MISSION
Asserting the role of journalists in shaping society.
What does CIME do?
• The annual CIME Forum for training & debate on ethical practices for journalists
• CIME Grants to fund training in ethics for low-income journalists
• The CIME Blog, an online gathering place for media professionals committed to ethics
What does CIME think?
CIME strives for the spread of conscientious reporting and ethical journalism throughout the world. We bring together media professionals with the common goal of capitalizing on what each individual journalist can do to enhance press freedom. We encourage journalists to identify and bring to the forefront key ethical questions that are often left unaddressed in the newsroom. CIME's trademark is a focus on what each individual journalist can do to help build pluralism in the media. We promote ethical practices from the journalist's perspective - as a counterpart to efforts by govern
ments, legal institutions, or media organizations. We support journalists in maintaining high ethical standards that contribute to the media's consolidation as a fourth power in their country's governance, and encourage each journalist to take on a proactive role in defining ethical practices through the choices and decisions made at work on a daily basis. Our driving emphasis is that journalists together have the power to formulate and enforce a tacit code of ethics as a status quo of their profession. What are CIME's goals? • Open doors for ethical issues to be freely discussed among media professionals and beyond • Propose strategies for abiding by higher ethical standards • Broaden awareness that fair reporting is crucial for consolidating pluralism in the media landscape • Support media professionals in their daily struggle to keep ethical standards high at all times • Encourage individual journalists to take on increasing levels of responsibility for integrity in news reporting • Emphasize the power of the media and the implications of a reporter's choice of which topics to cover • Serve as a reminder that even perfect levels of press freedom do not guarantee ethical standards in the media How did CIME begin? In July 2007, thirty-two young journalists and professionals from five continents gathered in Prague for a week-long European Journalism Institute hosted by The Fund for American Studies (TFAS). The seminar was an experiment in the art of probing through discussion to tackle key ethical questions that are often left unaddressed in the newsroom. The energy and determination to ensure freedom of press shone through each participant, and by the end of the week the group shared a vision and the desire to take it a step further. CIME emerged as a formal international framework to implement practical solutions to the ethical challenges faced by journalists worldwide.
