Protest Postpones Adoption Of Ethics Policy By IAPA

By: Mark Fitzgerald The Inter American Press Association on Tuesday delayed for at least a year adopting a painstakingly crafted 'Journalism Values' credo after Latin American publishers strenuously complained it would be used against them by enemies of the press.

Former Tribune Publishing Co. President Jack Fuller, who pushed for adoption of the ethics policy, said it was intended to "an affirmation of our values, about what we stand for." The eight-paragraph draft circulated at the meeting urges newspapers to be "transparent" and "honest" with readers about its news judgments, and to provide news and opinions enabling people to ?make informed decisions about everything from government affairs to the best way to lead healthy, happy lives.?

Those turned out to be controversial assertions.

"In the hands of the enemies of the press, this will be a powerful weapon to be used precisely against freedom of expression," said Claudio Polillo, director of the weekly Uruguay newspaper Busqueda. "It is a very dangerous document."

Clauses about transparency could be used against a news organization by authoritarians angered by its coverage, Polillo said. "This would be a victory for the Chavez's, the Ortega's, the Morales's, the Correa's," he said, listing the names of the press-unfriendly presidents of Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Ecuador.

The audience in the Intercontinental Hotel ballroom loudly applauded Polillo and others who opposed adopting an ethics policy. A credo like this might work in the United States, one protested, ?but journalism in Latin America is not practiced under ideal conditions.?

But the code?s co-sponsor, Raul Kraiselburd, director of the La Plata, Argentina, daily El Dia, scoffed at the notion that despots need IAPA documents to justify their actions against the press.

"I don?t think that Fidel Castro goes through IAPA minutes to justify his atrocities," he said.

Fuller said he suggested updating the group's 57-year-old credo as a way of fighting cynicism about the press, "the question of whether we have any values at all."

With most U.S. delegates voting to continue debate on the code, action on the code was postponed to a later date. By a more lop-sided voted, it was decided that it would not be reconsidered until IAPA meets for its annual meeting in Madrid next autumn.