THE 12th EDUKCIRCLE CONVENTION When I was still starting to dream to become a journalist, I used to think that all you have to do in news covering or news writing are to find interesting events in different places, gather facts about those events, then write about those events and submit it to your Editor in Chief. What I didn’t know is the underlying principle each media practitioner should have—STRONG MORAL PRINCIPLE. After the time I was introduced to the Journalist’s Code of Ethics and Broadcast Code of Ethics in my Journalism Principles and Practices class, my perspective about news writing broadened and extended. News writing is merely not “just writing.” It is more than that. I proved this to myself when I had the chance to listen to great media practitioners and speakers on the 12th EdukCircle Convention that was held in the University of the Philippines Diliman last August 15, 2015.
The Journalist’s and Broadcast Codes of Ethics guided and secured me as I went on listening to the speakers of the 12th EdukCircle Convention. The topic really got my attention because it was about children and media (news coverage/news writing). The topic, for me really was unexpected and heart-warming at the same time. After the convention, I felt really blessed for having my mind filled with good moral principles and learnings that involve minors/children in news coverage. What left a mark in my heart and in my mind are the rights that children have as subjects in news items.
In the discussion of the Rights of Children as Subjects in News Items, Article III Section 7 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution was discussed. It states that: The right of the people to information on matters of public concern shall be recognized. Access to official records, and to documents, and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions, or decisions, as well as to government research data