Attending Political Demonstrations

tebeeson

As the Director of HR for a International broadcaster which reaches 6 Asian countries who do not allow free flow of information to its people, and being based in Washington DC, the political demonstration capital of the world, we have many employees who would love to join demonstrations against these governments. The Company does not have a problem with them doing so on their own time.

The problem we are having is broadcasters/journalist who are covering these demonstrations become involved in them. Their feelings are understandable considering the treatment they received from these governments prior to arriving in the US.

Our Code of Ethics calls for them to be "independent" of the influences of the story. But, since the Code has no bite and are viewed as a set of guidelines, they are generally ignored.

Does anyone have a policy, which says, in effect, you may not become involved in activities which are political in nature and the present or hold themselves up as representatives of the organization during work or non-work hours?

Thanks,

Tom

marc

You already have a code of ethics, the problem is that you are not enforcing it. Any policy that is given to you will be equally ineffective if you do not use your company's disciplinary process for enforcement.

You may need to strengthen your training or more clearly deliver your message regarding impartiality. Whether or not it is justified to the individuals involved does not give them free reign to ignore the broadcasting codes you espouse.

This is an era, like many before it, that journalists are slanting the news more and more to reflect the viewpoints of editors, commercial interests, etc. Perhaps your problem is a symptom of a deeper issue and your unwillingness to enforce your code of ethics is where it shows up in your organization.

I do not mean to offend, just trying to plainly write my opinion.

sonny

At my previous place of employment, it was right in our job description that we were respondsible to abide by Our Professional Code of Ethics. I am with Marc. .retrain and enforce your Code of Ethics. .they should not be guidelines and ignored, that's for sure..In some professions, that would you get fired, at minimum, and kicked out of the profession at worst.