CIME in North Africa: Bridging Ethics Theory and Practice

CIME Staff

CIME's Director talked about social responsibility in the media, hosted by Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and IPSI.

CIME Director Melisande Middleton was invited to speak about social responsibility in the media at a conference on "Information Ethics in a Changing Arab World", hosted on April 23-24, 2009 by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the Institute of Press and Information Sciences (IPSI) based in Manouba, Tunisia.

Middleton joined a group of journalists from Tunisia as well as specialists in the field of media ethics hailing from across the Arab world (Morocco, Algeria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia). Debates took place almost exclusively in Arabic, but our CIME representative and her Canadian colleague Marc-François Bernier were able to follow all proceedings thanks to the work of a team of talented and tireless interpreters.

Journalism student from IPSI (Tunisia) participates in discussion.

Discussions were animated and good-natured, held by a group of Arab world panelists who were remarkably well versed in the foundation and implementation of ethics. Topics centered largely on the obstacles and possible solutions for integrating the ideal but sometimes nebulous concept of "ethics" into the practice of journalism.

Written in the form of philosophical treatises, academic studies or professional codes of conduct, principles of media ethics are often lifted to the realm of the theoretical and become difficult for the journalist to apply on a daily basis. Tangible challenges arise in the newsroom to complicate his or her commitment to ethics - for example self-censorship for fear of political reprimanding, power dynamics in the workplace, and commercial or governmental pressures.

Presentation by Professor Nahawand El-Kaderi of Lebanese University (Lebanon).

Near the close of the conference, it was suggested that a bottom-up approach be adopted for overcoming barriers to ethical practice. A first step might be to ask journalists in Tunisia or elsewhere which specific factors they feel might be impeding their ability to produce objective journalism. Through case studies such as these, academics and policy-makers gain a more realistic understanding of the newsroom, which may help them to identify the questions their ethics codes, media laws and other recommendations need to address.

CIME Director Melisande Middleton with Marc-François Bernier of University of Ottawa (Canada) and Ahmed Hidass of Institut Supérieur de l'Information et de la Communication (Morocco).

Middleton's participation in this conference marked CIME's first step into the North Africa region. This introduction has helped to create a dynamic network of CIME friends in the Arab media world, yielding fruitful avenues for collaboration on research and training in journalism ethics.