Media Ethics in the Lebanese Media

UNCLAS BEIRUT 000143 STATE FOR NEA/ELA - LAWSON, NEA/ELA - IRWIN, NEA/PPD, R, INR/R/MR, INR-PARENT, DRL NSC - MCDERMOTT SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREF PREL KMDR OPRC KPAO KISL KPAL LE SUBJECT: Media Ethics in the Lebanese Media 1.(U) Summary: Internews Network, an international media development organization funded by a Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor grant, organized a roundtable for five local civil society organizations to discuss the role of media in Lebanon's civil society. The roundtable attendees were sub-grantees carrying out projects highlighting media's influence on youth and impact on good governance. One of Internews' projects is "Communicating to Humanity: Media and Civil Society in Support of Lebanon's Reconciliation." End Summary. 2.(U) Present at the roundtable were: The Development Studies Center, Beit El Tourath (The house of traditions),Youth for Tolerance, Baldati (my hometown),the Lebanese Civic Media Initiative, and the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections. All discussed their individual projects and whether the Lebanese media played a positive or negative role in strengthening the role eacj tries to play through their projects. The media's role in promoting awareness, capacity building, democracy, and eventually reconciliation among Lebanon's divided population were also explored. 3.(U) One common element stood out in the conclusions that were reached by most of the presenters: Lebanese media has played, and is still playing, an extremely negative role in Lebanon's civil society. By simply ignoring, belittling, or politicizing civil society issues, the Lebanese media automatically prioritizes issues that are a source of friction and are dividing Lebanese society. The representative of the Development Studies Center, for example, clarified that during the terrible clashes in the city of Tripoli in the North, the media seemed to incite and provoke additional problems by focusing on sectarian divisions instead of the real developmental problems in that region. 4.(U) Civil society organizations are keen on working to create a society that understands the influence of institutions like media outlets on public opinion. These organizations want the media to be accountable. For example, universities with journalism majors should be encouraged to teach individuals how to be research journalists who depend on credible facts and not on sensationalist sectarian information. The organizations want to separate between societal issues and political issues; and, laws should be created to support media ethics. If Lebanese media outlets have societal problems as the priority rather than political issues, the civil society organizations think Lebanese reconciliation is possible. Sison