Romania

[RO] New CNA Recommendation

IRIS 2007-9:1/25

Mariana Stoican

Journalist, Bucharest

On 6 June 2007, the Consiliul Naţional al Audiovizualului (national broadcasting authority - CNA) published a recommendation on the reporting of tragic events involving children and teenagers.

In the recommendation, the CNA states that the fate and problems of many young people currently represent "a sensitive issue, which Romanian society is not dealing with in a satisfactory way". According to the CNA, a lack of parental supervision and guidance in families in which both parents work abroad, and the poor upbringing offered by schools (where education is concerned more with the quantitative transfer of information than "care for the mind and soul") are causing many young people to find themselves in situations that they cannot handle without adequate support. In some cases, these situations have ended in tragedy. The CNA reports that television companies, in their desire for sensation, have exploited these tragic circumstances for commercial purposes. Individual cases have often been covered as if they were a national tragedy. The recommendation indicates that "the studies carried out by the CNA in the last three years have shown that television programmes form the main source of role models for young people". The CNA is therefore calling on broadcasters to report truthfully and responsibly on tragic events involving children and teenagers, to treat them as individual cases, and to avoid any tendency to generalise them. "Where such tragedies occur, broadcasters should, as far as possible, refrain from excessive broadcasting of images of bereaved family members, scenes from hospitals or funerals, close-ups of farewell letters, text messages and the like". Journalists are also urged, when reporting such tragic events, not to jump to conclusions when investigations are still under way and not to interview alleged witnesses whose identity and credibility have not been checked. "During broadcast debates on the fate of children and teenagers, programme makers should also refrain from asking members of the public to say whether they think the people involved were guilty or innocent". The CNA points out that the image rights of individuals, the protection of minors, and truthful reporting are principles that all broadcasters agree to respect when they apply for a broadcasting licence. It therefore urges all broadcasters to fulfil these obligations in their programming.