Gifts: Should journalists accept them or not?

On March 18, 2010, a seminar was held on interviewing children and how to handle gifts and presents. This was the second seminar at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities within the framework of the project on enhancing reporting capacity and knowledge of professional ethics for young journalists.

"Ignoring children's rights is a crime."

At 1:30 PM, the seminar officially began with the appearance of journalist Nguyen Pham Thu Uyen. She opened her talk in a very open atmosphere by asking the participating students questions about interviewing children. A sad reality is that today, children's voices appearing in the mass media are often not objective and are manipulated by adults. Furthermore, children's voices are not frequently heard in events and incidents directly related to their rights. For example, the recent cases of school violence that have stirred public opinion have seen few opinions from those directly involved. This is illogical because adults' thinking is often different and sometimes more authoritarian. Journalist Thu Uyen argued that adults' perspectives are often hasty and prejudiced. The story published in Thanh Nien newspaper about a 13-year-old child cycling alone to the South to find her mother was used by journalist Thu Uyen as an example. The story had many advantages, including its humanitarian purpose and vivid details. However, immediately after publication, the editorial board had to issue a correction and apology because the story contained many inaccuracies. Regarding this situation, the discussion concluded that the main fault lay with the journalist. Because of their lack of careful verification of information from the main character's account, the journalist put themselves in a passive position and suffered a professional mishap. Through the story, journalist Thu Uyen highlighted the difficulties in interviewing children, including the psychological differences. Children have a very simple and realistic view of life, based on what they see. And it is precisely because of this that children have unique, novel, and very interesting feelings and thoughts. Journalist Thu Uyên offered several ways to overcome difficulties and reach out to children, ensuring they have a voice on issues they need to speak out about, because, according to her, "ignoring children's voices is a sin." Therefore, it's necessary to understand and respect children's perspectives, avoiding imposition and bias.

Journalism is a fascinating profession!

After a 15-minute break, the discussion continued with journalists Anh Thu and Vu Minh Thuy sharing their insights on the appropriate behavior of journalists regarding gifts and bribes. The issue was raised by a rather interesting question for journalism students: What attracts you and makes you choose journalism as a profession? The students' answers were very lively, such as journalists having an objective and proactive view of life, journalists proactively expressing their opinions to the public, or journalists being able to explore and learn more about new places. The two journalists expressed satisfaction with the students' objective perspective on journalism. They presented the reality of the unfavorable attitudes of businesses and the public towards receiving gifts and envelopes at press conferences. Gifts for journalists can take many forms, such as tickets to sporting or cultural events, preferential stock, securities, promotions, meals, presents, cosmetics, envelopes of money, etc. The two journalists began their advice and sharing with a Western saying: "There's no such thing as a free lunch." They emphasized that gifts, however small, should only be accepted when one is certain they can report objectively, providing information the public needs, not PR information that businesses want to advertise to consumers. The speakers affirmed that accepting money or gifts depends on the journalist's conscience and integrity. The most important thing is not to lose the honor and self-respect of a true journalist. The seminar ended later than expected due to many questions from students regarding the issues shared by the two journalists. Through this, each student gained valuable experience for their chosen profession.