Xenophobia and clashes between different ethnic and religious groups threaten peace and democracy in many parts of Europe. Training programmes on journalistic ethics should sensitize journalists to prejudices and discrimination. It is also necessary to develop better recruitment policies within media which encourage journalists and journalism from ethnic and minority communities. Non-partisan factual reporting and the highest professional standards are of crucial importance when in, and covering conflict zones. Effective measures and legislation should be enacted to include prevention of excessive concentration of media ownership, including that by the state, and any controls that reduce pluralism.
Public interest is determined without regard to forms of ownership.
Ownership and financing of all media should be transparent and publicly declared. States must encourage diversity in forms of ownership by means of legal guarantees and by the allocation of public funds on a non-discriminatory basis. With the increasing commercial and other pressures on all media it is essential to maintain the credibility of the media, by striving for quality of content.