NICT and media trend: Developmental implications-III
On the one hand, new media holds a potential to empower the individual by providing greater freedom of information that can lead to innovative courses of practical action. On the other, it has also possibilities for manipulation of information
CODES OF professional conduct, such as those supported by journalists’ unions and ethical monitoring structures that maintain standards of content are an important basis for self-regulation. The aim must be to promote self-regulation and voluntary methods of setting and maintaining standards of content.
Journalists’ unions should support efforts to define ethical issues that apply to electronic information services. In particular, they can promote professionalism through training programmes for on-line journalists and content providers to try to ensure a minimum set of standards in the gathering, preparation and dissemination of reliable information in a digital environment.
Editorial independence as the safeguard of free information must be ensured in the new information services. Quality of information, which can be guaranteed by promotion of independent professional journalism working to high ethical and professional standards, will help expand the information market-place and inspire public confidence.
Furthermore, as emphasised in the IFJ study, “Where monitoring of content is needed there should be a clear separation in the framework of regulation between responsibilities for regulating technical infrastructure and competition policy and the monitoring of content. These two areas of activity are distinct and should not be merged.”
Another very sensitive issue related to the NICT and the media concerns the authors’ right. Journalists are fighting a hard battle for authors’ rights in Europe where newspaper publishers, television and multimedia producers argue that the continental European concept of authors’ rights should be changed to match the Anglo-American copyright system where the original author loses all his or her rights once he or she has received payment for his or her work.
This not only concerns the material aspects of journalism, but it also has implications for editorial independence, freedom of expression, ethics and quality. Authors’ rights give authors the exclusive right to reproduce, publish, perform, broadcast, translate and adapt their work. Journalists, photographers and programme makers deem it essential that they retain authority over their intellectual property and control what happens to their work.
They feel they should be able to decide for themselves how their work may be used and by whom. Distorting or twisting facts arranged in a specific order can give a story a different turn or angle. In short, they are of the opinion that strong moral rights guarantee the authenticity, quality and integrity of work and can also promote high ethical standards.
Regarding the official position of UNESCO towards these issues, it is worth noting that the General Conference endorsed, in November 1997, the concern expressed in the Sofia Declaration by media professionals that 'the access to and the use of these new media should be afforded the same freedom of expression protection as traditional media'.
This position is consistent with the New Communication Strategy adopted by its Member States in 1989, which aims 'to encourage the free flow of information, at the international as well as national levels, to promote the wider and better balanced dissemination of information, without any obstacle to freedom of expression and to strengthen communication capacities in the developing countries in order to increase their participation in the communication process'. Member States also believe it is preferable to encourage self-regulation among Internet users according to ethical values applicable to each society.
As a first objective of this new strategy, UNESCO committed itself to promoting freedom of expression, the cornerstone of human rights, as well as its corollary, freedom of the press, the essential component of any democratic society. Freedom of expression is a sine qua non condition for all citizens to participate in the democratic life and development of a society and the building of peace.
Free exercise of this right is in fact a condition for the realisation of all other rights. It is essential to the equitable practice of justice because the principle of the rule of law is insufficient. Laws must be just and not the product of an authoritarian power beyond the control of its citizens who are reduced to silence and submissiveness.
In addition, the current UNESCO strategy consists of defending the freedom of expression and information; encouraging affordable access to information for all, that is promoting universal access to new media, primarily the Internet; and helping the most underprivileged individuals to participate in the 'information society' whether it be traditional media or the NICT and have access to basic communication and information services.
This will be carried out by setting up structures and implementing programmes which allow those excluded to receive the basic knowledge required to achieve their 'personal sovereignty' and thus become fully-fledged citizens of the information society.
Globally, this consists of preserving free access to information 'available to the general public', while maintaining an equitable balance between the legitimate interests of the holders of copyrights and the public interest: The Internet should not become a medium dominated by business interests. Finally, everything possible should be done to introduce pluralism in the information society.
This is necessary, on the one hand, for the individual to benefit from new technologies and on the other, for other languages to find their place in cyberspace, alongside the dominant language, English. In addition to language, survival and development of minority cultures are at stake.
On the one hand, new media holds a hitherto unseen potential to empower the individual by providing greater freedom of information that can lead to innovative courses of practical action. On the other hand, new media has also possibilities for widespread manipulation of information and governmental censorship.
A central challenge is to fully exploit the potential of new media without compromising the fundamental right of freedom of expression. The free flow of ideas by word and image is a pre-requisite for any social and economic development. However, while what we often call ‘new media’ technologies always imply the fundamental right to freedom of expression for the individual; they do not necessarily imply freedom of the press – to borrow a distinction from Professor Berger’s speech.
Efforts to support new communication technologies, therefore, must be placed alongside efforts to support press freedom. Furthermore, efforts to support press freedom must be complimented with capacity-building efforts to strengthen professional standards and socioeconomic programmes to combat poverty. I think that this is very important because the impact of new media is, after all, dependent on quality of journalism and accessibility.
When we talk about freedom we should also think of our responsibility. Freedom does not mean that it is license for misbehaviour. Of course, freedom of expression is of importance for the survival of democracy it should be practiced in such a way that it does not come in way of the freedom of others. The media’s work is to provide independent and trustworthy information, which has contributed significantly to processes of reconstruction and reconciliation.
That is why freedom of expression is acknowledged as a fundamental precondition for democracy and development. 'The Power of Peace Forum' in Bali, Indonesia, Media and ICT professionals from over 30 countries gathered to find practical means of using communication and information to achieve peace. This culminated in the 'Power of Peace Network' that is committed to build mechanisms what is perhaps the greatest role that new media can play in our world: namely, it’s potential for peace and understanding.
Mutual understanding can only be achieved through a continuous exchange of information and knowledge–through the free flow of ideas by word and image. Dialogue, founded on mutual respect and understanding constitutes the best way to overcome ignorance and promote peace, tolerance and the dialogue among civilisations, cultures, peoples and religions. New media has a lot to contribute in this regard. We must continue to develop ways of improving the impact of new media as a force for press freedom and mutual understanding.
For its part, UNESCO will continue to fulfill its mandate to promote the free flow of ideas, universal access to information and press freedom. Only a major collaborative effort of the whole international community will ensure that a maximum of men and women benefit from the extraordinary opportunities offered by the new information society, especially the Internet.
This is required to prevent a gigantic virtual 'cyber-ghetto', on the fringe of a privileged minority, to which billions of individuals excluded from the information society will be relegated. These are the new helots of the 2lst century. As a result, not only Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will be compromised, but the entire edifice of human rights and especially its Article one which states: 'All humans are born free and equal in dignity and rights'.
Editorial independence as the safeguard of free information must be ensured in the new information services. Quality of information, which can be guaranteed by promotion of independent professional journalism working to high ethical and professional standards, will help expand the information market-place and inspire public confidence.
Furthermore, as emphasised in the IFJ study, “Where monitoring of content is needed there should be a clear separation in the framework of regulation between responsibilities for regulating technical infrastructure and competition policy and the monitoring of content. These two areas of activity are distinct and should not be merged.”
Another very sensitive issue related to the NICT and the media concerns the authors’ right. Journalists are fighting a hard battle for authors’ rights in Europe where newspaper publishers, television and multimedia producers argue that the continental European concept of authors’ rights should be changed to match the Anglo-American copyright system where the original author loses all his or her rights once he or she has received payment for his or her work.
This not only concerns the material aspects of journalism, but it also has implications for editorial independence, freedom of expression, ethics and quality. Authors’ rights give authors the exclusive right to reproduce, publish, perform, broadcast, translate and adapt their work. Journalists, photographers and programme makers deem it essential that they retain authority over their intellectual property and control what happens to their work.
They feel they should be able to decide for themselves how their work may be used and by whom. Distorting or twisting facts arranged in a specific order can give a story a different turn or angle. In short, they are of the opinion that strong moral rights guarantee the authenticity, quality and integrity of work and can also promote high ethical standards.
Regarding the official position of UNESCO towards these issues, it is worth noting that the General Conference endorsed, in November 1997, the concern expressed in the Sofia Declaration by media professionals that 'the access to and the use of these new media should be afforded the same freedom of expression protection as traditional media'.
This position is consistent with the New Communication Strategy adopted by its Member States in 1989, which aims 'to encourage the free flow of information, at the international as well as national levels, to promote the wider and better balanced dissemination of information, without any obstacle to freedom of expression and to strengthen communication capacities in the developing countries in order to increase their participation in the communication process'. Member States also believe it is preferable to encourage self-regulation among Internet users according to ethical values applicable to each society.
As a first objective of this new strategy, UNESCO committed itself to promoting freedom of expression, the cornerstone of human rights, as well as its corollary, freedom of the press, the essential component of any democratic society. Freedom of expression is a sine qua non condition for all citizens to participate in the democratic life and development of a society and the building of peace.
Free exercise of this right is in fact a condition for the realisation of all other rights. It is essential to the equitable practice of justice because the principle of the rule of law is insufficient. Laws must be just and not the product of an authoritarian power beyond the control of its citizens who are reduced to silence and submissiveness.
In addition, the current UNESCO strategy consists of defending the freedom of expression and information; encouraging affordable access to information for all, that is promoting universal access to new media, primarily the Internet; and helping the most underprivileged individuals to participate in the 'information society' whether it be traditional media or the NICT and have access to basic communication and information services.
This will be carried out by setting up structures and implementing programmes which allow those excluded to receive the basic knowledge required to achieve their 'personal sovereignty' and thus become fully-fledged citizens of the information society.
Globally, this consists of preserving free access to information 'available to the general public', while maintaining an equitable balance between the legitimate interests of the holders of copyrights and the public interest: The Internet should not become a medium dominated by business interests. Finally, everything possible should be done to introduce pluralism in the information society.
This is necessary, on the one hand, for the individual to benefit from new technologies and on the other, for other languages to find their place in cyberspace, alongside the dominant language, English. In addition to language, survival and development of minority cultures are at stake.
On the one hand, new media holds a hitherto unseen potential to empower the individual by providing greater freedom of information that can lead to innovative courses of practical action. On the other hand, new media has also possibilities for widespread manipulation of information and governmental censorship.
A central challenge is to fully exploit the potential of new media without compromising the fundamental right of freedom of expression. The free flow of ideas by word and image is a pre-requisite for any social and economic development. However, while what we often call ‘new media’ technologies always imply the fundamental right to freedom of expression for the individual; they do not necessarily imply freedom of the press – to borrow a distinction from Professor Berger’s speech.
Efforts to support new communication technologies, therefore, must be placed alongside efforts to support press freedom. Furthermore, efforts to support press freedom must be complimented with capacity-building efforts to strengthen professional standards and socioeconomic programmes to combat poverty. I think that this is very important because the impact of new media is, after all, dependent on quality of journalism and accessibility.
When we talk about freedom we should also think of our responsibility. Freedom does not mean that it is license for misbehaviour. Of course, freedom of expression is of importance for the survival of democracy it should be practiced in such a way that it does not come in way of the freedom of others. The media’s work is to provide independent and trustworthy information, which has contributed significantly to processes of reconstruction and reconciliation.
That is why freedom of expression is acknowledged as a fundamental precondition for democracy and development. 'The Power of Peace Forum' in Bali, Indonesia, Media and ICT professionals from over 30 countries gathered to find practical means of using communication and information to achieve peace. This culminated in the 'Power of Peace Network' that is committed to build mechanisms what is perhaps the greatest role that new media can play in our world: namely, it’s potential for peace and understanding.
Mutual understanding can only be achieved through a continuous exchange of information and knowledge–through the free flow of ideas by word and image. Dialogue, founded on mutual respect and understanding constitutes the best way to overcome ignorance and promote peace, tolerance and the dialogue among civilisations, cultures, peoples and religions. New media has a lot to contribute in this regard. We must continue to develop ways of improving the impact of new media as a force for press freedom and mutual understanding.
For its part, UNESCO will continue to fulfill its mandate to promote the free flow of ideas, universal access to information and press freedom. Only a major collaborative effort of the whole international community will ensure that a maximum of men and women benefit from the extraordinary opportunities offered by the new information society, especially the Internet.
This is required to prevent a gigantic virtual 'cyber-ghetto', on the fringe of a privileged minority, to which billions of individuals excluded from the information society will be relegated. These are the new helots of the 2lst century. As a result, not only Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will be compromised, but the entire edifice of human rights and especially its Article one which states: 'All humans are born free and equal in dignity and rights'.
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