M.Krishnamoorthy
A media coach, adjunct professor and author
During my 35 years as a journalist, I taught journalism in universities as an associate and adjunct professor. I always stressed the need for a journalist to attribute the source of the story. Quoting the writer, publication, and source are ethical and crucial.
Information from sources can be paraphrased or quoted directly, but it should be attributed in both cases.
If the journalist does not state the source, then the news story is tantamount to plagiarism.
This is illustrated in the first English Malaysian journalism textbook, The You in Journalism, which I co-authored with former New Straits Times Group Editor P.C. Shivadas. Published 20 years ago, the book was used as a textbook by universities and colleges.
Recently, a government directive that prohibits journalists from reproducing articles from other publications or news portals was passed.
Fahmi Fadzil, the Communications Minister of Malaysia, said this when launching a new Malaysian Code of Ethics for journalists. This statement on “copy and paste” surprised journalists because news is gathered from many sources. Whatever the news portals “copy and paste” must be attributed to the article's source.
See the video on Fahmi’s statement
In an editorial headlined “Malaysiakini objects to the government imposing its code on media,” Malaysiakini expressed concern about the government’s decision to introduce its own ethics code for journalists. This move also empowers the Information Department to revoke media passes.
“Malaysiakini views this as a lack of sincerity on the part of the government in empowering the media to self-regulate. Malaysiakini is also concerned with the lack of clear guidelines for appealing a decision by the department or the government that a media outlet has violated its ethics code.
“We support that the media should uphold public interest, be accurate, provide the right of reply, have integrity, be, protect sources, avoid conflicts of interest, understand laws and strive to improve. However, we have always maintained that the media should regulate themselves through a media council or a similar body, not the government.”
The new Malaysian Journalist Code of Ethics consists of eight main ethics principles:
The relaunched Malaysian Code of Ethics for Journalists will not curtail media freedom, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
Key points from the ethics are:
- Journalists are responsible for being the voice of the multicultural society;
- Journalists should be transparent and have integrity;
- Journalists are encouraged to be fair in conveying information;
- Personal interests should not influence news reporting;
- Accuracy and determination of information;
- Journalists must respect the privacy and confidentiality of sources;
- Journalists must understand the laws, acts, and policies relevant to their duties; and
- Journalists must prioritise the continuous improvement of their journalism skills.
Freelance Writer M. Krishnamoorthy (www.imkrishna.net) is a media coach, adjunct professor and undercover journalist. He has freelanced with Bernama, NST, The Star, and Malaysiakini. He also freelances as a fixer/coordinator for CNN, BBC, German and Australian Television networks and the New York Times. As an undercover journalist, he has highlighted society's concerns.
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