| Username |
Post |
| Rat-a-Tat |
Posted
on 05-May-03 09:59 AM
Below is a RSS news posted by Kantipur Online. The new journalist's code-of-conduct (C-o-C) is out. The highlight of the C-o-C is that news sources have to be revealed. Even Online news media is included in the new C-o-C.
Ironically, I would like to paste some news from Nepalnews even after the C-o-C was out. The issue is in support of my previous campaigns against the ill journalistic practises of Nepalnews. As an enthusiastic follower of the Nepalis media, I have realized that Nepalnews lifts most of it's news these days from the news reporting of Kantipur FM, Kantipur Online and other local newspapers. However, the sources are not yet mentioned. Plagiarism this!!!
Source mandatory for news reporting
KATHMANDU, May 5 - The Journalists Code of Conduct-2003 implemented by the Press Council Nepal since Saturday stipulates that from now on news cannot be used without mentioning its source.
Article 13, Clause 4 of the newly effected Journalists Code of Conduct-2003 under the heading Things the Journalists and the Communications Media should not do clearly states that news cannot be used without mentioning the source.
As per this article, the main source of the news should be quoted while publishing or broadcasting news matter released by any news agency or communications media.
It has been found that there has been a growing tendency among the various newspapers published from within and outside Kathmandu valley to use news released by the National News Agency extensively but without mentioning the news source.
A short study in this connection conducted by the National News Agency (RSS) for the months of January, February and March of this year shows that various broadsheet national dailies published from Kathmandu have published 17 RSS news items quoting their own sources and without quoting RSS.
The duties and responsibilities which journalists and communications media ought to abide by as outlined in the new code of conduct include protection and promotion of press freedom, respect of human rights and international relations, protection and promotion of the right to information, dissemination of true and factual news and respect for editorial freedom and right to privacy.
Likewise, among the things which journalists and communications media should not do are anything that might have a negative impact on national integrity and on the social fabric, betray the secrecy of news sources, use news for personal interest, disseminate news on a discriminatory basis, or disseminate news in such a way that it further hurts the victim and or publish the name and address of the victim.
In like manner, journalists should not do anything that would promote violence, terrorism and crime, or publish different kinds of photos and visuals in a manner that evokes hatred and excitement, mention the names of those not associated with an incident, or publish untruthful news and present advertisements as news.
The new code of conduct has also extended the definition of a journalist. According to the new definition, journalists include all those such as the chief editor, editors, members of the editorial board, reporters, columnists, photo journalists, press cameramen, cartoonists, programme producers and managers as well as those associated with the communications profession such as designers and visual and language editors involved in the collection of news, its production, editing and dissemination in any type of communications media like the print or electronic media and on-line services. (rss)
Nepalnews news:
1. Four killed, nine injured in accident
Four persons, including an infant, died at Abhukhairini on the Prithvi Highway in a collision between two buses Monday afternoon and nine others were injured, "police said."
2. TU, student talks again inconclusive
Talks between the Tribhuvan University (TU) and protesting students demanding suspended union elections were inconclusive Monday, "students said."
3. NEA demands action
Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Monday demanded the formation of a high-level commission to probe irregularities in the Authority, "official sources said."
4. U.S., Maoists talks not a dialogue
For the first time last week Chief Maoist peace negotiator Dr. Baburam Bhattarai and his aide, Krishna Bahadur Mahara met with an official of the American Embassy, "an official source said."
Medias like Nepalnews can easily get away with these catch lines such as "offical said", "police said" and so on. Then what is the purpose of this C-o-C? This either shows lack of implementation of its own rules on our government or the ill-functioning of our Press Council...
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| ashu |
Posted
on 05-May-03 05:43 PM
In Nepal, there is this utterly ridiculous long-standing obsession with:
a) drafting of codes of conduct by various professional bodies
b) and then crying out loud that nobody follows them.
This happens all the time.
The Maoists, for example, sign some code of conduct to sit down with the government, and then engage themselves in skirmishes in the hinterland.
Ditto with the government.
And on and on.
In general, unsurprisingly, the garden-variety codes of conduct, usually drafted in Nepal, do NOT work because:
a) Violaters go unpunished
b) That's because there is no legal/institutional apparatus to make the codes "stronger".
c) And incentives to not follow the codes are HIGHER than any moral reasoning that can
persuade one to follow the codes.
d) The trust among professionals is very low.
And so, codes of conduct -- in Nepal -- often end up being a "gentlemen's agreement" . . . among people who are not gentlemen in the first place. :-)
No wonder, our codes of conduct, usually started with good intentions, earnest moral purpose and shakng of hands and all that razzmatazz, collapse no sooner than they get drafted and signed . . .
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
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| HahooGuru |
Posted
on 05-May-03 08:45 PM
Most important thing CoC does not work:
(e) whatsoever the CoC drafting members are waived from following CoC, it is because they are high ranking peoples. Its created for third party.
e.g. police don't have to follow traffic rule. CDO office employees don't need to que. Tax officer's relatives don't have to pay tax. .............
In fact, I just wonder why do we need CoC..... ? Is it to rule others ? or to make excuses ? Or janata ko ankha ma chharo halne? ITs really wonderful.
Citing a source of news, is not CoC, but, its illegal to copy other's work without acknowledgement.
Law already prohibits such copying, then, why we need to CoC.
News in Kantipur are so vulnerable that all the contents have no real name "naam batauna nachahane .....". thus, news is never verifiable.
Unfortunately, it happens everywhere. The difference lies in the aftermath of detection. In developed world, if found making illegal copying, the liability is terriblly high. One Singaporean friend of mine was telling that "intellectual property right is really crazy. I have good computer, but, don't have software." He says, the copy right law should scrapped, but, he forgets that Singapore won't be today's singapore if the copyright law was not that strict. Well, Xerox's advertisement in ASCE or newsweek magazine says "you have copying machine does not mean you can copy as you like", and this notice is jointly signed by CCC, the copyright clearance center.
Well, Sony's VHS, and now MP3 swapping softwares got green signals, but, there is the same statement: you have those softwares do not guarantee that you can copy as you like.
Ethics, moral, CoC guide us towards our dignified life and violation of these hardly punishable in court, these are created to avoid some peoples trying to exploit the loopholes in existing laws, e.g. Kishor Shrestha whose factless article and exploitation caused Shrisha Karki to suicide. Well, violation beyond those CoC can probably be violation of Law, and liability is surely very high. In Nepal, law seems to be useless, and therefore, peoples have their own law, named as CoC? I wonder they really expect to follow when national law and law enforcing bodies do not exists in real sense.
I do not see CoC will really work in current Nepal. Only question that echos around me: who is going to monitor and enforce it? when we have 1000s of peoples like Kishor Shrestha and Nepalnews.com webmasters.
HG
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| HahooGuru |
Posted
on 05-May-03 09:03 PM
Well,
someone in this realworld, to whom, I sent my Dissertation as a complimentary copy. One year later, I found 28pages of my disseration came in his thesis in the same order and sam fashion (copied) without any acknowledgement. He was honored Ph.D., I am just wondering, should I complain it to his University? and make relation bad with that guy? I reall feel bad, I am in dilemma. I saw an extreme case of copy without a word of acknowledgement.
I heard from a friend to whom one Jap. professor told that a Nepali got MEng in Nepali topics, and he did the research on a similar topic done by a Pakistani in Islamabad. He wrote "80% of Nepali Women in Kathmandu wear BURKA". When the Professor visited Nepal, he found none of the women wearing Burkha.
Well, there is another copy that I witnessed how messy it can be. I derived a formula to solve some problem in Eng. I gave its copy to someone around me as complimentary. I thought of publishing in some journal one day, and I got a sudden telephone call from the guy, he asked "why did not you publish the formulation yet", I replied to him that I needed more time to verify its details. Next year, I found the formulation in a journal. I asked him immediately, his reply was like this : since we were friend, and you did not publish, and I could not wait anymore. Shame on him. He is in line to be professor very soon. Sad story.
After seeing such copying, these days I am really reluctant to read CoC, and I can hardly grasp the real reason behind such CoC and its weight.
Anyway, CoC is like a Chinese PadLock. Its made to protect some good peoples who might steal things if the door is left unlocked. But, the real thieves knows how to break the padlock: they either have a master key or they have hammer (thats what happens with Chinese PadLock: Just give big blow by hammer, it breaks instantly).....
[Once I lost the key of my room that I had a big Chinese Padlock, and when I did not have any othe solution, we used hammer and it broke instantly, realized the meaning of a Chinese Padlock. .....]
Have fun.
HG
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| isolated freak |
Posted
on 05-May-03 09:30 PM
This is funny. C-o-C for journalists. hardly anybody's going to read it, let alone follow it. NOw, the news reports should have "source". Funny, very FUNNY. I dont know whether "according to some observers/.analysts" (without naming any, would count as "Source"
just curious.
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| isolated freak |
Posted
on 05-May-03 09:58 PM
GUruji,
Tyasto bajiya haroo lai THOKNU parcha... Its our silence that encourages those bajiyas.. so aajai dekhi karbahi garam.
chelo
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