Kaliningrad Journalists Discuss Freedom of Speech with Their German Colleagues

Within the framework of Europe Day, held in Kaliningrad yesterday, journalists form Kaliningrad and German talked about freedom of speech in modern society. The even had been Initiated by Journalists United (Kaliningrad) and Zait (Germany). The participants exchanged their views as concerns the media in both Germany and Russia and apparently they were surprised to realise that there hardly existed any differences between the two countries. As Honourary Council of the German Journalists' Union Hermann Main put it, 'Russia has more freedom of press than is needed,' saying that certain ethical considerations should exist 'to prevent democracy from turning into anarchy.' Kaliningrad Region First Deputy Governor Mikhail Tsikel also noted that 'freedom of speech should come bundled with a sense of responsibility, otherwise one could not talk about objective news coverage.' The discussion resulted in the idea that there should be drawn up a journalist's ethics code that all media players should adhere to. With just 20 members, Journalists United is one of the three officially registered professional media organisations in the Kaliningrad Region. The other two are Russia's Union of Journalists with more than 100 members and Russian Media-Union, the smallest of the three.