The News Media Coalition (NMC) calls upon organisations involved in staging events of high news and public interest to establish positive policies towards Press freedom. Major events and the organisations behind them can bring about dynamic social change and improvements in media freedom for journalists and news media businesses in the host country should be intrinsic to the event and a legacy outcome.
The NMC invites organisations to implement this Charter.
- Access to Events and Information
The News Media should have the fullest possible opportunities for newsgatherers to witness events – including any designated press or media opportunities – to create their own content to inform the public. Public policymakers are encouraged to support this.
- Engaging with the News Media
Events organisations are encouraged to engage with the News Media ahead of and during the preparation of clear policies impacting the News Media, such as Terms and Conditions of venue entry. The ability of the News Media to report freely benefits all stakeholders including event organisers, sponsors, other commercial partners, participants and fans.
- Independence of News
Editorial independence including fair critical journalism is vital. This is undermined if an event organisation or sport club unreasonably blocks access to news environments or to information – or by forcing a news entity to enter into commercial content agreements.
- Accreditation to Report
Withholding accreditation must never be used as a means of silencing fair and critical comment or reporting. Newsgatherers should be given every opportunity and support to witness events of public interest (whether requiring formal accreditation or not), to capture news moments and to share those accounts in line with professional standards. Where accreditation access must be put in place, ‘press passes’ must be granted on a fair, non-discriminatory and equitable basis, while taking into account special circumstances of a journalist or news entity.
- Safeguarding Journalism
As the sector provides significant societal and economic value, conditions should exist for news operations, including on-the-ground journalism, to flourish, and for event organisations to be transparent about how independent journalism is going to be enabled and embraced.
- Safety of Journalists
Journalists (whether based in the host country or abroad) can be especially vulnerable to physical and online attack and event organisations have a duty of care to promote the standing of professional journalism and not to denigrate their work and to provide safe working environments.
- Ability to Innovate
As technologies and news consumption evolve, the News Media are to be encouraged to innovate in methods of newsgathering, including video journalism, and content publishing, distribution and other forms of sharing news. News must flow as fast as technologies allow.
- Balancing opportunities for News Media and events
A viable News Media sector needs to monetise the content it creates to recoup its costs and to promote their news coverage. In parallel, a vibrant commercial media rights market should exist while measures aimed at protecting broadcast rights against illegal use and piracy must not affect press freedom and the news media’s ability to inform citizens .
- Official Content
Official material is not a substitute for independent eye-witness news. If content is produced and provided by event organisations in lieu of press access (i.e., if there are genuine issues of security, public health or space constraints) this event material is to be readily available, free, newsworthy, editable and not subject to restrictions on editorial publication or distribution. Such ‘official’ content must indicate the provenance of the material which must not be manipulated.
- Platform and Territory Neutrality
News content created in venues by the News Media is not to be subject to different rules set by event organisations in relation to the form of editorial use, platform (print, online, mobile or broadcast) or type (mainstream or social media) or territory (geo-blocking).
- Durability of News
The historical news record of events is not to be undermined by event rules stating how long news material created by news organisations can be used – or reused. News content is not to have a ‘shelf-life’ determined by an event organisation, third party or any individual who is the subject of news.
12. Delivering tangible ‘best practice’ for media freedom
Major events and the organisations behind them should aim to bring about dynamic social change and improvements in media freedom for journalists and news media businesses in the host country as part of tangible enhancement to human rights.
The NMC invites organisations, public policymakers and individuals to support and implement this Event News Protocol. Please also see our complementary Newsgathering Charter.