Preamble
The Code of Professional Ethics and Social Responsibility of journalists-members of the Journalists Unions aims to:
- Reaffirm and ensure the social role of the journalist in the new conditions shaped by gigantism, oligopoly in ownership status quo, the increased range and influence of mass media and the globalisation of communication;
- Discourage and resist any attempt of state or other party to influence through self-determination of standards of responsible professional conduct;
Ethical principle:
Observation of political and economic power
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- Ensure freedom of information and expression, the autonomy and dignity of the journalist and defend the freedom of the press for the benefit of democracy and society;To this end, journalists commit themselves to applying and defending the following fundamental principles.
Ethical principle:
Freedom of press
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Article 1:
The right of people and citizens to inform and be freely informed is inalienable. Information is a public good and not a commodity or a means of propaganda. Journalists are entitled and must:
a. Consider the disclosure of the whole truth as their foremost duty towards society and themselves;
Ethical principle:
Truth
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b. Consider distortion, concealment, falsification and fabrication of real events an affront against society and an act demeaning to themselves act;
Ethical principle:
Distortion of facts or forgery
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c. Respect and uphold the distinction between news, commentary and advertising messages, the necessary correlation between title and text, and the accurate use of photographs, images and graphic depictions or other representations;
Ethical principle:
Separation between facts and opinions or analysis
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d. Disseminate information and news unbiased by their personal political, social, religious, racial and cultural views or beliefs;
Ethical principle:
Bias
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e. Investigate, with a sense of responsibility and awareness of the consequences, the accuracy of the information or the news which they are to report;
Ethical principle:
Accuracy
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f. Redress without delay, with appropriate presentation and suitable emphasis, inaccurate information and false allegations which are an affront to the honour and reputation of citizens and people, and print or present the opposite view without, necessarily, a rejoinder that would place such journalist in a privileged position vis-à-vis the injured party.
Article 2:
Journalism as a profession, but also as a social service, entails rights, duties and obligations. Journalists are entitled and must:
a. Treat citizens equally, without making any discrimination as to national origin, sex, race, religion, political beliefs, economic situation and social status;
Ethical principle:
Discrimination and racism
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b. Respect the individuality, dignity and inviolable privacy of people and citizens; Only when required by the right to information, they can draw on elements of the private life of individuals who perform a public function or hold a particular position, exert influence in society and are subject to public scrutiny, , always in a responsible manner;
Ethical principle:
Protection of the good name of a person
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c. Respect the presumption of innocence and not assume the outcome of judicial decisions;
Ethical principle:
Presumption of innocence
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d. Respect the protection of minors and individuals with special needs and serious health problems, as such is provided for by international conventions;
Ethical principle:
Children
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e. Treat citizens with discretion and sensibility, when they are in situations of grief, mental shock and pain, as well as those who have manifest mental health problems, avoiding to draw attention to their personal particularity.
Ethical principle:
Vulnerable people and sensitive topics
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f. Not reveal, directly or indirectly, the identity of rape victims who survived the criminal act.
Ethical principle:
Victims of crimes, accidents, or disasters
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g. Check and substantiate information concerning sensitive areas of health, where misleading information and sensational coverage can provoke unjustified confusion in public opinion;
Ethical principle:
Health reporting
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h. Gather and cross-check information and ensure its substantiation (documents, photographs, cassettes, television images) by applying legitimate methods compliant with journalistic ethics, always disclosing their journalistic identity;
Ethical principle:
Fairness in gathering information
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i. Adhere to professional confidentiality as to the source of the information which was obtained in strict confidence;
Ethical principle:
Confidentiality
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j. Respect the standards of off-the-record information insofar as they have undertaken such commitment;
Ethical principle:
Honoring agreements
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Article 3:
Equal right to speech and pluralism, the lifeblood of democracy, are discredited in conditions of state monopoly control of the mass media and are undermined by the concentration of ownership in the hands of mammoth for-profit enterprises which view public opinion as being a consumer whose views, habits and behaviour by and large, they seek to manipulate; For this reason, journalists are entitled and must:
Ethical principle:
Promote pluralism
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a. Vigorously defend democracy which ensures free press and the unobstructed exercise of the journalistic profession;
Ethical principle:
Defending and promoting democracy
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b. Reject and condemn manifestations of state authoritarianism and any arbitrary acts on the part of mass media owners, especially those of oligopolies;
Ethical principle:
Reject manifestations of state authoritarianism
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c. Defend editorial independence in their workplace and to refuse to carry out any assignment contrary to the principles of journalistic ethics;
Ethical principle:
Not acting against one’s convictions
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d. Refuse to edit any news, commentary or article and broadcast production at the suggestion of their seniors or employers, if their content does not correspond to reality and to condemn any falsification, unbeknown to them, of their journalistic product.
Ethical principle:
Condemn falsification of one’s journalistic product
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Article 4:
Surplus of labour in the area of journalism accentuates the preconditions for the manifestation of exploitation phenomena, such as: Unpaid or symbolically remunerated labour, the infringement of contractual obligations and codes of conduct etc. For this reason, journalists are entitled and must:
Ethical principle:
Labour rights of journalism
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a. Support and underpin the activities of their trade union organisation aimed at improving remuneration and employment conditions in the mass media;
Ethical principle:
Labour rights of journalism
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b. Reject any attempt to restrict their labour rights in the workplace and any violation of ethical standards;
Ethical principle:
Labour rights of journalism
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c. Refrain from exercising or accepting any form of discrimination based on sex or years of service of their colleagues.
Ethical principle:
Labour rights of journalism
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Article 5:
Transparency in financial relationships constitutes a fundamental element of the credibility, prestige and professional dignity of journalists
Ethical principle:
Disclosing potential conflicts of interest
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a. Neither pursue nor accept payment for journalistic work from secret funds of state agencies and public or private organisations funds;
Ethical principle:
Accepting bribes
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b. Neither pursue nor accept any sinecure or remunerated position related to their specialty in press office, public agencies or private enterprises which may cast doubt on their professional autonomy and independence;
Ethical principle:
Creating promotional publications or work as PR person
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c. Neither pursue nor accept the promotional use of their name, voice or image, except for public benefit purposes;
Ethical principle:
Appearing in promotional material
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d. Neither report nor exploit for own benefit exclusive information which influences the course of stock exchange prices and the market;
Ethical principle:
Market information
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e. To neither pursue nor accept any monetary benefits and benefits in kind which compromises their credibility and dignity and influences their independence and impartiality.
Ethical principle:
Accepting gifts
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Article 6:
Solidarity among colleagues and mutual respect of journalists contribute positively to the collective professional objectives and the public image of the journalistic profession. For this reason, journalists are entitled and must:
Ethical principle:
Being good colleagues
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a. Respect the individuality of their colleagues; Not level unfounded accusations against them and to avoid personal recriminations both publicly and in the workplace;
Ethical principle:
Being good colleagues
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b. Consider any plagiarism to be a grave and unprofessional act;
Ethical principle:
Plagiarism and copyright
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c. Not appropriate the work of their colleagues; Always make a reference to the name of the author whose texts or extracts are used;
Ethical principle:
Plagiarism and copyright
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d. Cite the source of information which has already been published or reported;
Ethical principle:
Re-using material
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Article 7:
The gigantism of mass media and globalisation of communication have significantly increased the educational and cultural role of both the electronic and printed press. Given their additional responsibilities under the new circumstances, journalists must:
Ethical principle:
Language
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a. Contribute to the enhancement of journalistic discourse, avoiding grammatical, syntactic and semantic blatant errors;
Ethical principle:
Language
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b. Avoid vulgarisms, vulgarity and linguistic barbarity, observing, even in satire and caricature, the standards of professional ethics and social responsibility;
Ethical principle:
Language
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c. Protect the Greek language from the excessive use of foreign words and terms;
Ethical principle:
Language
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d. Creatively contribute to the protection of our national tradition and to safeguard our cultural heritage.
Ethical principle:
Language
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Article 8:
The obligations of journalists arising from this Code do not entail any restriction on the freedom of expression
Ethical principle:
Freedom of speech
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July 1998