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The Lithuanian Union of Journalists wrote to the Seimas Culture Committee reminding politicians that media self-regulation is a system created voluntarily by media specialists, ensuring respect for their professional and ethical attitudes and clearly outlining the guidelines for the professional work, as well as the principles of responsibility. media. Media self-regulation is popular in Europe. More and more experts suggest that the authorities should support such systems, not directly involved in them, but creating preconditions for self-regulatory systems to be more effective, according to a press release issued by the Union of Journalists of Lithuania.
The position of international organizations such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), UNESCO or the Council of Europe (CoE) is that, while media law is necessary to guarantee the freedom of the media, media Journalists can only play their role in protecting democracy if there is as little public support as possible. Control of media content.
In Resolution 2 of the IV Ministerial Conference of the Council of Europe on Media Policy (Prague, 7-8 December 1994), the Ministers of the Member States agreed that democracy requires the existence and strengthening of free journalism, independent, pluralistic and responsible, and that everyone involved in journalism should have the right to develop self-regulatory standards. And that means a very common truth: journalists and the media set the standards of ethics and self-regulation of the media and without any political interference in the process.
The Board of the Union of Journalists of Lithuania, composed of the presidents of the regional and interest-based journalists chapters, also evaluated the appeal of Monika Garbačiauskaitė-Budrienė, director of LRT, to the Seimas Culture Committee to resolve self-regulation of the Lithuanian media. After a thorough examination of the intentions and reasons for such a wish, the LUJ Board proposes to continue discussions on changes to the media self-regulation system on the platforms currently operating by uniting various media and other organizations: the Council of Media of the Ministry of Culture. and the Public Information Ethics Association.
The Media Council is an advisory body that performs the functions of expert and consultant in the analysis, evaluation, and resolution of policy formulation and implementation problems in the field of public information. The objective of the Public Information Ethics Association is to ensure compliance with the standards of professional ethics, the promotion of the principles of ethics of public information and sensitize the public in the evaluation of public information processes. Both organizations have expert experience and, together with the LRT, can professionally discuss new ideas and proposals which, if necessary, can be presented to the Seimas Culture Committee for consideration.
Therefore, the LUJ Board is convinced that there is currently no need for Seimas politicians to create a so-called “working group” that involves politicians in the development of the media self-regulation system. This process, which is important for the quality of public information, would be unduly politicized and there would be justified threats to restrictions on freedom of the press. This would not only damage the self-regulation of the media, but would also significantly complicate the ambitious goals of the current government program to improve Lithuania’s international press freedom indexes.
The Union of Lithuanian Journalists is the largest organization that unites professional journalists in Lithuania. Therefore, the LUJ clearly states to the Seimas Culture Committee that the journalistic community is willing to consider proposals to improve media self-regulation with other organizations that unite the media and journalists (including the LRT) and present them to politicians. and the public in short. .
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