Media accountability systems in Italy and SpainIn a democratic society, the media needs to have freedom of speech in order to properly provide consumers with its services. However, this freedom of speech is interpretable and can lead to abuse by media owners, who are trying to impose their point of view in an aggressive style. This is where ethics comes in. Several democratic countries have developed media accountability systems in order to make sure that the media and the journalists respect the rules set by the profession. According to Claude-Jean Bertrand, in his booklet, “M.A.S”1, a media accountability system has three major purposes: 1) To help journalists serve the public better, by imposing unofficial, non governmental regulations, meant to prevent abuses and to stop unethical behavior 2) To help journalists from a profession and feel solidarity among themselves. Solidarity among journalists is not always popular, as each publication aims to reveal information before their competition. Solidarity, however, works when it comes to creating an organ that’s supposed to regulate, since all the publications regulated by that authority have to agree with its terms 3) To help them recover public trust / public support to resist political and economic pressure. Public trust is a hard thing to earn and an easy thing to lose. The public only trusts a media institution so far as that institution provides them with the services they need and manage to keep a clean name, not associated with any scandals. Political pressure is one of the main reasons for which media institutions behave unethically and end up supporting the government and bashing the opposition or the other way around. A media accountability system can at least diminish this pressure by regulating the extent to which a media institution can speak about the opposition without their shows risking fines for insult or calumny. Setting a limit means the politicians are not able to interfere as much as they would want. Media accountability systems can be documents, people or processes. They can be internal or external to the media institutions, and they can bring together people from or outside the media, who cooperate in order to ensure that the publications play fair. The main difference between a media law and an M.A.S is that, unlike the first category, the latter is flexible and can adapt according to the situation, while the law stays the same and is 1 1 Bertrand, Claude-Jean, M.A.S (Media Accountability Systems),osce.org or even better. the public can contribute to the well-functioning of these systems by notifying the editors when they notice unethical behavior in their publications. it is to be noted that media accountability systems are created and imposed by the media itself.S in text format involves a set of ethics rules. according to Bertrand. preferably media professionals.A. . is highly debatable. who should evaluate the contents of the publication and point out issues with ethics before it gets out to the consumers (much like the CNA. discussed and agreed upon by media professionals and made available to the public. The processes that could be used as media accountability systems involve. despite being on of the basic human rights. is that they aim at the wrong targets: the journalists over whom the media ethics are being enforced are only scapegoats so that the media companies can get away with unethical behavior. only try and make sure that the issues are corrected before the newspaper is printed or the news are broadcast). Of course. only this group wouldn't find the station. its boundaries are debatable). offering ethics trainings to working journalists. or more specifically.applied on any situations that it covers. Next. mainly. Also. educating future journalists with special ethics courses at the faculty of Journalism (though a lot of journalists have graduated different faculties. which would indeed be effective because it involves all the active journalists regardless of the faculty they've graduated. not by the government. One of the main objections against media accountability systems. this paper will emphasize on two existing accountability systems .in Italy and Spain. freedom of expression. for instance. An M. These were only a few examples of media accountability systems that can be applied and that might actually make journalists more responsible and more ethical. Media decision makers are hostile towards Accountability Systems because they claim that they are fencing their freedom of expression (as mentioned before. so the effectiveness of this is questionable). The "people" format would involve certain critics.Insiders who take their chances and denounce something they find unacceptable within the media company they work for also fit this category. respectively and how/if they work. S. Mediaset claimed to be apolitical. "Ordine dei giornalisti". However. before the law was passed. the need for a media accountability system is quite clear. after Berlusconi accused several well-known presenters from Rai who were criticizing him and had them banned from working on television. The peak of the political control was reached in 2001. the main players are the "Rai" channels (the public television) and former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's Mediaset trust (whose channels started airing in 1978. In July 2010.The Italian Media Accountability System In the Italian media. professional journalists (who belong to the Order of Journalists mentioned below) are allowed to film or record without permission. The government's control over the italian media became absolute. which was allegedly protect the citizens' privacy and which stated that journalists which film or record a person without that person's agreement risk penalties of up to 20. or telenovelas from South America. after Berlusconi won the elections. This has caused multiple reactions. A curious thing about Mediaset is that its channels did not broadcast news until 1991. One of the most controversial laws issued by the Berlusconi government was "Legge Gaspari". Rai found itself under the control of a government led by the leader of their main competitor. The Mediaset channels managed to obtain large audiences by broadcasting TV series and movies imported from the US. the Italian media protested against a law that the Berlusconi government issued. most of them accusing Berlusconi of preventing the media from doing its job and Italy was seen at the time as one of the countries with low freedom of the press. Berlusconi did his best to try and convince people that there was no conflict of interests involved). at least until 1994. Italy doesn't stand too well at this chapter: their M. Given the problematic situation with the Italian media and the massive political involvement in the activities of these institutions. which was highly criticized and even sanctioned by the European Commission because of the way this law was distributing frequencies (it was giving advantages to existing analogue TV operators. This was because. Japanese cartoons. unlike its main competitor. which was something Rai was reluctant to do. which is supposed to make sure that its members behave as ethically as possible. when Berlusconi decided to run in the general elections. In 2001.000 euros or they may even be jailed. However. even though. .A. including the Mediaset channels. which had a lot of talk shows and got involved in politics. Rai. when commercial television started to appear in this country). and that they extend to the whole profession. Also. but their are governed by the parliament. In Spain. Considering the state of the Italian media. no matter if the journalist works in television or writes for a newspaper. "research and spread news of public interest in spite of the obstacles which can arise in his work". it says that a journalist must "respect. The "Order of Journalists". it became a constitutional monarchy. as scandals caused by journalists' conflicts of interests are emerging periodically. newspapers and television have developed at the same time after the dictatorial regime fell. meaning that they have a king. never discriminating between people on any factors. The code promotes several principles. each starting with "A journalist". is state-approved and only the journalists who sign up for it are considered "professional journalists".A. Media Accountability Systems in Spain Spain is different from Italy from a political point of view: ever since the end of Franco's dictatorship in 1975. The Charter required all journalists to sign an Ethical Code in order to promote the relationship between the press institutions and the public.doesn't manage to be as efficient as it is supposed to. respecting the right of presumption of innocence. in my opinion the Code of Ethics should be enforced more aggressively in order to actually gain results.S has a national branch and several regional branches. along with the "National Federation of the Italian Press". In short. The Ethical code includes several regulations. radio. therefore the journalist can't serve the publisher's or even the government's interest. It also underlines that a journalist's responsiblity to the people prevails above any other thing. adopted in 1993. favours or tasks that make dependent his autonomy and his professional credibility. Italy is on the right track when it comes from lowering the political influence over the media. cultivate and defend the right of information for all people". Other principles stated in the code involve respecting your dignity as a journalist. a journalist has the right to professional secrecy when it is required by his sources and he can't accept benefits. digital . reflecting the fact that these rules are for every individual working in the domain. Television can now be received through multiple way: analogue. The "Ordine dei giornalisti". but it still has a long way to go. devised a "Charter of Duties of Journalists". This M. org.R.net/media_landscapes/spain . In this country. When the government tried to enforce a council in 2005.net/media_landscapes/italy http://www. in Spain there is no such institution. Another magazine. La Voz de Galicia. However. La Vanguardia.theguardian. It is. the constitution. some newspapers tried to accomplish something similar internally. Bibliography: http://ejc. while the second country doesn't have any at all. While in Italy there is a working M. Despite the fact that there's no actual accountability system in Spain. fearing possible political control. this was met with anger by the majority of media. Up until 2010. mobile TV. however. Conclusion To conclude. El Correo Gallego and El Punt have an ombudsman. Tiempo. which appeared because the politically controlled media needed it. noticeable that they are trying to create such an institution.uk/italy/ http://ejc. there were attemps at creating an institution like this: there were three audiovisual councils meant to monitor the respective sector for compliance with the laws.mediawise.S which regulates the journalists' behavior. It remains to be seen whether it works or not. has a council of readers that point out issues with ethics. etc. El Pais. unlike in Italy. analogue transmissions were majoritary. However. promotes principles such as freedom of expression or professional secrecy. the major difference between Italy and Spain regarding their Media Accountability Systems is that the first country has an advanced one.com/media/greenslade/2010/jun/11/press-freedom-italy http://www.internet TV (IPTV). This paper tried to make a comparison between two countries and their media accountability systems. just like any democratic constitution. most people preferring to watch TV that way. since the media still manages to hold out on its own. there is no professional accountability with the power to punish unethical practices of journalists. yet the media tries to conceive one.