A small but important step forward has been made toward the much-needed "Reform of the Professional Order of Journalists." Below, I'm publishing on this blog the text of the Order of Journalists following the approval of the Chamber of Deputies' Culture Committee. While awaiting the Senate's response, here's what can be read on the Order of Journalists' website.
After 17,685 days (48 years) since the establishment of the Order of Journalists, the Chamber of Deputies approved a mini-reform of the law on the Order of Journalists in its first reading. We must thank the Culture Committee, its chair Valentina Aprea, its rapporteur Giancarlo Mazzuca, and, through the proposal's first signatory, Pino Pisicchio, all parliamentarians for their dedication.
Certain aspects are certainly positive: the introduction of a maximum number of Council members (set at 90, compared to the current 150, and gradually increasing given the current automatic mechanisms), the requirement that professional journalists must have at least a bachelor's degree, and that aspiring journalists must pass a general knowledge exam that certifies, among other things, knowledge of the principles of professional ethics. These rules will contribute to improving the quality of information and, at the same time, increasing awareness of the duties towards citizens.
Some bitterness and deep unease remain.
Among the first is the elimination of the National Ethics Commission and the Jury for Accuracy of Information from the proposal. Both would have allowed for quicker responses to citizens' complaints about perceived inappropriate behavior by journalists.
The unease stems from the introduction of a ratio between professionals and journalists that severely penalizes the latter. In its reform proposal, the National Council of the Order of Journalists, with a unanimous decision, and recently, on April 12, 2011, with a document (approved by 3 votes against and 4 abstentions out of 113 present), urged the Chamber to "leave the proportional distribution to the Order's regulatory authority based on the evolving reality of the profession, providing for reviews during and at the end of the transition period."
The hope is that the Senate will not only restore the ethics commission and the jury for the accuracy of information, but will also allow the Order—which is certainly more knowledgeable about how journalistic work is carried out, regardless of its membership in the professional and publicist registers—to reflect internally to establish criteria of representation that respect reality.
In this regard, President Aprea and rapporteur Mazzuca made a formal commitment. On April 18, during a meeting with a delegation from the Order (composed of Enzo Iacopino, Enrico Paissan, Giancarlo Ghirra, and Ugo Armati), they took it upon themselves to present this requirement to the relevant Senate committee.
The Order's leadership believes it is committed to the National Council's wishes and will present, with the necessary arguments, the needs underlying this request.
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