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Athens News Agency: News in English, 06-09-22
CONTENTS
[01] Roussopoulos addresses journalism con'f
[01] Roussopoulos addresses journalism con'f
Minister of State and government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos on
Friday addressed the conference of the 1st Euromediterranean Journalism
Institute, organised by the Greek Union for Atlantic and European
cooperation under the auspices of the General Information Secretariat.
"Journalism, as an authority, must obey the rules of democracy and not
evade them in the name of truth or the supposed 'truth'. In journalism,
just like in life, the means do not justify the ends. The beginning of
the infringement of democratic rights can easily become the beginning
for a continuous undermining of the democratic system," he said.
Roussopoulos explained that "from these two general principles of
humanity and democracy, the individual rules of ethics are produced
with their formulations from time to time. And the role of journalism
in our societies is determined by these two principles."
"When the duty of the journalist, to provide authoritative information
for citizens that they can utilise in taking well informed decisions in
private and public life and in their actions, is seen from the aspect
of humanity and democracy, then the solving of the dilemmas of ethics
becomes easier," the minister said.
Addressing about 50 young journalists from 30 countries in the Balkans,
the Middle East, the Caucasus, European countries and the United
States, he further said that "you are the privileged mediators of
reality. Indeed, you will often find yourselves in a position of
jointly shaping reality, to intervene drastically in it with your work.
We are living in an era in which information is the most valuable
commodity. In this era, the responsibility of the journalist to respond
to the requirements of the profession is increasing constantly and,
indeed, it is increasing with speedy rates. This responsibility of the
journalist is the catalyst that renders the constitutionally
safeguarded in every modern democracy freedom of the press socially
beneficial."
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