OANA 44: TASS calls for building journalism ethics rules

First Deputy Director General of TASS news agency Mikhail Gusman (Source: wikimedia)

 First Deputy Director General of Russia’s TASS news agency Mikhail Gusman called for further attention to building journalism ethics standards in a recent interview with the Vietnam News Agency (VNA).

Gusman was speaking ahead of the 44th Executive Board Meeting of the Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) in Hanoi from April 18-20, themed “For a professional and innovative journalism”.

He said despite great changes in both countries and the world in the past decade, Russia–Vietnam ties have stayed strong.

Dialogues based on the highest-level trust have created a driving force to expand collaboration between TASS and VNA, he said.

Last year, the two news agencies held a photo exhibition in Hanoi to celebrate their partnership, which was welcomed by the two countries’ leaders and public.

He suggested holding a similar photo exhibition on the occasion of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit to Russia in late May, and expressed his belief that the project would contribute to strengthening the Russia-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership.

Gusman hoped that a reporter exchange programme, which was launched since the 1980s, will be continued to facilitate the sharing of experience.

 In his opinion, it is time to use every advantage to develop mechanisms in the fight against fake news. The first step will be forming close ties among news agencies, possibly in a traditional alliance like the OANA.

He stressed the need to give a clear definition of “fake news”, along with legal arguments and regulations.

According to him, the OANA is not only a venue for news agencies to share experience but also make important decisions affecting the stability of the world information space.

When TASS assumed the OANA presidency, a code of professionalism ethics for OANA was issued with the support of the Australian Associated Press (AAP), which rules responsibility for the correctness of information, including news, photos and videos and bans the publication of news that could promote the activities of terror groups.

VNA