KUALA LUMPUR, 13 OCT – Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil reminded media practitioners in this country to deliver news reports taking into account societal aspects including maintaining shame, boundaries and manners.
Fahmi said the rebuke of the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) to the media at the last Selangor Friday sermon regarding the excessive coverage of the recent divorce issue of famous personalities, Nur Fazura and Fattah Amin, should be noted.
“This advice applies at any time, not just in issues like this. It is not a problem for the media to report but at the same time the media needs to educate and foster an attitude among the people.
“That’s why we hope that in general the media plays a role in reporting by taking into account societal aspects, as an example of journalistic ethics in reporting about children in a criminal case, we cannot so arbitrarily display their faces,” he said.
He said this to reporters after the National Sports Day Celebration at Lembah Pantai Level at IWK Eco Park last night. Fahmi said on the day the couple’s divorce issue was reported, he found that five of the seven to eight newspapers he subscribed to every day displayed the sensational news on the front page.
Accordingly, he advised media practitioners to report more ethically for the sake of a better Malaysia because the community’s response to an issue also depends on media reporting.
JAIS through a recent Friday sermon entitled “Strengthen the Marriage Bond, Avoid Divorce”, admonished the media to respect the privacy of celebrity couples following the widespread spread of news about their divorce.
According to the sermon divorce is not something that should be hyped because it is a very personal, bitter and painful experience.
Therefore, the media should play a role in building a positive and healthy society, not making things worse. – Named
