The Press Council demanded that the Broadcasting Coordination Council (BCC) should punish PRO TV Chisinau channel for violating the professional deontological norms when it made public information that can help identify a minor who was allegedly raped. The Council, which is a journalistic self-regulatory body, established that the author of the report broke the Journalist’s Deontological Code that obliges the journalists to protect the persons in vulnerable situations, IPN reports.
In a meeting, the members of the Press Council reached the conclusion that the TV channel only blurred the image of the child victim, but provided enough details that can help discover his identity and the settlement where the rape took place. The child’s relatives were interviewed without technically protecting their image. The Council accused the TV channel of having double standards, because, on the one hand, it promotes social campaigns aimed at protecting children’s rights, but, on the other hand, broadcasts materials where these rights are seriously infringed.
At the suggestion of the Council’s head Ludmila Andronic, the members decided to call on the institutions, companies and organizations that perform Corporate Social Responsibility activities to cooperate only with the media outlets that obey the deontological norms and protect the rights of minors involved in negative situations.
Attending the meeting, BCC member Dinu Ciocan said the Broadcasting Coordination Council will also examine this case in its next meeting.
