{"id":6046,"date":"2016-03-04T17:30:28","date_gmt":"2016-03-04T17:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/media.am\/shamshyan-com-violated-journalism-ethics-concludes-media-ethics-observatory\/"},"modified":"2016-03-04T17:30:28","modified_gmt":"2016-03-04T17:30:28","slug":"shamshyan-com-violated-journalism-ethics-concludes-media-ethics-observatory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/newsroom\/2016\/03\/04\/6046\/","title":{"rendered":"Shamshyan.com Violated Journalism Ethics, Concludes Media Ethics Observatory"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shamshyan.com has committed a violation of journalism ethics, publishing a <\/span>story<\/u><\/a> [AM] on the alleged suicide attempt of two children at a boarding school, concluded the Yerevan-based <\/span>Media Ethics Observatory<\/u><\/a> (MEO). According to the MEO judgment, the initial version of the February 28 news story on shamshyan.com violates general principles on publishing news stories on children and runs contrary to the ethical principles of Armenia\u2019s media outlets and journalists.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The MEO cited Article 4.3 of the <\/span>Code of Ethics of Armenian Media and Journalists<\/u><\/a>, which states that editors and journalist must be \u201cespecially tactful when the sources of information or the heroes [subjects] of publications are children or minors. Be careful when disclosing the identity of juvenile detainees, defendants, convicts and victims of sexual crimes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

On February 28, Shamshyan.com published an article titled \u201cEmergency in Yerevan: As a result of rescuers\u2019 proper action, children\u2019s suicide was prevented at a children\u2019s care and protection boarding institution: PHOTO REPORT\u201d in which first and last names and the ages of the underage children who \u201cattempted suicide\u201d were reported. The story was accompanied by the children\u2019s photos, in which their faces (close-up) were clearly seen. Several news sites republished the story, copying the children\u2019s personal details verbatim. <\/span><\/p>\n

Armenia\u2019s Child Protection Network, which unites 39 child protection NGOs, issued a <\/span>statement<\/u><\/a> [AM] urging media outlets when publishing stories involving children to take into account the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the rules of journalism ethics.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen reporting on incidents involving minors, the child\u2019s inviolable right to privacy must be fully respected,\u201d reads the statement, which also recalls that information that may reveal a minor\u2019s identity should not be published, in the context of such negative circumstances that may result in labelling, as well as hinder the child\u2019s access to education, safety and other rights. In reporting on an issue related to a child, the journalist must be guided by the paramount interest of the child and the principle of not violating his or her dignity, reminded the authors of the statement. <\/span><\/p>\n

According to Armenia\u2019s Child Protection Network Program Director Tatevik Gharibyan, the right of respect toward children\u2019s privacy was violated with these media reports.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cChildren are a vulnerable group and coverage of them should be carried out taking into account their real interests. Publishing children\u2019s first and last names, posting photos where their faces are clearly seen may cause harm to children, label them, and isolate them from their peers and society,\u201d says Gharibyan.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

After Armenia\u2019s Child Protection Network disseminated the statement, news sites removed the children\u2019s personal details.<\/span><\/p>\n

The MEO urges when preparing such reports in the future, to be guided by accepted ethical standards, striking a balance between the public\u2019s right to be informed and the protection of children\u2019s rights.<\/span><\/p>\n

Anna Barseghyan<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shamshyan.com has committed a violation of journalism ethics, publishing a story [AM] on the alleged suicide attempt of two children at a boarding school, concluded the Yerevan-based Media Ethics Observatory (MEO). According to the MEO judgment, the initial version of the February 28 news story on shamshyan.com violates general principles on publishing news stories on Read the full article…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsroom","author_posts-anna-barseghyan"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6046\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}