The Press Council welcomes the journalists’ intention to sensitize the general public to the danger of getting social diseases such as tuberculosis. It yet warns about the inadmissibility of revealing personal data of sick people, especially children.

The Press Council refers to a feature produced by Publika TV channel, about a teenage girl from a village of Falesti district who was diagnosed with tuberculosis. The Council identified serious violations of the deontological norms concerning the protection of the identity of minors in journalistic materials with a negative connotation, IPN reports.

The feature was broadcast during the news bulletins and in the program “The Country of Dogaru” of April 10, 2014. The journalists provided details about the girl, including the place of residence, the age, the schools where she studies and the name and surname of her mother, pictures of the house where the family lives. The Press Council established that the feature does not obey the deontological norms that oblige the journalists to protect the identity of the children involved in events with a negative connotation.

Press Council head Ludmila Andronic underlined the necessity of protecting the children affected by infectious diseases who can become victims of social stigmatization. “The journalists’ intention to inform the public about the danger of so-called social diseases such as tuberculosis is welcome. The mass media must spot and analyze problems that lead to the appearance of such cases, but without giving details that reveal the identity of sick people, in accordance with the deontological norms and the good national journalistic practices,” she stated.

In the same connection, the Press Council reminds that the law on the protection of children against the negative impact of information bans disseminating information containing personal data with a negative impact on children.

The Press Council requested Publika TV channel to avoid broadcasting details that can help identify teenagers involved in events with a negative connotation and to reedit the feature published on its website so as to make the identification of the teenage girl impossible.