Burmese journalists recently met for an ethic workshop in Mon State capital Moulmein. Main organizers, the Myanmar Journalist Council (MJC) and international media partners, presented attendees with the standards of journalistic ethics.
U Myint Kyaw from MJC read out the 16 points that form the backbone of internationally recognized ethics. He then divided up the 60 participants into groups for discussions.
“We learnt the laws concerned with that of what we can do and have to avoid. So this workshop was very good for us,” said U Myint Aung from Crime News.
“Each group read out the issues that they want to fix. That group then discussed about the issues with the other groups. This workshop is conducted mainly for the reporters to know details of journalistic standards and ethics,” U Myint Kyaw said.
MJC have already conducted 8 such workshops across the country. Each time the feedback of participants is collected. U Khin Maung Htay, from Myanmar Television (MTV) and a member of MJC, said the purpose of this workshop was for reporters to help develop media ethics that they would want like to be made law.
This May MJC will hold another meeting in Rangoon with reporters from across the country.
The temporary Myanmar Journalist Council was formed in May, 2012, after the original council was boycotted for representing the interests of the government and not the media.
