Kommunikation für positiven sozialen Wandel fördern
| Ending gender discrimination is key to ethical reporting, declares journalists meeting in Brussels |
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There are no translations available. By Lavinia Mohr, Director of Programmes, WACC
In his remarks to the opening session, White underlined the importance of upholding ethical standards within journalism. Journalism that reinforces stereotypes builds barriers to equality, he said, while fair portrayal goes beyond journalistic choices about pictures and language to include how the news agenda itself is defined and by whom. He underlined the benefit of partnerships with civil society groups such as WACC to make journalism stronger. The working sessions of the conference began with a presentation by Lavinia Mohr, WACC’s Director of Programmes, on the 2006 Who Makes the News? report of the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) on the representation of women and men in the news around the world. The Global Media Monitoring Project is the largest and longest running research and advocacy project on gender representation in the news. It provides extensive evidence about how journalistic routines and practices lead to unfair and unbalanced representation of women and men in the news worldwide. Its findings, based on monitoring almost 13,000 news stories in 76 countries, demonstrate a glaring deficit in fair and balanced representation in the news around the world. The findings show some change for the better compared to the previous survey five years earlier. If the slow rate of change is not increased, Mohr said, it will take decades to reach fair and balanced gender portrayal in the news around the world. WACC invited the participants to take part in the next GMMP, which will be held in November this year. For more information about the project, visit: http://www.whomakesthenews.org/ Alton Grizzle, UNESCO Communication Development Division Programme Specialist, told the conference that gender equality in the media is still an aspiration rather than a reality. He pointed out that gender equality in the newsrooms and in the news agenda are inextricably linked. It is crucial, he said, that the news “reflect the world as seen through the eyes of women as well as men.” Participants at the conference expressed concerns with three separate aspects of gender equality and journalism: equality within the journalistic profession and working conditions for journalists; equality in journalists unions and union leadership, and equality in news content. The conference declaration recognised that “it is essential to hold strong to principles of ethical reporting to fight gender stereotypes, to combat aggressive behaviour, harassment, inequality in promotion, training and pay, and to stand up for dignity in our work as journalists and media professionals”. It also underlined that “all media workers, journalists, and trade unionists should work together to improve ethical journalism, to respect the rights and dignity of women, and to ensure that the images of women in media and society reflect the need to end all discrimination in social, economic, political and cultural life...” The conference was supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UNESCO, International Media Support, and LO/TCO Trade Union Development. The IFJ recently published a handbook entitled “Getting the Balance Right: Gender Equality in Journalism”. The handbook which encourages every newsroom, every media house and every journalists union to eliminate gender discrimination is available in English, Spanish and French, at: http://ethicaljournalisminitiative.org/en/contents/getting-the-balance-right-gender-equality-in-journalism Source: http://www.whomakesthenews.org/ Ethics and Gender: Equality in the newsroom, Brussels Declaration Getting the Balance Right: Gender Equality in Journalism
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