As explained above, there is not a national self-regulatory entity (like a Press Council), although there are several self-regulation instruments in the leading news media.
Every media outlet has an Editorial Statute, with a mission statement emphasising their independence from political and economic powers, their respect for people’s fundamental rights, their commitment to democratic values, and their attachment to journalistic ethical principles. However, these are in most cases just formal statements with very general intentions. Some of these outlets have more detailed internal accountability mechanisms. This is the case, for example, with Expresso, which has a Code of Conduct dealing with such issues as objectivity, accuracy, plagiarism, identification of information sources, error correction, limits to gifts offered to journalists, journalists’ exposition in social media. Público has a Style Book that has a first part devoted entirely to ethical questions, to journalism social responsibility, to conflict of interests, and so on. RTP has an Editorial Statute that underlines the particular responsibilities of a public service television, namely their obligation to promote pluralism and diversity.
Three dailies (Público, Diário de Notícias,and Jornal de Notícias) had an ombudsperson for several years (the first one appeared in 1997), but the position is vacant now in all cases. According to our interviewees, financial constraints have forced media outlets to invest less in these instruments of quality control. Since 2006, there have also been news ombudspersons in public television and public radio.[i] They are both still active, with a broadcasting time every week prepared under their exclusive responsibility. The right of reply is a legal and even constitutional obligation and is usually respected by all, with no need for judicial measures.
[i] The existence of a news ombudsperson both in public radio and in public television is mandatory by law, since the approval of the last version of the Law on the Public Service Broadcasting in 2006. Although television and radio belong to the same public company, there is an ombudsperson for each medium.
