SBC publishes editorial guidelines |21 August 2020
The Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) has published its first ever editorial guidelines.
In the 50-page document, issued on Tuesday August 11, the SBC sets out standards to ensure that all contents it produces and/or broadcasts adheres to the principle of fairness, accuracy and impartiality.
As the National Broadcaster, the SBC must ensure that it always maintains high ethical and editorial standards, guided by the objectives outlined in the SBC Act.
In his foreword, the chairman of the SBC board of directors, Gérard Lafortune, described the publication of the guidelines as coming during a period of rapid political transformation where SBC’s role is under scrutiny.
“In the current transition from State Broadcaster to an independent and impartial National Broadcaster, public perception will take time to readjust. The strict adherence to these guidelines is fundamental in this process,” says Mr Lafortune.
When setting out these guidelines, SBC drew heavily on those of other broadcasters and media houses around the world.
As CEO Bérard Duprès puts it, “We have not ‘reinvented the script’; in producing its own guidelines, the SBC has adopted and adapted these best practices”.
SBC’s editorial guidelines will serve to inform and advise content-makers (journalists, presenters, producers, and all involved in producing programmes) on the editorial standards that the corporation expects them to uphold. It will similarly inform our audience on the editorial values that the SBC will adhere to.
Moreover, the document may be used as a primary information source for media students keeping with SBC’s Strategic Plan undertaking to support the re-establishing of formal (tertiary) learning in the media sector.
The new guidelines place a strong focus on basic editorial principles and journalistic values. It also addresses topics that sometimes raise significant issues for SBC, such as good taste and decency, privacy and conflict of interest.
The comprehensive document will therefore assist output staff and the SBC’s Editorial Committee to navigate difficult and sometimes controversial editorial issues, while also ensuring that compelling content can be made to the highest standards possible. To this end, SBC encourages content-makers to push boundaries to attain truthful, accurate and sometimes provocative information to satisfy the public’s right to know.
To supplement the editorial guidelines, SBC has a series of internal editorial guidance which give further explanations on how to interpret and apply these guidelines.
The first edition of SBC’s editorial guidelines is a forward-looking document which covers issues that are not currently being practiced to the fullest in the country. In giving its endorsement, the SBC board of directors maintained that it should be a document that remains dynamic to be revised and developed further to adjust to changes in the media landscape.
The SBC firmly believes that, by adhering to the principles contained in these editorial guidelines, the corporation can earn more respect and retain the public’s confidence while remaining accountable to its owners, the Seychellois people.
A copy of the editorial guidelines is also available on the SBC website at the following link: https://sbc.sc/public-documents/