NCFC Pushes Ethical Journalism Amid Concerns Over Irresponsible Reporting

Smith said responsible journalism remains critical to maintaining public trust and stressed that media practitioners must verify information before publishing it online.  The concerns raised by Smith come as social agencies in Belize continue efforts to promote ethical reporting standards. Recently, the National Committee for Families and Children hosted a media workshop focused on the harm caused when news stories are reported irresponsibly, particularly in ways that endanger individuals, violate rights, or interfere with ongoing investigations.  Executive Director of the National Committee for Families and Children, Shakira Sutherland, said she hopes all media outlets will participate in future training sessions aimed at encouraging more responsible journalism practices.

Shakira Sutherland, Executive Director, National Committee for Families and Children: “With the topic of journalism in the age of algorithms, focusing and zooming into key areas such as cyber threats, looking at social media, entertainment content and as well as safeguarding our Belizean children. We have noticed from the past media workshop sessions that we had that we have had some difficulties engaging the media outlets that are created online specifically via Facebook and through other social media platforms and so we’re trying to encourage, we send invitations, we call, we’re trying to see how we can garner their support to attend these workshop sessions because the information is very much needed at their end as well.”

Both Smith and Sutherland are encouraging journalists, bloggers, and members of the public to be more responsible in the content they publish, share, and consume online.