Editorial: Without fear or favour

Sydney
25 May 2003

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Editorial: Without fear or favour

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Editorial: Without fear or favour

“Without fear or favour”- it is a principle that was drummed into the hearts and minds of all young journalists in the days when the print media reigned supreme as the unchallenged provider of news and commentary. There was and still is a real nobility in the concept that honesty and justice at all times take precedence over expediency, convenience or self interest.

The words in the journalists’ code of ethics may have changed, as the relative importance of the respective media has changed, but the message remains more or less the same. Honesty, fairness and respect for others are still the cornerstones of their profession.

Journalists and the instruments of communication for whom they report - indeed, the media in general - have a duty to the community at large, a duty highlighted by Pope John Paul II in his message for World Communications Day.

He pays tribute to Pope John XXIII in the message.

The communications media at the service of authentic peace in the light of Pacem in Terris, describing the encyclical Pacem in Terris as “a beacon of hope to men and women of good will”.

Pope John Paul says that “the fundamental moral requirement of all communication is respect for and service of the truth”. The media, he says, often render “courageous service to the truth”, but sometimes function as agents of propaganda and disinformation in the service of narrow interests.

The media “have a strict duty to foster justice and solidarity in human relationships at all levels of society”, he says. “This does not mean glossing over grievances and divisions but getting at their roots so that they can be understood and healed.”

This is sage counsel which reflects the Pope’s open, “clean house” approach to all matters, refusing to sweep any of the Church’s problems under the rug.

“The communications media,” he says, “are key actors in today’s world” and have an immense role to play in building the mutual trust essential to world peace.

“Their power is such that in a few short days they can create the positive or negative reaction to events which suits their purposes,” he adds.

Journalists “have a grave duty to follow the demands of their moral conscience and to resist pressures to ‘adapt’ the truth to satisfy the demands of wealth and power”.

Men and women of the media, “are called to be agents of truth, justice, freedom and love”, he says. The challenge of their calling is “service of the universal common good”.