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The professional Ethics

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Professional Ethics There is general recognition of the fact that journalists have responsibilities not only vis-à-vis their own convictions but also towards the public. Summarily, four kinds of responsibility may be defined: contractual responsibility in relation to the media and their internal organisation, a social responsibility entailing obligations towards public opinion and society as a whole, responsibility or liability deriving from the obligation to comply with the law and responsibility towards the international community, relating to respect of universal values. These four types of responsibilities may in certain respects be contradictory or even conflicting. The international commission for the study of communication problems appointed by UNESCO pointed out that professional ethical norm first began to be codified in all regions of the world. They vary considerably both in their form and scope. In some countries, different codes govern the press, broadcasting and the cinema. These codes are formulated and adopted voluntarily by the professionals and their associations, in other cases; however, they are imposed by the law. Moreover, principles such as objectivity, impartiality, truthfulness and freedom of information are frequently formulated in rather vague and ambiguous terms. Most codes refer to such important concepts as safeguarding freedom of information, freedom of access to information sources, objectivity, accuracy, truthfulness, or the non-

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