Maldives Broadcasting Commission (BroadCom)'s has said that only journalists working in broadcast media will be issued accredited press passes under the commission's policy for accrediting journalists.
Maldives Broadcasting Commission (BroadCom)'s has said that only journalists working in broadcast media will be issued accredited press passes under the commission's policy for accrediting journalists.
BroadCom's Secretary General Mariyam Zeeniya stated that the policy announced last month is the Journalists' Accreditation Policy under the Broadcasting regulations through which the qualifications and experience of staff can be assessed.
The policy will be implemented over journalists working at media companies which hold a broadcasting licence, she said.
Under this policy, the accredited press pass from Broadcom will only be issued to journalists working at radio and TV stations. Editors, reporters, presenters, writers, columnists, photo journalists and video journalists working in such media must obtain an accredited press pass.
When issuing the licence, Broadcom will consider if an MQA Level 3 or higher pass has been achieved in a related field or a minimum of three years of experience has been gained in the journalism field. In the instance that these requirements are not met, applicants will still be eligible for receiving the pass after they undertake certain trainings set by the commission.
These trainings are on:
- Code of Practice of Broadcasting
- Policy on protecting children's rights in broadcasting
- Policy on protecting women's rights in broadcasting
- Police on covering natural disasters and tragic incidents
- Guideline on covering protests and unrest
- Guideline on broadcasting political content in times of elections
Zeeniya said that the policy, on completion, had been shared for public comments. However, no comments had been submitted from any media within the provided window of time.
Even at present, BroadCom issues accredited passes for covering protests, under the Freedom of Assembly Act. Although these passes are issued to online media as well, Broadcom does not have any legal role in regulating online or print media.
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