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The core of media self-regulation
“Codes of ethics publicly define the functions, rights and duties of journalists and thus provide journalists with guiding principles on how to best exercise their profession. The names of these codes vary: ethics standards, ethics charter, code of conduct, code of practice, code of ethics, etc. However, they all have similar purposes: safeguarding the autonomy of the profession and serving the public interest. The codes serve everyone - for media owners and publishers, a code is protection against criticism and legal action; for journalists, it serves as a standard against which their work can be judged; for public, it guarantees that the information they receive is fair, accurate, and checked.” (Yavuz Baydar, The Media Self-regulation Guidebook, OSCE, 2008:21-23)
