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irresponsibility, the reasons for this must be looked for elsewhere in the institution
of journalism rather than within the ethical values of the profession. If this is the
case, a creation of common European media ethics (as suggested in the Resolu-
tion and Recommendation referred to in the Introduction) would probably not
make journalism any more accountable.
Taking the actual dissatisfaction with journalism on the part of the public in
many European countries, the fact that accountability to different external regu-
latory groups of journalism is emphasized so much could mean that the ethical
codes have little significance in real terms. They may contain beautiful phrases
about the rights of the public and the sources – but are mere words which do not
get put into practice.

The most common principles

The six function classes were further divided into 13 categories. Their coverage
in the national codes is illustrated in Table 15.2.
As Table 15.2 shows, the codes of the Italian, Slovak and Slovenian journalists
have the widest variety of ethical principles – they include principles corre-
sponding to all 13 categories. The categories stressing truthfulness of informa-
tion (I), integrity of the source (VI) and general integrity of the journalist (IX) get
complete national support. Only the categories emphasizing respect for state
institutions (VII) and protection of the solidarity of the journalistic profession (XIII)
get support from less than two-thirds of the 31 national codes.
On the level of the individual principles there are quite a few differences
between the codes. The classification scheme used in the examination comprised
61 different ethical principles gathered from the national codes overall. None of
those principles were present in every one of the codes. Ten principles were pre-
sent in 75 percent or more, and 24 in more than half of the codes. In the follow-
ing the principles common to more than half of the European codes are listed in
the order of their frequency. After the principle its coverage is presented both in
percentages and in absolute numbers in parentheses.

%
1. Truthfulness, honesty, accuracy of information (category I) 90 (28)
2. Correction of errors (I) 90 (28)
3. Prohibition of discrimination on the basis of
race/ethnicity/religion (IV) 87 (27)
4. Respect for privacy (VI) 87 (27)
5. Prohibition of accepting bribes or any other benefits (IX) 87 (27)
6. Fair means in gathering the information (V) 84 (26)
7. Prohibition of allowing any outsider to have influence on the
journalistic work (IX) 84 (26)
8. Prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex/social class,
etc. (IV) 81 (25)
9. Freedom of expression, speech, comment, criticism (III) 74 (23)