Filipino Journalists Received Training on Ethical and Professional Reporting during Pandemic

Knowing how to address the difficult aspects of reporting during COVID-19 and adhering to ethical and professional standards in journalism, will help to ensure that public are well informed with quality information, and is key to foster democracy. Filipino journalists, including women and men journalists, from television, radio, and online media and journalists associations explored discussions around challenging questions around ethical journalism amid the pandemic.

UNESCO in collaboration with the Asian Institute for Journalism Education (AIJC), with the support of Netherlands, organized a three-day training for Filipino journalists and media professional to advance their capacity in covering the election during pandemic in the Philippines on August 28, September 4 and 11 2021. This workshop is part of the training series of the programme “Strengthening Safety of Journalists and Professional Standards in the Philippines”.

Participants benefited from the expertise of Mr John Reiner Antiquerra, Program Officer for Outreach and Communication of the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) and Ms Johanna Son, Bangkok-based Filipino founder and editor of Reporting ASEAN. The two speakers explained in great length the discussions concerning components on ethical and professional standards in journalism. During the discussion, journalists exchanged views on the challenges they face in navigating practices when reporting remotely during COVID-19 pandemic part while adhering to ethical practices in journalism especially in reporting during crucial times such as crisis and elections.

UNESCO is the UN specialized agency with the mandate to promote freedom of expression and access to information. It leads the global implementation of the UN Plan of Action on Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity. UNESCO actively contributes to attaining Sustainable Development Goals, including Goal 16 related to access to information.