On October 29 the office of Yerevan Press Club hosted another session of the
Media Ethics Observatory. The mission of MEO (formed on March 10, 2007 by the
heads of Armenian media who supported the YPC self-regulation initiative) consists
in considering the complaints-appeals regarding the violation of the Code of
Conduct of Media Representatives and giving its opinion on them (see YPC Weekly
Newsletter, March 9-15, 2007).
Currently the Code of Conduct and its addendum, the Declaration on Election
and Referendum Coverage Principles, are signed by heads of 31 media. The initiative
is also supported by 8 journalistic associations.
During the session of October 29 three issues were considered. The first one
dealt with the possibilities of mediation by the MEO in cases when a complaint
is brought against a medium that has not signed the Code of Conduct. The second
issue regarded the procedure of presenting MEO expert opinion, if a medium/journalist
who is a party of a court suit applies with a corresponding request. And finally,
it was agreed upon to hold in the nearest future another meeting of media heads
that joined the self-regulation initiative.
