Article October 13, 1997 Issue

Responsibility of the media

by Kim Shippey

Earlier this year, the International Communications Forum (ICF) and the Australian Press Council convened a two-day meeting in Sydney to discuss "The Role and Responsibility of the Media."

While the forty-two journalists, publishers, editors, and commentators from several countries looked out from their conference room at the surfers on the beaches below, they made a few waves of their own in their debates over such issues as handling clashes of race and culture; balanced reporting; and worthy aims and aspirations for publishers.

"Can the media help to reduce conflict—or should they just report it?" they asked one another. "Should the media try to change society for the better—or simply respond to what the public wants?" And, "What is truth, anyway?"

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