Policy
Paper
Arturas
Tereskinas
2001
International Policy Fellow
OSI
Budapest
Executive
Summary
Ethnocentrism,
xenophobia, anti-Semitism and homophobia remain the crucial problems in
the public sphere in Lithuania. The
Lithuanian media still tend to perpetuate discrimination and hostility
against ethnic and sexual minorities.
Minority groups share relative invisibility and one-sided stereotypical
representations. By
not paying nearly enough attention to ethnic and sexual minorities in the
everyday situations, the Lithuanian press and television participate in
their marginalization.
This paper describes how the Lithuanian mass media represent ethnic and sexual minorities. It proposes policy-oriented recommendations on how to change popular media representations of ethnic and sexual groups. The proposed measures include:
§The establishment of a monitoring group that is to conduct a continued analysis of the portrayals of ethnic and sexual minorities in various media
§The promotion of a multicultural approach to program content and the avoidance of programs that present society in mono-cultural and mono-linguistic terms
§The formulation of more elaborate recommendations and guidelines for the coverage of ethnic and sexual minorities
§The organization of seminars and training courses for media professionals on the subject of tolerance and multiculturalism
§The enhancement of professional training of Lithuanian journalists, multicultural awareness and continuing on-the-job monitoring of professional practice.
§The organization of periodical publicity campaigns to expose media discrimination against ethnic and sexual minorities and to highten the public awareness of media images that are insulting and demeaning to minorities
xxx
Ethnic
and sexual minorities share relative invisibility and demeaning stereotypes
in the Lithuanian mass media. Although the media can be an important means
of combating aggressive nationalism, ethnocentrism and homophobia, the
Lithuanian media still tend to perpetuate discrimination and hostility
against minorities. The media generally plays insufficient attention to
the problems encountered by ethnic and sexual minorities.
The
question of visibility has always been crucial for ethnic and sexual minority
groups since visibility and inclusion can translate their views and concerns
into issues of public interest. By gaining publicity in the mainstream
Lithuanian mass media they can gain access to the sites of public policy
formation and agenda-setting.
In
this paper, I will describe how the Lithuanian mass media represent ethnic
and sexual minorities. There are differences as well as similarities in
the ways these two minority groups are treated in the media. Therefore,
I will propose two separate sets of policy-oriented recommendations on
how to change popular media representations of ethnic and sexual groups.
1.1
Ethnic Minorities in Lithuania
Ethnic
minorities now account for about 20 percent of the population of Lithuania
(around 746,000). Around 109 different nationalities and ethnicities live
in Lithuania, including Russians, Poles, Belorussians, Ukrainians, Jews,
Tatars, Latvians, Gypsies, Germans, Armenians, Uzbeks, Azerbaijanis, Georgians,
Estonians, Karaites, Greeks and Hungarians. The data from the Statistical
Yearbook of Lithuania (Vilnius 1989) show that Russians comprise 8.2%,
Poles – 6.9%, Belorussians – 1.5%, Ukrainians – 1.0%, Jews – 0.1%.[1]
The greatest number of non-Lithuanians lives in eastern and southeastern
part of Lithuania and in the cities of Vilnius, Klaipëda and Visaginas.
To support the cultures of ethnic minorities, and to design and execute national policy towards them, the Department of National Minorities and Émigrés for the Government of the Republic of Lithuania was established in 1990. It monitors the implementation of legislation and international provisions affecting minorities and co-ordinates activities that concern them. The Department works in conjunction with various foundations and ministries – particularly the Ministries of Education, Culture and the Interior – attempting to resolve the problems facing minorities.
The
Department of National Minorities and Émigrés cooperates with the national
communities and their organizations in Lithuania. The House of National
Communities and the Council of National Communities function within the
framework of the Department. By 2000, 19 different nationalities residing
in Lithuania established their own non-governmental organizations. The
most active national and ethnic minority organizations include the Russian
Cultural Center, the Lithuanian Russian Community, the Union of Lithuanian
Poles, the Jewish Community of Lithuania, and the Association of Lithuanian
Roma. It should be mentioned that in 1998
the Roma Information Bureau was opened. It oversees social, cultural and
educational issues of Roma people.[2]
While
both the Department and minority organizations have attempted to improve
the situation of ethnic minorities in Lithuania, they have failed to promote
the wider participation of ethnic minorities in public life and toimplement
a coordinated and comprehensive policy dealing with mass media and minority
groups. Policies specifically regarding the media laws and promoting an
adequate minority representation in mass media have not been developed.
The purpose of my policy paper is make public interest groups and governmental
agencies think systematically about the strength and inadequacies of the
Lithuanian mass media, its contexts, institutions as well as to find ways
to influence media policies and practices.
1.2
Legal provisions concerning ethnic minorities
It
has been argued that media production is shaped by prevailing state policies
and socio-political responses to ethnic minorities.[3]
What laws and state initiatives shape the lives of ethnic minorities in
Lithuania?
Lithuania
has a general system for the protection of minorities: the Constitution
of the Republic of Lithuania (articles 37 and 45) guarantees political,
social and economic rights to its citizens regardless their ethnic background.
Similarly, the Law on National Minorities in Lithuania ratified by the
Lithuanian Parliament on November 23, 1989, guarantees “equal political,
economic and social rights and freedoms to all its citizens regardless
of ethnicity,” and recognizes and respects “their ethnic identity, the
continuity of their culture and … promote[s] ethnic consciousness and its
self-expression.” Lithuania acknowledges the rights of national and ethnic
minorities to education, native language, religion, and culture. They have
the right to preserve, develop and express their ethnic, cultural, linguistic
and religious identities.
The
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities was ratified
in February 2000 and enacted in July 2000.
Lithuania
is a member of the UN, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and other international
organizations. In 1995 the Lithuanian Parliament ratified the European
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,
and its protocols No. 4, 7, and 11.
Legal
protection and full citizenship rights, however, offer ethnic minorities
little guarantee of protection from intolerant and chauvinistic sentiments
in the Lithuanian media. While laws play a crucial role as a means of implementing
policy change, they are unable to contain the implicit and open forms of
intolerance, racism and xenophobia.
The
first gay organization, the Lithuanian Gay League (LGL) was publicly registered
in 1995. It remains the most important and active advocacy group for sexual
minorities in Lithuania. The group publishes a newsletter entitled “LGL
þinios” [LGL News] and runs a website and telephone hotline. Beside the
Lithuanian Gay League, currently, there exist two other gay and lesbian
organizations, SAPPHO (Lithuanian Lesbian League) and KASLO (Movement for
Sexual Equality of the Kaunas County), in Lithuania.
Independent
Lithuania inherited the Soviet prejudice on homosexuality. Despite the
existence of constitutional guarantees of equality and privacy, the infamous
article of the Penal Code (122 BK) against consensual sex between adult
men was repealed only in 1993. Lithuania was the last among the three Baltic
countries to abolish penalties for homosexual acts. Only in the new Penal
Code to be approved this year by the Lithuanian parliament sexual orientation
may be included as a criterion for protection from discrimination (Articles
160 and 161).[5]
A
substantial majority of Lithuanians hold very negative views of gays and
lesbians. An opinion poll showed that in 1999 78.2% of Lithuanians did
not tolerate homosexuality. Only 67.8 of respondents would want to live
with homosexual neighbors, while 87.5% would rather live with drug-addicts.[6]
It is one of the lowest levels of acceptance of homosexuals in Europe.
After a virtual chat of the Lithuanian public with the founder of a gay
club Men’s Factory Aleksei Terentiev, there arose an intense discussion
about Lithuanian gays. Responses of most writers revealed that the majority
of the population did not tolerate gays. “People suggested that gays should
move to the Moon.” A Lithuanian daily Vakaro þinios (The
Evening News)concluded that “Most Lithuanian Hate Gays.”[7]
In such homophobic atmosphere a policy process concerning sexual minorities
and the media requires an active involvement of both minority organizations
and journalists.
1.4
Media Legislation
The
Lithuanian constitution guarantees freedom of expression and the right
to disseminate information or ideas. The article 25
of the Constitution states that media freedom cannot be restricted “in
any way other than as established by law, when it is necessary to safeguard
the health, honor, dignity, private life or morals of a person, or to protect
constitutional order.” Restrictions on either print or broadcast media
are prohibited unless the government determines that national security
is threatened.
Besides
the Constitution, the Media Law regulates the mass media in Lithuania. The
Lithuanian Media Law (The Law on the Provision of Information to the Public)
was ratified in 1996 and since then underwent several revisions. It provides
for the
freedom and independence of the press and broadcasting. This law includes
two important articles: 1) Journalists have to observe the provisions of
the Code of Ethics; and 2) The Office of the Inspector of Journalistic
Ethics is to be set up.
The
Lithuanian Media Law
also outlines the commitment of the media to public service, defined in
terms of not discriminating between different sections of the population,
covering public issues and providing opportunity for the presentation of
contrasting points of view. As the law states, the media “shall respect
the freedom of speech, creativity, conscience and diversity of opinion”
and “help develop democracy and openness of society.”[8]
In 1997,
Lithuania ratified the Convention of the European Council on Television
Without Borders. The 1995 resolution of the Parliament stated that journalists
had to follow the main ethical principles in accordance with Resolution
No. 1003 of the European Council Parliamentary Assembly. The provisions
of this resolution have formed a base for the Lithuanian Code of Ethics
for Journalists and Publishers. The Code of Ethics is a fundamental element
in the system of self-regulation of Lithuanian journalism.
The
most important agencies of media self-regulation in Lithuania are the Ethics
Commission, the Radio and Television Commission, the Council of Lithuanian
National Radio and Television and the Foundation for the Support of Press,
Radio and Television. The members of these organizations are appointed
by the media industry and various public non-political organizations.
Government
laws and regulations affect all aspects of media production. Best known
are the legal regulations on the content of media. The Lithuanian media
law prohibits the
dissemination of pornographic materials. The dissemination of publications
of erotic or violent content is restricted by the decree of the Government.
If the need arises, the Ethics Commission of Journalists and Publishers
could decide whether the medium in question is pornographic, erotic or
propagating violence. The media law also prohibits the distribution of
information that “incite[s] war, national, racial and religious enmity.”[9]
The
Lithuanian Code of Ethics for Journalists and Publishers states that “the
journalist shall not humiliate or mock the individual’s family name, race,
nationality, religious convictions, age, sex or physical deficiencies even
if such individual has committed a crime.”[10]
Neither the above organizations, nor the legal provisions concerning the mass media guarantee compliance. The Lithuanian media practitioners do not always understand their responsibility for their work. The difference between normative laws and the everyday reality of the mass media is obvious. It is fair to argue that although the doctrine of social responsibility assumes independent power for the mass media, the press and broadcasts serve the interests of the powerful far more than those of the powerless. The mass media are a battleground between powerful political and commercial interests. Often political and commercial alliances are made to control media outlets and intervene in the formation of public knowledge. Although the Lithuanian media are not subject to any political censorship, they are highly competitive and politicized.[11]
Furthermore,
neither the Lithuanian media law, nor the Code of Ethics for Journalists
and Publishers includes any provisions or guidelines
detailing the status of disadvantaged minority groups. Minors are the only
protected group in the Lithuanian media legislation. My research proves
that such detailed guidelines for the coverage of ethnic and sexual minorities
are necessary and should be developed.
Lithuania
is becoming an increasingly media-dependant society. Consumers of the mass
media comprise a large part of the Lithuanian population. The latest polls
conducted in 2001 show that Lithuanian citizens rely on the mass media
as their most significant source of information. Indeed, 61.5 % of the
Lithuanian public trusts the Lithuanian mass media, ‘the fourth estate
of the realm’, more than any other instititution except the Church (68.3
% of Lithuanians trust the Church most).[12]
The mass media are in this context particularly significant, because they
provide a common stock of information and culture.
The
mass media exert an immense influence on the defining, structuring, and
delimiting of public discourse and in forming and influencing public knowledge.
Articulating, developing and disseminating the ideas of ethnicity and sexuality,
the mass media help to shape attitudes about ethnic and sexual minorities.
As Charles Husband suggested, the power of the media “to promote and sustain
ideologies of domination and subordination through their representation
of ethnic [and sexual] identities, and through the construction of the
definition of the situation within which ethnic [and sexual] diversity
in society should be understood” is immense.[13]
The
question of representation is a critical arena of contestation and struggle
over the monopoly of the power to impose a certain vision of a social world
and to establish meaning and consensus about meaning.[14]
Hence, non-recognition or misrecognition of a certain group can be “a form
of oppression, imprisoning someone in a false, distorted, and reduced mode
of being.”[15]
This means that misrecognition or non-recognition of ethnic and sexual
minorities in the mass media is a discursive form of racism, homophobia
and victimization. Non-representation in the mediated ‘reality’ of our
mass culture maintains the powerless status of groups that do not possess
significant material or political power bases. As Geneva Smitherman-Donaldson
and Teun A. van Dijk pointed out, it is through discourse that dominant
groups and institutions discriminate against minority groups.[16]
Many forms of contemporary racism, sexism and homophobia are discursive:
“they are expressed, enacted and confirmed by text and talk” far removed
from the open violence. They, however, may be just as effective to marginalize
and exclude minorities.[17]
The
issue of representation is closely related to the concept of the public
sphere through which much of the study of mass media and democracy has
been framed. Peter Dahlgren has pointed out that the dimension of representation
in the public sphere “points to such basic questions as what should be
selected for portrayal and how should it be presented.”[18]
In other words, what should or should not be portrayed or represented about
ethnic and sexual minorities in the Lithuanian mass media? Which and how
many representations of these minorities should be permitted in the Lithuanian
mass media?
What
is at stake here is the struggle over the public sphere, “where members
of subordinated social groups invent and circulate counter-discourses,
so as to formulate oppositional interpretations of their identities, interests
and needs.”[19]
Thus, the problem of representations of minorities central to a consideration
of the mass media as both an ongoing problem and possibility for democracy
points to the problems of the public sphere and citizenship in the Lithuanian
society.
Sexual
and Ethnic Minorities in the Lithuanian Mass Media
The
problems of xenophobia, racism and homophobia in the Lithuanian mass media
remain severe. An international seminar in 1999 in Vilnius entitled “Promotion
of Tolerance in Central and Eastern Europe” concluded that the Lithuanian
mass media depict ethnic minorities in terms of a restricted repertoire
of stereotypical representations. Similar conclusion was reached by the
participats of a seminar “Ethnic Groups in a Democratic Society: Public
Discourse, the Marginalized and Conspicuous in Contemporary Lithuania”
which took place in January, 2002.[20]
My
research conducted in 2001 corroborates the above views. It is suffice
to mention the Lithuanian daily Lietuvos Aidas (The Echo of Lithuania)
which published two strongly anti-Semitic articles on October 19, 2000.
The articles emphasized the Jewish roots of Karl Marx and accused Jews
of creating Communism. The daily questioned the need to prosecute war criminals
who participated in Holocaust. Lietuvos Aidas also called for an
international tribunal to investigate the “crimes against humanity committed
by Jews” during the Soviet period.[21]
Homophobic comments occur frequently in the Lithuanian press and television.
Despite
the mentioned seminars and incidents of open anti-Semitism, xenophobia
and homophobia in the Lithuanian mass media, the production, circulation
and consumption of media representations of ethnic and sexual minorities
have been inadequately analyzed in Lithuania. There have been very few
studies on Lithuanian media portrayals of ethnic minorities over the last
ten years.[22]
Moreover, research on the portrayals of sexual minorities in mass media
is non-existant in Lithuania. The construction and functioning of the representations
of homosexuals in the mass media have not been subjected to intensive academic
scrutiny.
My
research and policy recommendations intend to fill this gap. In my research,
I analyzed a total of 119 news stories and reports about homosexuality
and homosexuals in four mainstream Lithuanian dailies Lietuvos Rytas
(the biggest mainstream daily), Respublika (the second biggest newspaper),
Lietuvos
þinios (tabloid) and Vakaro þinios (the most popular tabloid)
during the period of January I, 2000- June, 2001. Vakaro þinios,
a tabloid immensely popular in Lithuania, carried 44 stories and articles,
Lietuvos
rytas was not far behind (38 articles), Respublika published
21 news report and article, and Lietuvos þinios, 16. I also sampled
a continuous week of television coverage of ethnic and sexual minorities.
During the sampled week (November 26- December 2), gays were featured only
in an evening magazine devoted to crimes “Procesas. X sektorius” (The Process.
X Sector), a talk showPraðau
þodþio (Let’s Talk) and comedy shows “Tegyvuoja karalius!” (Long Live
the King) and“Ðapro ðou” (Ðapro
show).
In
the case of ethnic minorities, I examined the representations of four ethnic
groups, Russians, Poles, Roma people and Jews, living in Lithuania[23],
by the largest Lithuanian daily Lietuvos rytas from November 27,
2000, to May 9, 2001.[24]Lietuvos
Rytas carried a total of 88 news stories and articles that mentioned
Lithuanian Russians, Poles, Jews and Roma people. Most stories touched
upon the subject of Jews and the Holocaust in Lithuania (37), Lithuanian
Russians attracted 22 reports, Poles, 10, and Romani, 18.[25]
During the sampled week, there was no mention of Lithuanian Russians, Poles,
Jews and Romani in the primetime news. Only one story related to a Jewish
criminal was broadcast in the newsmagazine “Sroves” (Trends), and the comedy
show “ZbTV” featured the main character of the Polish origin named Zbignievas.
Focusing
on closer rhetorical analysis of images of ethnic and sexual minorities,
I examined how the Lithuanain press and TV understand, define and deal
with ethnic and sexual differences. What beliefs, knowledge, attitudes,
norms and values underlie the media rhetoric? What major topics are associated
with each particular ethnic group and sexual minorities? What is omitted
and what is published in the stories about ethnic and sexual groups and
their relationships?
The
Lithuanian press and television do not present a uniform conception of
the issue ofethnic and sexual minorities.
My research demonstrated that there
is a lack of in-depth reporting on ethnic and sexual groups in the Lithuanian
mass media. Minority
groups share relative invisibility and one-sided stereotypical representations.
Representations, though primarily discursive, have real material consequences
and correlates. It
can be argued that by not paying nearly enough attention to ethnic and
sexual minorities in the everyday situations, the Lithuanian mass media
participate in their marginalization.
1.
Sexual Minorities
Sexual
minorities remain a difficult topic and an extremely sensitive issue since
it deals with societal values, norms and sexuality. Therefore, homosexuality
is frequently described as a scandal, and homosexuals are still portrayed
as an underworld unfamiliar to mass population.
Gays and lesbians are described as outcasts and perverts in society. Homosexuality is still strongly associated with sexual promiscuity and deviance. Although there is little violently abusive terminology in Lithuanian newspapers, the trend is to ridicule and diminish homosexuals.
An analysis of a sample of evening news programs broadcast on LRT (Lithuanian Public Television), and three commercial networks LNK, TV-3 and BTV from 26 November to 1 December 2001, revealed that gay issues were nearly invisible. Gay views were not presented. TV entertainment programs emphasized the comic and ridiculous sides of gay characters. This consistent reflection of stereotyped representations of gays and lesbians was further reinforced by the virtual absence of alternative role models to counteract the stereotype.
The Lithuanian press and TV have been very slow to validate news about gay issues. The media generally played insufficient attention to the problems and discrimination suffered by sexual minorities. Serious representations of homosexuals as minorities were infrequent. Gay events and opinions covered in the papers and on television were overwhelmingly trivialized.
It is symptomatic that when asked whether the Lithuanian mass media adequately, objectively, and comprehensively cover the life of Lithuanian and foreign gays and lesbians, 84% of respondents who identified themselves as gay or bisexual responded negatively.[26]
2.
Ethnic minorities
According
to my analysis, the low numbers and visibility of Romani, Poles, Russians
and Jews in the press and on television are also at issue. Close reading
of the most popular daily and TV programs reveals undercurrent xenophobia
in a large part of news reports and broadcasts. The “bad news” focus is
overwhelming: most newspaper reports and TV broadcasts focus on some minority
member who committed a crime. Much less attention is paid to stories about
minorities experiencing problems, prejudice, racism or unemployment.
Roma
people merit the worst representations as the least socially integrated,
criminal and exotic group. The press frequently refers to the Roma minority
as criminal, deviant, socially insecure, inscrutable, and manipulative.
In the police reports published in the newspaper Lietuvos rytas,
the ethnicity of Roma is always emphasized.
Russians
receive mixed coverage. On the one hand, they are shown as active participants
in Lithuanian political life. On the other hand, their political behavior
is described as threatening and serving the interests of foreign powers.
As in the case of the Roma, news reports about crimes stress the Russian
nationality of criminals.
Lietuvos Rytas proves
Teun A. van Dijk’s contention that in the press ethnic minorities are “systematically
associated with conflict, crime, intolerance and [unreliability]” (as we
saw in the case of Roma people and Russians).[27]
The
representations of the Polish minority in the press focus on the extremely
politicized problem of education. From these representations, Poles
emerge as a self-conscious national minority that requires special status
and rights.
Jews receive the most multi-sided coverage in the biggest Lithuanian daily: coverage of Jewish-related issues ranges from detailed descriptions of anti-Semitism in Lithuanian society to news about Jewish celebrations and cultural events, from Holocaust commemorations to the trials of war criminals. However, Jews remain relatively invisible on the Lithuanian television.
3.
Conclusion
It can be argued that the Lithuanian mass media describe ethnicity and homosexuality as problematic and not as a positive quality of a multicultural society. Constituting a presumed threat to the “natural” social order, these groups are inherently problematic and controversial for the Lithuanian mass media. Minority members are rarely consulted on the problems concerning them. The media pay insufficient attention to the problems and discrimination suffered by ethnic and sexual minorities. The evidence gathered in my research on ethnic and sexual minorities indicates that media images tend to define these groups within the narrow confines of stereotypical representations. Insufficiently counteracted by alternative portrayals that reflect the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society, the stereotypes legitimize and justify racism, xenophobia and homophobia.
Instead
of presenting a wide-ranging reflection of Lithuanian society, the Lithuanian
TV and press communicate dominant ethno-nationalist and heterosexist values
of Lithuanian society. A greater range of ethnic news and characters and
of cultural and ethnic viewpoints is lacking. The media reports on ethnic
and sexual issues are presented in either patronizing or biased way and
full of inaccurate information. In
a society concerned with social justice the media need to engage more fully
with ethnic, cultural and sexual diversity. More differentiated and accurate
portrayals of ethnic and sexual minority communities and their lives are
necessary.
Possibilities
for Improvement
The media play a large part in the formation of positive and negative images and self-images of minorities. According to B. S. Greenberg, “Researchers have found that communication about minorities is value laden and that audiences internalize these values in a number of ways.[28]The mass media shape the public’s conceptions of reality and influence the Lithuanian public’s understanding of ethnic issues and can influence the direction of public policies related to ethnic minorities. The Lithuanian media help focus our attention on specific problems and public policy issues, that is, set the public agenda. Therefore it is important to challenge and change a dominant regime of representation in the Lithuanian mass media.
How can the quality and depth of coverage of ethnic and sexual minority issues be improved? What are the ways of designing an effective “politics of representation” in the Lithuanian mass media? What conclusions can be drawn from the available evidence and finally, what research and policy implications ensue from the collected information?
This
section of my paper presents the points of how to develop and execute an
effective strategy for attaining more and better media coverage for the
sexual and ethnic minorities.
Efforts to improve the media coverage of ethnic and sexual minorities need to be understood in the larger context of the practices of the mass media and professional codes that guide the standards of Lithuanian journalism. Therefore, it is necessary to raise the awareness both of the majority and of the minority population of all aspects related to racism, xenophobia and homophobia in the Lithuanian mass media. We need to improve information to the general public about ethnic and sexual minorities so as to preempt the social reproduction of negative stereotypes and myths. This should be done through research, education, and publicity campaigns in the media. I propose two different sets of recommendations for ethnic and sexual minorities, although some recommendations overlap and can be used for both minorities. In designing policy strategies for these two minorities, I emphasize the role of different agents and organizations essential in implementation of policy recommendations.
Since the Lithuanian mass media industry’s awareness of minority issues is fairly limited, a monitoring group consisting of media scholars and professionals on media and intolerance has to be established. This group is to examine the media and propose measures against the dissemination of racist and intolerant views in the media. It is to conduct a continued analysis of the portrayals of ethnic minorities in various media. This research will serve academics, advocates, and the media industry as an assessment tool that measures progress on the representations of diversity over time. It can benefit the cause of responsible media representation of ethnicity and can raise awareness among media professionals and the public as to what they are being shown and what they are not shown. Monitoring mechanisms can be expensive so they should be introduced at most rudimentary level.
2. develop recommendations and guidelines for the coverage of ethnic minorities
This
monitoring group will suggest a number of more concrete provisions to be
included in the media law to combat the expression and dissemination of
racist and intolerant opinions in the media. It will also develop guidelines
for the coverage of ethnic minorities addressing
a)individual
journalists and educators;
b)media
industry;
c)governmental
and non-governmental bodies such as the Department of National Minorities
and Émigrés for the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the
Ethics Commission of Journalists and Publishers
d)and
minority organizations.
Such
guidelines would commit the media to promoting equitable, accurate, and
sensitive portrayals of minorities.
I
propose preliminary recommendations to all of these areas.
Recommendations
for individual journalists:
1.seek to frame news stories within the configuration of a diverse society
2.include ethnic minorities in news stories
3.deepen public understanding of difference by covering ethnic minorities
4.depict minority communities and individuals in a balanced and comprehensive manner and in ways that reflect the perspectives and points of view of these communities and individuals
5.refrain from using biased language or physical descriptions of ethnic minorities
6.treat individual behavior without linking it to a person’s ethnic origin.
Recommendations
for the Lithuanian Media Industry:
The Lithuanian press and TV should reconsider their professional practices:
1.make treatment of ethnic minorities an issue subject
2.recognize that the Lithuanian mass media have a civic commitment to oppose racism, xenophobia and intolerance
3.promote multicultural approach to program content and avoid programs that present society in mono-cultural and mono-linguistic terms
4.encourage more ethnic minority journalists participate in the mainstream mass media; they should be made writers and commentators expressing their views publicly
5.eliminate excuses for xenophobic and racist language and portrayals in the press and on TV.
Recommendations
for the Department of National Minorities and Émigrés for the Government
of the Republic of Lithuania and the
Ethics Commission of Journalists and Publishers:
§counteract the repeated verbal and visual bashings the media inflict on minorities by organizing a letter writing campaign to protest anti-minority characterizations
§in
your letters, make specific references to news stories and programs that
had appeared in the press or on TV
§encourage the press and telemedia to combat racism and xenophobia through comprehensive coverage of minority issues
§collect examples of good reporting and coverage and publicize them (issue reports publicizing positive achievements and newsworthy articles and broadcasts; award prizes to distinguished examples of media coverage of this area)
§encourage reporting that is more informed
Recommendations for sexual minority advocacy organizations:
a)look
to media content to see how sexual minorities are portrayed and how their
identities and their experiences are defined for them
b)organize
periodically publicity
campaigns to expose media discrimination against sexual minorities and
to highten the public awareness of media images that are insulting and
demeaning to sexual minorities;
c)make
your advocacy consistent and continuous. The public should be constantly
aware of the problem. Complaints about minority stereotypes should be registered
with journalists, editors, national television station managers, news directors
and producers.
d)organize
action on the part of gays and lesbians to protest against their stereotyped
portrayals in mass media. Letter writing
and telephone efforts should be a part of advocacy.
e)challenge
individual journalists for their work.
b)develop
mass media materials that portray sexual minorities in a constructive and
multi-faceted manner and in a wide variety of roles;
c)participate
in preparation of codes of practice with regard to sexual minority groups;
d)adopt
measures to eliminate sexual stereotypes in the spoken, written and visual
discourse;
e)make
media professionals aware of the need for balanced portrayals of sexual
minority groups;
f)include
study of the representations of sexual minorities in the mass media in
the curricula of communication schools and media programs;
g)enhance
professional training, multicultural awareness and continuing on-the-job
monitoring of professional practice.