Ethical conditions of media functioning. Part II
Jacek Sobczak
Pełny tekst artykułuThere is a strong global tendency to codify ethical norms concerning various professions. Creating ethical codes aims at counteracting breaching moral boundaries. At times norms of journalistic professional ethics are not written into separate codes, but are an integral part of statutes or press office rules. There have been attempts of creating international ethical codes, with a global or regional dimension. The system of European journalistic ethical standards was established during European conferences of ministers dedicated to policies on means of social communication. Ethical standards were also shaped by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Particularly important is resolution 1003 of the Assembly. An attempt at defining journalistic ethical standards was also made in the legal fields of the European Union. It is worth noting that journalistic ethical codes indicate a lack of sense of security and are forms of defense from growing reluctance on the part of receivers. The hidden agenda of their existence is self-promotion of the industry. Polish ethical codes strike us as general and lacking precision.
KEYWORDS
ethics, media, ethical codes, the Mexican Statement, European ethical standards, Polish codes of journalistic ethics