Handling the war’s news
With the start of hostilities in Iraq, international broadcasters were
facedwith decisions that hadmassive consequences.They had to decide
how much coverage to give, and how to tell their audiences about
developments.Three leading broadcasters - television and radio - with
sharply contrasting situations, tell how they rose to the challenge.
Radio Canada International
AIB Member RCI has undergone a substantial development in its
presentation of news and current affairs, and this has affected its
coverage of the Iraq war, as RCI’s
Elzbieta Olechowska
explains, with
some background on Radio Canada International’s guiding principles.
Philosophy
Radio Canada International’s distinctive news philosophy evolved
within its broad mandate of increasing international awareness of
Canada, into a statement of purpose
to inform foreign audiences and
Canadians abroad about the latest news important to Canadians
. In an
attempt to clarify the statement, RCI defined news stories important
to Canadians as
having
impact on the well being of people, reflecting
democratic values and Canadian perspectives
or being
of general interest
.
The term
well being of people
covers their international, national,
legal, cultural and economic security as well as matters related to
their civil liberties, health, education, international exchanges and
quality of life.
Democratic values and Canadian perspectives
include
the functioning of the Canadian political system at all levels and of
its civil society highlighted by a balanced expression of a wide range
of Canadian views on national and international topics. News of
general
interest
covers events that catch the public’s attention because they
are unusual, dramatic, entertaining or spectacular.
RCI news philosophy and statement of purpose do not exist in isolation
and rest on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s
Journalistic
Standards and Practices
which are referred to at all times. According
to these rules, RCI’s programming should be presented in an accurate,
unbiased, fair, credible and, balanced way. A number of policies
define how to follow the journalistic principles in specific situations,
like for instance in case of the principle of credibility which clearly
requires all on air-personnel to
refrain from personal advocacy and to
keep their personal views separate from their reporting. (Journalistic
Standards &Practices, IV, B.1.1)
RCI targets foreign audiences and presents Canadian reality within its
context, providing references allowing an in-depth understanding, reflecting
the entire spectrum of Canadian opinion, most particularly in cases of
controversial issues, such as the current situation in the Middle East.
When presenting Canadian news, RCI journalists assume no prior
knowledge on the part of the listener and explain issues or events by
drawing parallels and making comparisons, whenever possible, with
