Deontological codes of journalists : the romanian experience

Abstract

In this study, we follow the evolution of the effort of self-regulation of journalism in Romania, more specifically, the evolution of ethical and normative discourse. We propose a historical examination of the development of the concepts included in the regulating Romanian documents, since 1899 to the present moment. Likewise, special mention is made of the various forms of the Journalists' association, whose mission has been the conception of a coherent set of professional claims. During the process of democratization that began at the beginning of the 90's, Romanian jurnalists have become ever more aware of the need for specific deontological rules to guide their professional activities. Unfortunately, the concepts contained in the most recent deontological codes remain rather "metaphorical", which gives rise to misunderstandings in journalistic practices. In this respect, there are no clear stipulations about the penalties applied to journalists who violate the ethical norms inscribed in these codes. This article supplies numerous comments and examples of such ambiguous formulations.