The Extent of Commitment of Iraqi Journalists to Journalistic Ethics Journalists of the Governorates of Al-Anbar, Al-Diwaniyah, Salah Al-Din, As a Model

Abstract

With the great development that took place in the field of Media and Communication and the emergence of Digital Media after the third millennium AD, the Media ethics have become an important aspect in the organization of the media process in the context of the interplay of media in all its diversity: visual, audio, printed and electronic. This entails the existence of charters organizing the media and putting regulations for the journalist to commit to before reaching a public opinion. Media ethics are important for the media profession, especially at the time of the crises experienced by the countries, including Iraq, which was subjected to drastic and historical events that changed the course of political philosophy radically, due to the US occupation of Iraq in 2003/4/9. The course of change includes the media sector, which has enjoyed a large space of media freedom which was not familiar before. This necessitated the existence of regulations of media ethics committed by the Iraqi journalist in a way that is balanced with the exceptional circumstance of Iraq in light of the political and legal fragility based on quotas and sectarianism. Thus, this research came to highlight the extent of commitment to the media ethics of journalists in directing their communication messages that protect society and the state and maintain their stability regardless of political, sectarian, religious, and national belongings. The researcher followed the survey method using the survey questionnaire and distributed it to the respondents of the journalists working in Anbar, Diwaniyah, and Salah Al-Din governorates who represent a sample of the original community for research of Iraqi journalists who represent different regions in the Center, South, and West of Iraq. The research is divided into three sections. The first deals with research methodology. The second was a brief overview of the press legislation in Iraq and the ethics of the profession. The third section deals with the field study, analyzing and interpreting the results based on the data of the respondents. The research ends with conclusions and recommendations.