, provide them with transcripts, protocols and other documents, and create favorable conditions for making recordings.” Violation of accreditation rules may lead to its cancellation.
In a number of cases, the law assigns the decision on the provision of information to the relevant authorities. For example, the Criminal Procedure Code establishes that data preliminary investigation may be made public only with the permission of the investigator or prosecutor and to the extent that they recognize this as possible. The Criminal Code establishes sanctions for disclosing investigative data without officially obtained permission.
When collecting information, the use of a hidden recording is permitted by law, “if it does not violate constitutional rights and freedoms,” “if it is necessary to protect public interests and measures have been taken against the possible identification of unauthorized persons,” “if the demonstration of the recording is carried out by court decision.”
An important prohibition is contained on the collection of information “for the benefit of an outside person or organization,” i.e. to go beyond the scope of official duties to the media outlet that authorized the journalist.
The use of information obtained by a journalist is also regulated by law. First of all, a journalist not only has the right to verify the accuracy of the information communicated to him, but is also obliged to do so. If information is provided by an informant under certain conditions, then one should “satisfy the requests of the persons who provided the information for an indication of its source, as well as for authorization of the quoted statement if it is announced for the first time.” On the other hand, the journalist undertakes to “maintain the confidentiality of information and (or) its source” if such a request is received, as well as “to obtain consent (except when necessary to protect public interests) to disseminate information about personal information in the media life of a citizen from the citizen himself or his legal representatives.”
A journalist has the right “to express his personal judgments and assessments in messages and materials intended for distribution under his signature.” At the same time, he is obliged to “notify the editor-in-chief of possible claims and presentation of other requirements provided for by law in connection with the dissemination of a message or material prepared by him.” At the same time, he can “remove his signature from a message or material, the content of which, in his opinion, was distorted in the process of editorial preparation, or prohibit or otherwise stipulate the conditions and nature of the use of this message or material” so that his right to intellectual property for author's work.
A journalist can “disseminate messages and materials prepared by him under his signature, under a pseudonym or without a signature.”
The law does not allow the use of a journalist’s rights “for the purpose of concealing or falsifying socially significant information, or spreading rumors under the guise of reliable reports.” “It is prohibited to use the right of a journalist to disseminate information with the aim of defaming a citizen or certain categories of citizens solely on the basis of gender, age, race or nationality, language, attitude to religion, profession, place of residence, as well as in connection with their political beliefs.”
The legislation also contains provisions aimed at preventing immoral acts; in particular, the production and distribution of pornographic works is prohibited. The distribution of erotic publications is limited. While protecting the personal rights of citizens, the law prohibits the publication of erotic images without the consent of the model; consent is not required if the person posed for a fee.
The consent of the photographed person for publication is not required if this is the identity of a wanted person, a suspect in a crime, etc.
It is important to exercise extreme caution when reporting on law enforcement activities. Even if you have permission to publish investigative materials, you should avoid the possible unwanted resonance of the publication - hidden pressure on law enforcement agencies, causing damage to the family and friends of the person under investigation. When publishing materials, you should remember that the accused can be called a criminal only after the court verdict has entered into legal force, and also that higher authorities can change the verdict.
A crime against the honor and dignity of citizens is considered to be a publication that contains insult (deliberate gross humiliation of the honor and dignity of an individual, expressed in a deliberately indecent form) and slander (discrediting the public authority of an individual by disseminating knowingly false information that disgraces him), undermining reputation, slander ( false accusation). When disseminated through the media, a refutation in the same media must necessarily follow.
“A citizen or organization in relation to which information has been disseminated in the mass media that does not correspond to reality or infringes on the rights and legitimate interests of a citizen, has the right to a response (comment, remark) in the same mass media.”
Abuse of freedom of the media is the use of the media to commit criminal acts. Possible punishment in court is five years in prison.
Also persecuted infringement of freedom of media. The following are considered an infringement of the rights of the media and journalists: “implementation of censorship; interference in the activities and violation of the professional independence of the editorial board; illegal termination or suspension of the activities of a mass media outlet; violation of the editor's right to request and receive information; illegal seizure, as well as destruction of the circulation or part thereof; forcing a journalist to disseminate or refuse to disseminate information; establishing restrictions on contacts with a journalist and the transfer of information to him, with the exception of information constituting a state, commercial or other secret specially protected by law.” Violation of the rights of journalists entails administrative, disciplinary and even criminal liability (up to two years in prison).
It happens - and often - that journalists violate their professional duties. Often not to the extent that it leads to legal consequences. In this case, the Union of Journalists of Russia has established a “Public Collegium for Complaints against the Press,” which can be addressed by organizations and individual citizens who believe that journalists have violated their rights and freedoms.
By creating, editing, arranging works for the media, translating them into other languages, quoting, working on “re-edited” programs and films, etc., a journalist enters into relationships that are regulated by copyright. It arises in connection with the creation, publication or broadcast, distribution or any other use of works of various fields of creativity - journalism, art, science - regardless of whether they are published separately or as part of an issue, issue, program, collection, etc. .d.
Due to the increasing international exchange of information, there are several interstate instruments, including those adopted by UNESCO (Universal Copyright Convention as amended in 1952 and 1971, Berne Convention of 1988, International Convention for the Protection of the Rights of Performing Artists, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations and etc.). The Russian Federation has a Law on Copyright and Related Rights.
Copyright extends to those expressed in an objective form, i.e. recorded on paper, film, photo, videotape and other means, works that are the results of creative work, regardless of their purpose and merit, method of reproduction, as well as whether they are published or not. Copyright does not apply to official documents.
According to copyright law, the state protects and non-property and property rights of authors of works. In this case, copyright belongs to both individuals and groups. Editorial offices of newspapers, magazines, agencies, television and radio organizations that create issues, issues, programs, press releases, etc. from individual works have copyright for these publications and issues. The copyright for a work created in the performance of an official assignment belongs to the author, although in this case the employer has the right to require his name to be marked on it.
literary processing and editing do not constitute authorship, although the name of the employee may be indicated on the publication, and his work may be paid. In cases where there is an agreement with the lithographer and litographer making a creative contribution to the work, a relationship of co-authorship arises. The author is also the creator of an independent work, who took another work as a basis (script based on a book, illustrations for a publication, etc.). The author is also a journalist who conducted a round table, interview, review of letters, etc.
Copyright does not apply to the idea, method, methods, principles, discoveries, facts, concept of a work and its parts, although they are the fruit of creative efforts. Therefore, sometimes there are demands to introduce copyright for a reporter to report on a fact or event described for the first time by him.
The personal (non-property) rights of the author imply that he, as the author, has the right to indicate his name during publication, and can also release the work without indicating the name (anonymously) or under a fictitious name (pseudonym). In this case, the real author must be known to the editor, who does not have the right to disclose the real name of the author without his consent, but is obliged to do this by court decision (since the court makes decisions only regarding really existing persons). The author has the right to decide how to publish his work. Its publication and republication also requires the consent of the author. The author has the right to the inviolability of the work; reductions, reworking, corrections without his consent are a violation of copyright and may result in compensation for damages to the author by a court decision.
Use of the work (including translation into another language) is possible only with the consent of the author, although it is permitted to reproduce it in radio television and newspaper periodicals (if there was no special copyright prohibition), reproduction in single copies for scientific, educational, educational purposes (without making a profit ), as well as citations in other works.
A property right is the right to authorship and publication of one’s work, to protection (including the title) from distortion, and author’s alterations are legal. Property rights presuppose the possibility, in certain cases, to receive royalties - royalties. Plagiarism is considered a criminal offense - the deliberate reproduction in full, significant parts or main provisions of someone else's work under one's own name or under the name of a third party.
Property rights are valid throughout the life of the author and seventy years after his death. Protection of violated rights is carried out through the court, by decision of which the real name of the author may be announced, the publication or distribution of a work made in violation of the right may be prohibited, corrections made in accordance with the author's will, and other actions taken, including compensation for damages to the author or his heirs for illegal use of the work.
Journalists like professional group, having specific social interests and legal rights, being interested in creative communication, exchange of knowledge and experience, protection and satisfaction of needs related to the performance of their professional duties, in all countries they sought to create their own associations. In every country there are journalistic organizations (and often several of them), created for different “grounds”: position in journalism - editors, publishers, parliamentary journalists, etc., political orientations, interests, etc. There are also international journalistic organizations: the International Federation of Journalists, the World Newspaper Association, the World Forum of Editors-in-Chief, the International Association for the Defense of Freedom of Speech, the International Press Institute, Reporters Without Borders, etc. International associations of journalism researchers have been created (AIERI, etc.).
In our country, back in the 10s of the 20th century, short term) unions of journalists. In 1957, the Union of Journalists of the USSR was created, which existed until 1991, when at the VII Congress of the Union of Journalists the formation of the Union of Journalists of the USSR was proclaimed on a confederal basis, transformed after the collapse of the USSR into the International Confederation of Journalist Unions.
In 1990, the founding congress of the Union of Journalists of Russia took place, uniting journalistic organizations of the republics, territories and regions that were previously part of the Union of Journalists of the USSR, as well as a number of associations, guilds, and clubs of media workers. SJ is a creative, professional, independent, self-governing organization operating on a federal basis. Members of the Union of Journalists are sovereign and equal in rights, have equal representation in the Federative Council of the Union of Journalists. Acting on the basis of the legislation of the Russian Federation, the Union of Journalists considers its main tasks to be:
protection of the rights and freedoms of journalists;
promoting the establishment and implementation of freedom of mass information, strengthening the legal framework for mass information activities;
development of the system of journalistic education and raising the professional and creative level of Russian journalism.
Along with the Union of Journalists of Russia, in recent years, media leaders have created the Media Union, the Union of Publishers and Distributors of Printed Products, the National Association of Television and Radio Broadcasters, the National Association of Publishers, the Alliance of Regional Media Leaders and a number of others. There are also regional journalistic associations.
National and international organizations Various memorable dates are established and celebrated. Since 1992, by decision of UNESCO, May 3 is celebrated as International Free Press Day. In Russia, January 13 is celebrated Russian press. January 13 is the day the first issue of the first Russian newspaper“Vedomosti” (1703), the decree on its publication was signed by Peter the Great on December 16, 1702.
Any professional activity, if it is of a creative nature, is to one degree or another doomed to unpredictability of the consequences of its result. Both the final goal and stage-by-stage intermediate tasks in the process of such activity are meaningfully formed under conditions of uncertainty. That is why, with all the interest of the subject of activity in achieving success and the positive consequences of the efforts expended, he inevitably makes decisions about actions taking into account the likelihood of their alternative outcome: success - failure, positive consequences - negative... Both this type of decision-making and the activity itself with the probability of an alternative outcome can be defined as a risk. The concept of “risk” is relatively new for our science. However, the accumulated materials allow us to draw several conclusions that are very significant for us when considering the category of professional responsibility. The first of these conclusions is that risk, representing a special type of decision-making in the process of activity, is inevitable in all cases when we are dealing with creativity. The fact is that creativity is always aimed at creating realities that have no absolute analogues in reality, and, therefore, in its essence it is associated with uncertainty. And since the risk is inevitable, it means that it is fundamentally justified and acceptable.
Second conclusion: the degree of risk tolerance may vary depending on the objective necessity of the activity at a given specific moment and the significance of its motives. The more acute the need for performance results and the more fundamental its motives, the more justified the decision-making on actions with an alternative outcome. The third conclusion is that the degree of probability of an alternative outcome of an activity depends on how much it is possible to take into account specific sources of uncertainty when making decisions - let's call them risk factors. Scientists identify the following circumstances that can play a role such factors: the inconsistency of social phenomena, their multivariate, probabilistic nature, due to elements of spontaneity and chance; the relativity of the process of human cognition of the surrounding reality, manifested in the form of incomplete information about an object at one time or another; the impossibility of unambiguous assessments of what is happening due to differences in value systems and socio-psychological attitudes of people, in their interests, intentions, and behavioral stereotypes; limited time, material, physical and mental resources of the subject of activity at the time of making and implementing decisions.
It is clear that in specific situations of activity all of the above circumstances manifest themselves with varying degrees of obviousness, in different forms and are not always amenable to accounting. Hence the danger of undue risk taken due to underestimation of the degree of alternative outcome of actions that one is actually capable of achieving. If this degree turns out to be very high, it can result in serious troubles and large losses both for the subject of the activity and for society at one or another level (group of people, region, country, etc.). Undue risk is an unacceptable risk.
29. Collisions between the professional and official duties of a journalist: causes of occurrence and experience of resolution
Professional duty enters a person’s life much later, when his professional path begins. The concept of it in the individual consciousness is formed in the process of interaction with the professional community due to the development of ideas reflected in the personal and transpersonal forms of its professional and moral consciousness. At the same time, since internalization, the “appropriation” by an individual of the content of the professional consciousness of a work group, does not occur immediately and not in full, the awareness of professional duty - a system of instructions that must be followed - does not immediately come to the person. The objective side of a journalist’s professional duty is determined by those real-life responsibilities that fall to the lot of representatives of this profession in society, since this is the only way journalism can fulfill its purpose, respond to the social needs that brought it to life. The subjective side is associated with the personal beginning of the profession, with the fact that readiness to fulfill these duties is expressed by members of the professional community voluntarily and becomes for each of them internal condition existence in journalism. The content of the professional duty of a modern journalist is described, in particular, in the “International Principles of Journalistic Ethics” adopted at the IV Consultative Meeting of International and Regional Journalist Organizations, held in 1984 in Paris and Prague. This document states: “The primary task of a journalist is to ensure that people receive true and reliable information through an honest reflection of objective reality.”
One should not think, however, that professional duty is in principle incompatible with official duty. During collective interaction under normal conditions, official duty seems to mediate the fulfillment of professional duties, regulating this collective interaction. Of course, contradictions cannot be ruled out here either, but they rarely acquire the character of collisions and can be resolved in a working manner. A typical example of this would be a situation in which anyone can find themselves. Let's say you are making material for a room and must hand it in no later than 12 o'clock. Your official duty requires punctuality from you, since the normal course of the production process depends on it. But for some reason the text “doesn’t work” - it’s not written. You re-read the lines typed on the computer again and again and suddenly you realize that there is simply not enough information to make the conclusions you are aiming for. To avoid a mistake, you urgently need to “further investigate” one of the events - this is what your professional duty tells you. But this means that you won’t have time to submit the material by 12.00... So, maybe give up on the quality of the text, finish it somehow?.. But your text is about people, about living people. It’s better not to have time! And you make the choice that your professional duty tells you.
30. Journalist and his heroes: ethical aspects interactions
See question no. 17, and also give some excerpts from the codes:
Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists (1996).
Before promising a source anonymity, find out his motives. Fully clarify the conditions for fulfilling promises made in exchange for information. Promises must be kept.
Avoid stereotyping people based on their race, gender, age,
religion, nationality, sexual orientation, physical disability and social class.
Show concern for those who may be harmed as a result of reporting. Show special sensitivity towards children and other vulnerable sources of information.
Be especially sensitive when collecting information or publishing interviews and photographs of those directly affected by tragedy or grief.
Think carefully before deciding to name criminal suspects before they have been formally charged.
UNION OF JOURNALISTS OF RUSSIA CODE OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
RUSSIAN JOURNALIST:
The journalist respects the honor and dignity of the people who become the objects of his professional attention. He refrains from any disparaging allusions or comments with respect to a person's race, nationality, color, religion, social origin or sex, or with respect to a person's physical handicap or disease. He refrains from publishing such information, except in cases where these circumstances are directly related to the content of the published message. A journalist must absolutely avoid the use of offensive expressions that could harm moral and physical health of people.
