Syllabus for Two-Day Seminar on “Media Ethics: Dilemmas and Democratic Discourse”

INTRODUCTION
THE current press environment calls urgently for sustained training of media workers in
principles and practice of media ethics.
Attacks and threats against journalists and media organizations indicate the problematic issues
reflected in the conduct of journalists and media practitioners, some of whom are seen as
abusing press power. A taxonomy of corrupt practices mirror the media’s collusion in the
general corruption evident in politics and business. The influence of advertising and public
relations (PR) distracts from the fulfilment of the primary objective of news to inform with
information that citizens need to know and often flout ethical and professional values.
There are inherent pressures in the media culture itself. The press is part of the power
establishment and such power can be vulnerable to abuse. The news business can be so
identified with the establishment that journalists seem concerned only with their concerns;
marginalizing the issues of the poor and other minorities in the news agenda.
The ideals of press freedom and the autonomy are precisely enshrined in the Constitution to
ensure that news provides the kind of information that citizens need so they can participate in
a meaningful way in the public forum, forming good decisions about public issues.
Current realities
President Rodrigo Duterte has made clear his hostility toward critics in the press, but also
attacked the mainstream media, focusing on the failings of the press and their owners. This was
a strategic tactic to further weaken the hold of newspapers, television and radio on the media
market as his government unleashed massive propaganda on social media to attack the
opposition, media critics and their news organizations.
The orchestrated actions, the public charges made against the owners of the Inquirer, ABS-CBN,
and Rappler has effectively tamed a press that has been known to investigate without fear or
favour, to criticize public officials including those in the highest positions; and in other ways
show off its power.
Journalists who have been targeted for their negative reporting mostly on the president’s
centrepiece program –“war on drugs” – now work under very challenging conditions, subjected
to violent trolling and police surveillance.
On the other side of the political line, there are practitioners whose reporting and commentary
have reduced them to spokespersons of the regime spokespersons.
It is difficult for news organizations and journalists to hold on to the principles of professional
practice when they are under pressure, as well as confronted with the threat to their
operations and presented with incentives to submit to political pressures.
CMFR has noted that ethics training on the job has not been undertaken with as much focus by
news management; and that curricular components on ethics in journalism courses can be
described as inadequate.
Rationale
These conditions make it necessary to initiate training in media ethics, reviewing the
fundamental principles and discussing ethical issues, such as conflict-of-interest, accuracy of
facts as well as context.
While there are numerous graduates of mass communication as well as journalism courses, a
quick scan of curriculum suggests the small place that ethics occupies in the teaching
curriculum. Actual experience in newsrooms and in the field also tend to blur any actual
learning; and indeed test the viability of ethical instructions when confronted with the realities
of present newsrooms.
In a period when the press is assailed institutionally or as a community; or journalists
threatened with attacks of different kinds, a strong ethical grid might recover the moral high
ground that can justify, perhaps even encourage, programs of active media defense and
protection.
Training Module in Brief
This program pilots a short course module, taking two days; which is often the extent of time
that working journalists can take from their jobs. The module therefore provides for a training
kit (digital or paper) which can be shared as echo-training as well as serve as long-term
reference for practitioners. Ethics needs to be integrated into the practice and culture of the
newsroom in order to embed the values and make it part of the newsroom DNA.
This two-day seminar-workshop can serve as a trigger mechanism that can spread through the
entire media organization, perhaps, even the community.
Collateral learning material will be developed as well to provoke downstream impact for more
shared learning (such as digital inputs, print-outs, learning products to be developed.)

TRAINING SYLLABUS

MEDIA ETHICS: DILEMMAS IN NEWS COVERAGE

TRAINING DESCRIPTION: A two-day training in media ethics, reviewing the fundamental

principles, discussing the ethical issues in relation to practice; such as conflict-of-interest,
accuracy of facts as well as context.
PARTICIPANTS: Journalists in different media, radio, television, print and online news sites
METHODOLOGY: Lecture and discussion of fundamental principles, panel discussion with
working journalists; workshop to discuss the issues in practice, given ethical cases drawn from
CMFR’s case files. The use of different teaching approaches enlivens the learning, and avoids
boredom from classroom teaching. The panel discussion which involves leading journalists will
effectively engage the participants in the exchange as well as validate the ethical points. The
involvement of successful working journalists adds value to the teaching experience.
OBJECTIVE:
Direct:
To train 20-25 journalists in the principles and practice of ethical journalism.
To promote the ethical learning in newsrooms
Indirect:
To improve and upgrade the coverage of news in selected news organizations based on ethical
practice
To initiate a counterforce against corrupt and unethical coverage in the news media

DAY TIME AGENDA DESCRIPTION RESOURCE

SPEAKER/PANEL
DAY 8:30 am
1 to 9:00 Why the Seminar-workshop
am
Description: Introduction to the seminar workshop
9:30 am
to 10:00 Levelling of Expectations
am
Description: Quick sharing among participants on
their objectives in attending
10:30 am CMFR executive
to 11:30 Values-Based Approach to Ethics Training director, Melinda
am Description: Based on the book of Edmund Quintos de Jesus
Lambeth, professor of journalism in the University
of Missouri, the lecture relates five fundamental
human values which operationalize good
journalism. Five principles are discussed as values
expressed in cultural, social even moral terms;
which at the same time, govern the practice of
reporting, interviewing, stressing the impact of the
news process on the subjects of the news, as well
 as the relationships of journalists with their
subjects. Presentation will refer to the coherence
of this approach to other ethics programs,
including UNESCO’s own curriculum.

11:30 am
to 12:30 News as a business: What are the dilemmas Professor Luis
pm inherent in the Newsroom Teodoro

Description: This session reviews the realities that

govern the newsroom: The news conventions
which counter the goals of journalism: Making
what is relevant interesting. What stories are given
prominence? How to address the realities of the
news business “native advertising or brand
reporting?” The place of owners’ interests.

1:30 pm PROPOSED
to 3:00 Panel Presentation PANELISTS:
pm
 Ed Lingao
Description: Panelists will be given a background  Manuel
on the first lecture sessions, be assigned questions Mogato
and ethical issues which each should focus on  Pia Ranada
 Inday
QUESTIONS: Espina-
1. What is the journalist’s primary Varona
responsibility to the public?
2. How crucial is ethical practice to
democratic discourse?
3. What is the most fundamental ethical
principle that journalists must observe?
4. What was the most problematic ethical
decision you have had to make in the
course of your practice and how did you
arrive at it?
5. What lessons can future journalists draw
from that decision?
This input enhances the learning with actual
journalists thinking out the issues and discussing
these in the light of values and principles taken up
in the first session.
 3:30 to
Panel Discussion and Open Forum
4:30

Description: The question-answer may be

incorporated or undertaken after the completion
of the first part: Panel answers questions, receive
feedback and comments from participants
DAY 10:00 am
2 to 11:30 Discussion of Case Studies
am
Description: Presentation of case studies in
preparation for the workshop
1:30 pm
to 3:00 Workshop
pm
Description: PARTICIPANTS WILL BE IN A
WORKSHOP OF THEIR CHOICE.
(to be selected from CMFR monitors)
Workshop 1: Hostage Taking 2010

Workshop 2: TBA

Workshop 3: TBA

3:30 pm Workshop reports and open forum

to 4:30
pm Description:

Proposed Program:
DAY 1
8:00 am to 8:30 am
8:30 am to 9:00 am
9:00 am to 9:30 am
9:30 am to 10:00 am
10:00 am to 10:30 am
10:30 am to 11:30 am
11:30 am to 12:30 am
Registration
Why the seminar-workshop
Introductions
Leveling of expectations
Break
Lecture and Discussion: Values-Based Approach to Ethics Training
Lecture and discussion: News as a business: What are the
 dilemmas inherent in the Newsroom
12:00 pm to 1:30 pm Lunch
1:30 pm to 3:00 pm Panel presentations
3:00 pm to 3:30 pm Break
3:30 pm to 4:30 pm Panel discussion and open forum
End of Day One
DAY 2
9:00 am to 9:30 am RECAP of DAY ONE: Training Director
9:30 am to 10:00 am Break
10:00 am to 11:30 am Discussion of Case Studies: To prepare for workshops
11:30 am to 12:00 am Continuation of Session
12:00 pm to 1:30 pm Lunch
1:30 pm to 3:00 pm Workshops
3:00 pm to 3:30 pm Break
3:30 pm to 4:30 pm Workshop reports and open forum
4:30 pm to 5:00 pm Closing Ceremonies