Bali - Kegiatan Bali Media Forum (BMF) Ke-6 yang berlangsung di Bali, 8-10 Oktober 2014, menghasilkan pernyataan dan sejumlah rekomendasi. Menteri Luar Negeri, Marty Natalegawa, turut hadir pada sesi akhir forum yang dihadiri delegasi dari 23 negara ini.
Berikut pernyataan akhir dari peserta BMF 2014:
6th Bali Media Forum
"Open Goals:
Ethics in the Information Game"
October 8-10, 2014
FINAL STATEMENT
We, the 90 representatives of editors, journalists’ groups, press councils, internet service providers and broadcast regulators from 25 countries, participants of the 6th Bali Media Forum “Open Goals: Ethics in the Information Game” organised by the Thomson Foundation, the Indonesian Press Council and the Institute for Peace and Democracy and in partnership with the Ethical Journalism Network, meeting in Bali on October 8-10 2014:
Reiterating conclusions of the previous five Bali Media Forums, in particular the basic principles of journalism and self-regulation defined by the Forums and statements made on ethics in on-line and social media:
That creating an enabling environment to support free media and independent journalism, without any form of legal or political pressure, must be a priority for all governments committed to democracy,
That governments must avoid imposing forms of regulation that may curb independence of journalism and must protect and nourish the rights of media and the information rights of citizens and journalists, including free expression and freedom of association, and
That transparent, professional and independent self-regulation of journalism across all platforms should be created to:
• Advocate and campaign for press freedom and good governance in media,
• Contribute to education within society on the role of free media in democracy,
• Mediate problems that arise between media and their audience,
• Promote access to information and to information technology that will ensure the full participation of citizens in democratic society,
That even though different codes of ethics, different media laws and different cultural traditions exist throughout the region, journalists were guided by generally accepted principles summed up as:
• Aim to report the truth and base reporting on facts;
• Be independent from outside influences be they political or corporate;
• Strive for Impartiality (which does not mean neutrality or disinterest but looking at all sides of a story)
• Be aware of the impact of publication and minimise harm;
• Be accountable to your public.
“That social media can greatly strengthen journalism and give added value to media by allowing different voices to be heard. But social media networks are no substitute for ethical, informed reporting and media should create effective structures for monitoring and moderating comments to eliminate rumour, speculation and hate-speech.”
We declare our support for the following ideas and initiatives discussed during the Forum:
To reiterate our strong commitment and support to media organisations and journalists that resist undemocratic forces working in restrictive regimes or under military control;
To continue to support the five core principles of journalists’ ethics agreed by the Bali Media Forum process as the key guideline for any journalistic work;
To promote common values in the public information sphere with the goal that communications on the Internet aimed at the public at large should follow three key principles:
• Truth and accuracy based on fact-based communications;
• Humanity: avoid malice and minimize harm;
• Accountability: Transparency and self-correction;
To work with the four pillars that dominate public online space -- corporate communications (including commercial and non-commercial interests); political and state institutions; journalism; and individuals -- to promote the three key principles and recognition of the specific ethics governing journalism.
To support and further develop campaigns and media literacy trainings like the “Where did you get it?” campaign in Norway that aims to help young people to be smart and critical media users and that increases awareness among editors and journalists to engage with the young media audience;
To engage with initiatives aimed at promoting ethics on-line such as the Online News Association “Build your own ethics’ code”;
To further support initiatives such as the African Media Network’s Turning the Page on Hate campaign with the Ethical Journalism Network and encourage Asia-wide respect for actions to counter hate speech;
To further develop initiatives in the region that promote pluralism, diversity and transparency inside media and newsrooms;
To back initiatives by all types of journalists (including citizens) who hold media itself to account and challenge it to live up to ethical standards;
Noting the achievements of the Bali Media Forum process since 2009:
• Which brought together some 300 editors, journalists, press council representatives to develop joint ideas and strategies for the promotion of journalists ethics on all platforms,
• Which created of the Asia-Pacific Network of Press Councils,
• Which provided direct advice to emerging independent press councils and
• Which created key reference documents on principles of journalists ethics in the on-line media environment,
We call for the continued support of the Bali Media Forum Process;
We continue our support for actions by the Asia Pacific network of press councils to assist in the creation of independent media councils and to promote access to information and free, independent, pluralistic media;
We aim to develop targeted on-line training materials for journalists and bloggers providing practical advice to help them meet ethical standards under the pressures of the 24-hour newsroom.
We plan to create a common online platform to further exchange of information and ideas between the participants of the Bali Media Forum process;
We affirm to the governments attending the 7th Bali Democracy Forum, October 10-11 that open exchange of information and ideas across borders underpinned by key ethical principles of journalism defined by the profession itself are essential to building lasting regional cooperation;
We express our support to journalists currently held in prisons across the globe and call on their governments to release them.
Finally, we extend a special note of thanks to H.E. Marty Natalegawa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia for his strong support to the Bali Media Forum process and his statement that the Bali Media Forum is crucial to the relevance of the Bali Democracy Forum.
Bali, Indonesia, October 9th, 2014