Case of Mateja Peris, Reporting and Lost Code

(Source: RTS.rs) The way the domestic tabloids reported, offering  the disturbing photos of the boby of a young man drawn out of water, is inadmissible, and the speculation and guesses that it is the missing Split-born Mateja Peris, while it was not yet confirmed, violates the basic provisions of the Journalists Code and basic ethical norms. This was assessed, in separate statements, by journalists associations and supervisory bodies.

Only in the second half of last year, the Press Council registered about five thousand texts in which at least one provision of the Code was violated.

Prepared by Aleksandra Mitic

According to the Code, the journalist is, among other things, obliged to respect the right to privacy and the right to the dignity of the victim. No abuse of photographs and data obtained from investigative authorities is allowed. It is also desirable to empathize to the family which experienced a tragedy.

Journalist An Mari Ćurčić, launched a campaign “Step in my shoes”, to draw attention to harm caused by unprofessional reporting.

“What’s the worst today, we often name tabloids. Unfortunately the practice of unprofessional, inappropriate reporting that involve human suffering and pain, whether it is the killings, suicide, traffic and other accidents, domestic violence, sexual , physical violence, and this practice is entering the media that we say that are professional, that they are not tabloid, “said An Marie Ćurčić in the podcast” Bermuda Triangle “

And a family, it either has no strength or doesn’t know who to turn to. One address can be a Press Council – they cannot punish perpetrators, but they can officially record the violation of the Code.

“Journalists should, according to the Code, in such situations to take into account how they report. To even have detailed instructions on the fact that they must adjust, tone, the questions, that the cameramen, the photo reporters must take special care when recording such scenes. They must protect the privacy of the people they write about, that they must respect their dignity, which includes the dignity of the victim, and show compassion with the family of the victim. All of this is missing most often, and the opposite takes place”, notes Gordana Novakovic from the Press Council.

The media outlets that the Complaints Commission of the Press Council has been repeatedly punishing should not receive the money from the state – but in practice is not the case, especially at the local level. When it comes to those damages, they rarely complain (to the Press Council). For example, in the case of suicide, only two or three times.

The exception is the case of “Malča Barber”, when there were more than twenty complaints – even ministries complained to the Press Council.

https://www.rts.rs/page/stories/sr/story/125/drustvo/4822119/matej-peris-izgubljeni-kodeks.html