Un'etica per il giornalismo

An Ethic for Journalism

Abstract disponibile solo in lingua inglese

This article sums up some of the present problems of journalism in Italy. Over the last months the Italian parliament has been debating a bill to abolish the professional order of journalists. The author takes up Luigi Einaudi's thesis on the subject and, going against the opinion currently prevailing among Italian journalists, sides in no uncertain terms with the bill. With regard to the restrictions on freedom of information – under review or already put forward – designed to safeguard secrecy concerning the documentation of pre-trial investigation, and to the other equally topical issue – not only in Italy – of restrictions to safeguard the right to privacy, the author maintains that the various proposals of regulation currently under discussion (including the idea which emerged in the Quebec Conference to define an international ethical standard for journalists) are all relatively unconvincing. The only guarantee which prevents the freedom of the press from being misused is that of the rigid professional ethics of journalists, filtered if need be through internal codes elaborated by the various purveyors of news. This system has already been implemented with some success by the economic daily Il Sole 24 Ore.