2010-03-03

Open lecture attracted hundreds of Belarusian students

The assembly hall at the Institute of Journalism in Minsk was filled to the last seat when Swedish well-merited journalist Erik Fichtelius delivered a lecture on his Golden rules of journalism. More than 500 journalist students and teachers had gathered to listen to the author of one of the most popular handbooks used at the institute.

– It is great to listen to lecturers like Erik Fichtelius. He's manner of delivering lecturers differs a lot from what we are used to and he touches upon subjects that we do not often discuss, says Alexandra Voevodina, a third-year student attending the seminar.

Erik Fichtelius illustrated the basic principles of journalism with examples from his own professional experience, and repeatedly referred to independence in journalism as one of the most fundamental precepts in journalism. He stressed that journalists ought to be independent from state interests, as well as from political or commercial actors.