Online Media Ethical Standard for Government Agencies

Abstract

The purposes of this research are: 1. To study information about online media ethical standards. 2. To find guidelines for online media ethics standards that are suitable for personnel in government agencies in Thailand. It was a qualitative study. There are two research methods: 1. documentary research of relevant documents, both domestically and internationally, related to media ethical standards. 2. Two rounds of focus group discussions with key informants who are involved in online media supervision and online media workers, 8 people each round. The results of the study can be summarized as ethical standards for workers of the Public Relations Department (PRD) and government agencies, consisting of 4 main principles, with 33 subtopics: 1. Accuracy (10 sub-topics) 2. Impact (12 sub-topics) 3. Responsibility (5 sub-topics) 4. Public Interest (6 sub-topics). From the study, the researcher offers 3 suggestions for PRD as the country's main communication and public relations organization. Firstly, this online media ethical standard should be distributed to PRD’s branches across the country. PRD should organize trainings and workshops both for their personnel and outsiders. The standard should be reviewed and updated annually. Secondly, this standard should be distributed to the communication department of every government agency across the country, including secondary and higher education institutions and should organize activities together. Thirdly, the application of this standard should focus on promoting and not fault-finding. It should be flexible, and supervisors must give close consultation, but be firm and serious in not violating media ethics, which should be a direct policy from senior management.