Ethical Journalism for Syrian Media

As FPU explains, the 5-year-long journey of support to the Syrian media sector began in 2012 at a time when the civil war left journalists in a highly polarised environment and led them to defect from both state and private media organisations in order to seek more independence. Many motivated citizen journalists joined protests against the oppression of the ruling regime and worked to shed light on hidden realities. At the same time, there was a surge in the number of broadly defined "citizen journalists" providing coverage of protests and seeking to document and disseminate their view of events as they happened. (See below under Key Points for more information about the context of the programme). The EJSM sought to ensure that these journalists, who came from very different backgrounds and had different levels of training, were able to provide accurate, balanced, timely, and relevant information to citizens inside and outside Syria - and within an effective, organised, and professional Syrian media landscape.

Project activities that sought to fulfil this objective included a variety of support and capacity-building work:

Supporting Syrian media outlets and media institutions towards sustainability and increased institutional and professional capacity
Eight Syrian media organisations were directly supported by FPU and Synergy-Takamol through capacity building and operational support. Over 1,000 media professionals were trained (of which 27% were women) through workshops and consultancy sessions. The programme took an unbiased and inclusive position to build a relationship of trust with citizen journalists, regardless of their background. Support was based on the idea that every perspective should be heard, provided that it is nuanced, respectful, and professionally reported.

Journalists received training in ethics and codes of conduct for the media, investigative journalism, and fundraising in order to safeguard their independence and ensure sustainability. Particular emphasis was given to gender and safety. Media partners received training in gender-sensitive reporting and institutional policy transformation to ensure there was adequate representation of women in the newsroom and as sources of information. Security training sought to raise awareness of the risks journalists are exposed to (both digital and physical) and what measures to take to work more safely.

In 2021, to increase journalists' understanding of international law, a dozen Syrian journalists were trained on the laws of war. Legal experts provided in-depth information on topics such as: the protection of civilians, with a focus on journalists; the conduct of hostilities; and detention in armed conflict. The journalists learned when international humanitarian law (IHL) applies, what means of methods of warfare are allowed under international law, and how IHL can be enforced by national and international courts. The sessions also covered ethical aspects of reporting and documenting alleged IHL violations.

Improving the organisation and effectiveness of the Syrian media sector
Much of the support focused on codes of conduct and on self-regulating correction mechanisms. In 2016, with support from the programme, the Ethical Charter for Syrian Media (ECSM) was launched, and in 2020, the ECSM launched a media complaints mechanism that allows the public and civil society to submit complaints about the media as a way to ensure accountability for Syrian media. The programme also contributed to the establishment of the Syrian Journalists Association (SJA), which in 2017 became a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), thereby enhancing its standing and legitimacy and bringing international attention to the position of journalists and independent media in Syria. Some of the projects and campaigns the SJA was involved in were around the safety of journalists and hate speech.

The project also supported interactions and collaboration between media and civil society organisations (CS0s) in order to improve reporting. It encouraged dialogue sessions to ensure that the media and CSOs from an often-polarised Syrian society could sit at a table to talk and listen to each other and find common ground for understanding. As part of this effort, a co-production fund was launched to stimulate cooperation and collaboration between media and CSOs on joint productions. Grants were awarded on topics such as gender/women's rights, human rights violations, and struggles of displaced people/refugees.

Contributing to the collection of reliable data on the Syrian media environment and audiences
Research formed an important part of the programme - in particular, audience research into the consumption patterns and information needs of the Syrian public. This research was fed back to media partners who could use it to make sure their information is relevant, inclusive, and engaging different perspectives and that it reaches as wide an audience as possible (in terms of geography and political leaning).

In addition, FPU developed a media content monitoring methodology to monitor and analyse trends in media reports. This research looked at which topics were being written about, which views and opinions were getting the most coverage, and to what extent women were being covered. The SJA also published monthly reports on the violence against Syrian media and (citizen) journalists. Their figures showed that since the uprising, there had been nearly 1,000 acts of violence against journalists, of which more than 400 were murders.

To capture the impact of the EJSM over the 5 years, the programme has visually documented key outcomes on a website. Seven personas tell the story of how they went through learning and change as a result of the project. Each story highlights a thematic focus of the project: dialogue, security, institutionalisation, research, audience, learning, and gender.

Media Development, Conflict, Human Rights, Gender

Context of the programme:
"The Syrian uprising, inspired by the events in Tunisia and Egypt, deeply involved masses of primarily young active citizens, facing the common issue of the deprivation of basic human rights and social alienation. Many of them all over Syria started using communication tools to express and show the events on the ground. Mid-career journalists, authors, opinion leaders and other active parts of the Syrian society joined this movement and filled the information space with information and stories mainly through Facebook. Many of the activists gradually became 'citizen journalists', who were recognised as a key group that needed support. There was a critical need to build trust between them, as well as between them and the mid-career journalists, to develop a shared sense of community and build shared values and principles that underpin high-quality independent and ethical journalism. Within a reality that lacked a tradition of free and independent media, raising awareness and knowledge was an intense effort. At a time when citizen journalists and independent journalists all over Syria wanted to act and raise their voices, they lacked structural support and safety. This reinforced the need for learning and enhancing journalistic skills, verification, safety and ethics as well as protection. Over time, through providing this support, a smaller group of dedicated citizen journalists emerged with the potential to develop a stronger institutional presence as independent media organisations that could credibly serve the information needs of Syrian audiences. Continuing to work with this focused group formed part of the starting point of the EJSM programme from 2016-2021."

FPU highlights the following challenges that were faced at the start of the programme and that the programme sought to address:

• A lack of trust and pervasive fear;
• A lack of awareness, knowledge, and shared principles on ethical journalism practices;
• Minimal security awareness for preserving journalists' safety;
• Insufficient presence and participation of women (and girls) in key positions in the media;
• Limited professional and audience-oriented output;
• Lack of sectoral interaction and experience to work together in general;
• A fragile communication and distribution infrastructure;
• A lack of insight into the Syrian media sector and audience needs; and
• A growing divide between various affiliations, later also by "geographies".