In 2020, Exit News became the first media platform in the Western Balkans to submit to the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) which involved a full internal and external audit and the publication of the results.
JTI “aims at a healthier information space” through the development of indicators for the trustworthiness of journalism. It promotes and rewards compliance with professional norms, standards, and ethics. The initiative was launched with Reporters Without Borders but also has the support of the Ethical Journalism Network, UNESCO, and the European Commission. The project has also received support from Agence France Presse, European Broadcasting Union, and the Global Forum for Media Development.
Exit was handpicked to pilot the audit which involves answering questions on structure, ownership, finances, and professional standards. It also required a number of standards to be in place such as editorial guidelines, the publication of contact details and addresses, and policies to address independence, equality, and countering disinformation.
You can see the results of Exit’s audit here.
On Thursday 29 July, Exit Journalist Alice Taylor, who spearheaded the initiative within the media portal, will be taking part in a panel to celebrate the launch of the project. She will join Heaton Dyer, the Executive Director of Strategy at CBC/Radio-Canada, and Jon Williams, the Emmy-award-winning Director of News and Current Affairs at RTE Ireland to talk about the audit experience.
You can register to watch the panel here.
Adrian White, the former General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, a former journalist with The Guardian, and a long-time campaigner for journalist rights, commented on the outcome of Exit’s participation.
“The Exit News commitment to ethics is a guarantee to the public about the quality of its journalism. In these difficult days, people are bombarded with information- much of it false, distorted, and even abusive. To combat these threats news media must renew their commitment to truth-telling, transparency, and ethical reporting.
Exit News has done just that by setting a standard that all newspeople should follow, not just in Albania, but across the Western Balkans and the European Union.”
White added:
“Exit News has taken up the challenge, declaring “we have nothing to hide and are ready to speak the truth in the public interest. I congratulate them for their pioneering action to build public trust in media.”
Exit News is also a founding member of the Ethical Media Alliance, Albania’s first self-regulatory platform. Alice Taylor was elected to the board in 2020.
