Respect and sensitivity were the watch words when 16 media workers attended a one week Commonwealth Press Union (CPU) seminar on âSocial Responsibility and News Senseâ in Trinidad.
The course which was held at Express House from January 15 to 19 was organized to ensure that media workers were equipped to report with due care about sensitive issues which cut across cultural, ethnic or religious divides.{{more}}
Simon Rogers, Deputy Editor of the Guardian newspaper in England facilitated the course.
Religious ethnic leaders, and advocates for the disabled were among the guest speakers who stimulated the minds of media personnel.
Warnings were issued about the usage of inflammatory language that had the potential to exacerbate conflicts long after the newspapers are used as window cleaners and the nightly news on that night is over.
Besides Trinidad and Tobago, journalists from Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and St Vincent and the Grenadines were in attendance.
A detailed style guide for coverage stories on religion, sexuality, disability and ethnicity was produced by the participants of the course.
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