Luzon journos uphold professionalism,
vow to improve welfare, safety

Resolution on Professional Standards, Ethics, Safety, and Welfare Conditions of Journalists in Luzon

We, journalists and gatekeepers from print, TV, radio, and online media agencies in Luzon, recognizing pressing professional, ethical, welfare, and safety concerns, resolve to work for the following reforms in our newsrooms and in our respective communities in the next three years.

On the way we do our work as journalists:

1. Strive for excellence, keeping in mind and knowing by heart the basic tenets of journalism
2. Organize and seek regular training seminars for our media organizations to upgrade skills and knowledge in journalism
3. Make proper attribution and focus more on content, rather than form, in rendering the news
4. Strive to go beyond the 5Ws and H, find out the “so what” of stories so that people can make informed decisions
5. Be accountable for our stories and get our facts straight
6. Establish a mechanism within our news agency and local organization to ensure accountability
7. Reinforce good journalism practices by organizing ourselves into local press corps

On ethics:

1. Avoid conflicts of interest
2. Refuse bribes in cash and in kind
3. Set clear implementing guidelines and mechanisms on ethics in our media agency and strictly enforce these
4. Separate the advertising department from the editorial department

On welfare:

1. Prompt fellow journalists to know and assert their rights
2. Organize ourselves, set common goals, and fight for our rights and welfare
3. Media owners must comply with the provisions of the Labor Code
4. Demand media owners to provide reasonable benefits (i.e., medical insurance, hazard pay, legal assistance in work-related cases)
5. Publishers/station managers/owners should engage in regular dialogue with reporters on issues concerning welfare
6. Work for including trauma/stress counseling as a practice in our media agencies
7. The media community should give continuous assistance to the families of slain journalists in various forms –financial, emotional and psychological — and by way of consistent monitoring of cases.

On safety:

1. Create a safety support network and a warning system or a mapping system of threats, harassments, and killings
2. Customize safety guidelines/create a safety manual for our respective areas
3. Observe safety protocols at all times
4. Work for including continuing safety training seminars in our respective media outlets

Affirmed on March 15, 2012 at Cocoon Boutique Hotel, Quezon City during the Maguindanao and Beyond: Media Murders and the Quest for Justice Training Seminar-Workshop for Luzon-based journalists and media gatekeepers conducted by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism.