In any journalistic code of ethics one can easily find the basic principles that govern the profession: pursuit of truth, cross-referencing of information, independence, public criticism, story presentation by analogy and many more are considered prerequisites for a reliable journalism.
It is more difficult to find a record of what the price is for adhering to these principles. A price, which as it turned out a few days ago in our country, can reach even life itself.
Soon, on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day (May 3), we will read again where our country ranks and which are the worst and best countries in terms of the conditions under which journalists work.
But the fact will remain: In the year 2021, on bread daylight, in the capital of Greece, a journalist was cold-bloodedly murdered and “silenced” forever. Another number will be added to the global counting (389 prisoners and 49 dead journalists according to the latest published data.
Unfortunately, however, Giorgos Karaivazwas was not a number. He was an active journalist, a young man with a family. And from now on he will symbolize the fact that adhering to any ethics is sometimes not the obvious choice that the “outsiders” think it is. It can often be a matter of life and death.
