Publications
Libertad de Prensa, Acceso a la Información y Empoderamiento Ciudadano: seminario internacional
Esta publicación reúne las ponencias y discusiones desarrolladas en el marco del Seminario “Libertad de Prensa, Acceso a la Información y Empoderamiento Ciudadano”, celebrado en ocasión del Día Mundial de la Libertad de Prensa 2008, organizado por la Oficina Cluster MERCOSUR de UNESCO con la participación de conferencistas de los países del MERCOSUR Argentina, Brasil, Paraguay, Uruguay, y conectado por video conferencia con panelistas de Chile y España.
Voces para Acallar el Silencio: Libertad de Expresión y de Prensa
La idea tras esta publicación es presentar un panorama de la situación vigente en libertad de expresión y de prensa, y de libre acceso a la información en América Latina. Con este fin, invitamos a periodistas, comunicadores, académicos e intelectuales líderes de toda la región a aportar artículos, algunos con enfoque regional y otros con perspectiva nacional. Nuestro objetivo es reforzar la comprensión y apoyo de estas libertades, como punto de referencia de dónde estamos y también a dónde necesitamos llegar.
The Importance of Self Regulation of the Media in Upholding Freedom of Expression
This study, written by Andrew Puddephatt, focuses on different angles of self-regulation applied to the media sector. It summarizes the intersections of the theme with the practice of journalism, the editorial principles and strategies for corporate social responsibility.
According to Andrew Puddephatt, it is important to recognise the dual character of the media and its implications. Firstly it is a site which permits the free exchange of ideas and opinion necessary in a democracy and which is therefore deserving of the highest protection and freedom from state interference. Secondly it is a social actor in its own rights, who’s choices about whether or how to cover events and whose editorial position can also shape events and in that way is required to act in a socially responsible fashion. It is this dual character that makes an effective form of self-regulation so essential.
Freedom of Expression and Broadcasting Regulation
This study, written by international experts, Toby Mendel and Eve Salomon, provides content for reflection on the centrality of regulation for the protection, promotion and guarantee of the right to receive, seek and impart information, ideas and opinions.
The right to freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, important in its own right and also because of its function in underpinning the protection of all other rights.
The regulation of broadcasting necessarily engages the right to freedom of expression because by its very nature, regulation may be seen as a restriction on freedom of expression. Indeed, freedom of expression may be said to form the cornerstone of broadcasting regulation in democratic societies and the question of whether or not a given regulatory approach is legitimate will often depend on an assessment of its impact on freedom of expression.
Freedom of information: a comparative legal survey
The importance of the right to information or the right to know is an increasingly constant refrain in the mouths of development practitioners, civil society, academics, the media and governments.
What is this right, is it really a right and how have governments sought to give effect to it? These are some of the questions this book seeks to address, providing an accessible account of the law and practice regarding freedom of information, and an analysis of what is working and why.
Ethical Journalism
The News York Times handbook of values and practices for the news and editorial departments.
In this book one can find The New York Times guidelines of writing and standards of behavior that generally apply to all members of the news and editorial departments whose work directly affects the content of the paper, including those on leaves of absence. They include reporters, editors, editorial writers, photographers, picture editors, art directors, artists, designers, graphics editors and researchers.
Sword and Shield: Self-Regulation and International Media
Published by the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA), this report examines the ways in which media around the world have attempted to regulate themselves.
Written by Bill Ristow, a veteran journalist and international journalism trainer, the report discusses the use of press councils and ombudsmen around the world. While nearly all such efforts officially espouse the same generalized high goal–raising the standards of media coverage, in part by giving the public a chance to criticize and question that coverage–there are significant differences among them in approach, scope, effectiveness, and, most significantly, independence.
The Media Self-Regulation Guidebook. All questions and answers.
Practical guidebook that aims to promote media self-regulation, boost the quality of journalism and help improve the overall situation of media freedom in the OSCE area.
This guidebook is composed of questions and answers on a wide range of practical questions like how the existing self-regulatory mechanisms work, what challenges they face, how to establish or enhance them and many others of such sort.
Each chapter highlights practical aspects of media self-regulation, including the role of codes of ethics and various accountability mechanisms, such as ombudspersons or press councils.
The idea is that every reader finds solutions that one can tailor to their countries’ conditions.
To Tell You the Truth
The book is published under IFJ Ethical Journalism Initiative and is an introduction to the background and some of the key themes to consider in building an ethical environment for journalism.
It provides support for journalists who are keeping an ethical flame alive in the profession. In these pages are many warnings about the dangers. There is also encouragement for those who are ready to stand up for journalism and confirmation, in the age of convergence of traditional and new media, that the act of journalism as a public good will not survive on any platform without commitment to ethics and values.
