ALL ABOUT STANDARDS
I stand to be corrected on this but I think our not-so-new magazine is the first publication in Thailand to have a publicly available Code of Ethics and Standards that our journalists must adhere to.
Have a look at http://www.businessweek.co.th/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39&Itemid=67 . It is in English and Thai.
I'll summarize some of the key points, and try to explain why that makes us so different from all other Thai titles.
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"Stories are selected and executed strictly on their editorial merits. Companies that advertise are treated in our pages exactly the same as those that don’t. We don’t favor any company or discriminate against any company. Moreover, there should be no contact (beyond “good morning”) between editorial and business staffers without the permission of the editor-in-chief."
Most other Thai magazine will sell their cover story and editorial (and I don't mean advertorials, I mean selling editorial!) I've personally been approached by at least five or six big name advertisers saying they want to advertise but only on the condition we write something about their company. My answer is always the same. Sorry, we cannot and will not compromise our journalistic integrity.
"A source or pr person may pick up the tab for an occasional lunch or dinner. But beyond that, staff members may not accept any gift from companies, public relations firms or agents, or any other supplier of information. No, not even a bottle of whiskey at Christmas time."
We have refused gifts already on numerous occasions, the implication being that by accepting something we owe that company something in return. Where something has been received we have contacted the company, explained our code and asked for their permission to donate the item to a charity.
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Those are just two of the examples. I will not bore those of you not interested with more examples but if you are interested just click on the link. I'll happily answer any questions about it.
2 comments:
I'm curious about the reaction of your editorial staff towards a code of ethics. Is there a sense of "why?", grudging acquiescence, or is it more humorous acceptance?
My own personal experience in Thailand with the idea of behavior based upon moral standards (or any standard at all) is often questioned more on the basis of why it is necessary more than anything else. It's almost as though there is no underlying concept of why rules and laws exist. A concept of 'consequence' seems to be lacking.
An example of this is the recent oath taken by some politicians to not buy votes. My sister-in-law recently ran for public office, and was rather flabbergasted that people expected her to be passing out money with her flyers. Like a man running a red light and wondering why his car was hit, the idea that an accident has anything to do with breaking a traffic law is completely lost. So it would seem that the idea of buying votes and later corruption would in any way be related, seems to be lost on the general populace. De Tocqueville, it seems, was right, and not only about American democracy.
David,
Thanks for your comment. Some of my staff read ,my blog so might want to comment themselves?
My feeling is they all understand the concept and also understand it's part of being a world-class publication and organisation.
Just because everyone else is doing something doesn't mean you have to, or more importantly doesn't mean it's right.
They understand the consequences of doing something prohibited by our Code, but they also understand the benefits it brings to us and to them as professional journalists.
The fact our Code is available on our website also means we're accountable for everything we do and write.
Thanks again for your comment.
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