Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith reminded the participants to stick to their professionalism and code of ethics. VOUN DARA
The Ministry of Information on Wednesday held a full-day training workshop to strengthen the sense of professionalism among journalists.
Held under the theme “professional and ethical dissemination of information” and attended by more than 250 journalists from various media outlets throughout the Kingdom, the event was aimed at equipping participants with knowledge related to journalism in the digital age.
The ministry’s Information and Broadcasting director-general Phos Sovann said more training would be provided after a more-than-expected number of journalists expressed interest in joining the training.
He said the ministry planned to train only 100 journalists, but when registration started, more than 250 requested to attend. Hence, it will try to find more presenters.
“The ministry currently has several senior advisers who have years of experience working in media, including those from The Phnom Penh Post and the Koh Santepheap daily who are assisting other outlets. We will ask them to come in during each morning’s workshop.
“If journalists are still willing to attend the workshop, we will hold such training for up to 40 hours. So we can request the information minister to issue certificates to those who attend the training course,” he said.
Sovann said such workshops also aim to train journalists working through social media and to help them avoid legal repercussions caused by the publication of false information.
He said some are now aware of legal issues when disseminating information or publishing news on social media.
To address this, he said the ministry will first educate them through workshops before resorting to legal actions against those who fail to follow the code of ethics and the press law.
“We have just started to set up such workshops for them to understand first. When they understand and know about it, we will start taking legal measures against journalists who commit wrongdoing in contravention of their professions,” he said.
Sovann also urged journalists to publish true information and non-biased news based on clear sources to avoid misleading the public.
“Some journalists who post news online are professional, but sometimes they sensationalise their stories too much,” he said.
At the close of the workshop, Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith reminded the participants to stick to their professionalism and code of ethics to maintain the value of journalists and respect for people at large.
“If we use dignified language in our reportage, it shows the level of our knowledge. So, follow the code of ethics and work professionally. Abide by the code strictly when communicating with others,” he said.
Meas Chenda, a journalist working online in Phnom Penh who also attended the workshop, said she had been enlightened and had received a lot of useful tips for writing news in a professional manner.
“My media outlet has disseminated a lot of information on the laws and other issues related to counterfeit products.
“Thanks to the training, I learned a lot about writing news and also gained knowledge about legal issues involving journalism. Previously, our journalists didn’t understand much about legal affairs,” she said.
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