TVG Ch 28 assistant editor Ariana Gordon signs the document
GECOM Chairman Dr Steve Surujbally has urged media operatives to renew their commitment to the code of conduct for the media, at the conclusion of a GECOM/Centre for Communications Studies Journalism workshop.
The two-day workshop was aimed at educating journalists, editors and media proprietors on coverage and reporting of general elections. It concluded on Saturday at the Grand Coastal Inn, Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara.
Director of the Centre for Communication Studies, Dr Paloma Mohamed, said that the workshop was “remarkable”, and commended the 50-plus participants, who were mostly young journalists who had not previously heard about the code of conduct for the media, or had seen one. “Only seven knew about the code of conduct,” she said.
“There was not one single disrespectful exchange. There was not one moment of discomfiture,” Mohamed said of the participants. She also commended the media fraternity and various associations for coming together at this crucial time.
Operations Manager Ronica Jaipershad signs the code on behalf of Guyana Times
Dr Surujbally reminded the journalists that it is important that they properly understand the elections process, if they are to provide fair and decent coverage of elections.
“You cannot be covering elections if you don’t know the difference between continuous registration, house-to-house registration, residency verification, claims and objections – all of which have to do with registration. If you do not know the difference, there is an open door policy at GECOM,” he said.
Meanwhile, endorsing the workshop was U.S. Ambassador to Guyana, Brent Hardt, who pointed out that the code of conduct will play an integral role in this year’s election. USAID is one of the core sponsors of the workshop.
Several media houses signed on to GECOM’s code of conduct.
